Speed.  It’s all about the speed, and reliability.  Ah hem.  It’s all about two things, speed, and reliability.  Certain things reduce the Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) more than a flaky home automation system, especially if it is just a single device that is erratic…

The 2413U solved that for us, along with a small timing tweak in a particular AppleScript…

Why?  What makes it different from the 2412U or 2414U?

First let’s back up, the 2413U is a “Powerline Modem”, used for Insteon Home Automation.  In particular, I use the Indigo software package to manage and control my home automation…  This, the 2413U, is the computer interface for this powerline / RF mesh home automation network.  Currently there are three different PLM controllers available, the 2414U & 2412U, which are powerline only.  And the 2413U which support the powerline and RF mesh network in a single controller.

The 2413U and 2412U need a driver to be installed before the device can be used by Indigo, because the 2414U does not.  But that shouldn’t be a factor in the purchase, the 2413U and 2412U both are significantly faster than the 2414U, and support the Insteon Extended command set.  While the Extended Command set is not fully implemented in Indigo yet, its future support is a virtual given, and may offer better support for KPL, and other devices.  The 2414U does not support the Extended command set, and I suspect that it will eventually be phased out of the product line, making the 2412U the “budget” PLM, and the 2413U the “Deluxe” model.  The only reason that I can see for Smarthome to continue selling the 2414U is due to the built-in clock, which allows it to act in a stand-alone/timer mode.

At this point, if you are looking for a replacement 2414U, or just starting to Automate your home… Don’t purchase the 2414U unless you absolutely need standalone / timer support. Just keep in mind, the more you do with your automation setup, the more likely you are to have a setup that is too complex for standalone mode to support your environment. For example, the Indigo Security script can’t be used in Stand-alone mode..

What are the differences between the 2414U & 2413/2412U?

The major difference is that the 2413/2412U both support the Extended Insteon Command set, which as I mentioned earlier, will allow more control in the future of newer devices.  For example, it may offer better control of the individual KPL buttons/lights.  Both unit are significantly faster than a 2414U in pure powerline communications…   For example, it would take 2-3 hours for the 2414U to relink the house with 26 Insteon devices, whereas the 2413/2412U only took an hour…

Overall, the only major issue with the 2413/2412U is that they do not feature the built-in clock, and circuitry to support a “stand-alone” timer mode.  So, you can’t program the units to turn on light #234 at midnight every night.  But, as I mentioned in my earlier review, typically that is a starter configuration, most home automation eventually rises to a level where simple “timer” support is not enough, the Home automation software needs to be running to support the installation.

Otherwise, the 2413/2412U is virtually identical to the 2414U, and most software won’t even need to recognize the difference.

What is the difference between the 2413U and 2412U?

Speed, and reliability.  Now, the 2412U is quite a bit faster than the 2414U, but the 2413U is still slightly faster than the 2412U.  How?  Not the powerline speed directly, but instead the 2413U has the built-in RF Access point, and it doesn’t seem to just be bolted on.  The command appears to be sent to the RF mesh network at the same time as it is sent out to the powerline, so in effect your other access points receive, and rebroadcast the signal almost at the same time as the PLM is sending the first transmission.

Your insteon motion sensor, or Insteon Triggerlincs are received directly by the PLM, assuming the PLM is in range, otherwise they are only a single hop away (Triggerlinc –> Access Point –> PLM), without ever hitting the powerline.  This also has the potential to bypass powerline noise (Appliancelinc –> PowerLine –> Access Point –> PLM).

Other than this dual-band feature, there is no difference between the 2413U & 2412U, even then the Dual-band nature is hardware based, so the software that is controlling the PLM does not need to control the RF side, it’s automatic.

Dual-Band Technology, the Future?

Since it seems that Smarthome is embracing Dual-Band technology, the 2413U appears to be the best future-proof solution.  The dual-band lamp module is a good example, as long is it is within transmission range, that device will always be only a single hop away from the PLM.  I wonder if the powerline “side” of Insteon will slowly become depreciated as more dual-band modules are available.  Would the wireless mesh network eventually become more dependable than the powerline side?

Pros:

• Significantly faster transmission than the 2414U (19.2K vs 4.8K)
• Virtually a drop-in replacement for the 2414U (Driver installed needed)
• A drop-in replacement for the 2412U
• Insteon Extended Message Support
• RF Band integration allows a faster transmission time than 2412U / 2414U, and reduces the hop count.
• The RF sensitivity seems to be higher than an Access point, but I can’t prove this.  I had an access point plugged into my PLM (2412U) and still had some missed signals.  The 2413U seems to have close to a 99.99% detection rate at this point.

Cons:

• On the Macintosh side, manual driver installation
• The faster transmission speed may require some minor tweaking of AppleScript
• No built-in timer, so the computer needs to be active for operation
• Quite a bit more expensive than the 2414U, but slightly more expensive than the 2412U
• Maybe “too” fast, I have been able to cause a few ApplianceLinc’s to lock up, if I rapidly send multiple commands to it.  For example, Off/On 4 times in a row (literally, one right after each other).  In normal day-to-day use, I have not seen this issue.

Executive Summary:

The 2413U is well worth the cost, especially if moving from a 2414U…  If you are purchasing a PLM, the 2413U is the way to go.  Now if you recently purchased a 2412U, check with your reseller, see if you can exchange or upgrade to an 2413U, it’s that useful.  The 2413U is well worth the $20 price difference from the 2412U.