First of all, this is based on less than 2-3 hours of real use, so I will be following this up later in the week….

But, here’s the details so far.

• The 2413U Insteon Dual Band PowerLinc Modem (2413U) is faster than the 2414U, and the 2412U.  The Dual Band nature does seem to speed it up, and cut the hop count.
• Using the Insteon Health Script as a metric though, is actually showing worse performance going to certain modules…  For example, the Garage #1 light is only reporting back 3 out of 10 times, compared to 7 or 8 times with the 2412U.
• Overall, I am seeing very good performance so far.  The reliability maybe an issue, but that will have to be studied in the real world.
• Would I suggest purchasing a 2412U vs. a 2413U?  No, if you are replacing a 2414U or 2412U, buy the 2413U.  As more dual band units introduced by Smarthome, and utilized in the field, the better the Insteon network will become.

Now the 2413U is more expensive than the 2412U.  But, I suspect that in the future the 2412U shall be eliminated.  I don’t see a reason to keep the 2412U around, except as a “low price” alternative, and I believe the Dual band interface is well worth the extra money.

Update from 3/2011 –

The communication issue that I wrote above, appears to be related to the power outlet that I have been using.  Using the standard troubleshooting process of moving the 2413U to another socket moved my Insteon Health rating up 4%, and gives me a virtual spotless rating….  So this means there is some interference on the “old” outlet.

Overall, with more dual band devices coming out every day, I don’t see a reason in not investing in a dual band powerlinc controller to help reduce the hop count, and overall efficiency of your network.