Universal Powerline Bus (UPB) is a highly
reliable, cost effective, 2-way communications technology similar to
Insteon but supports a much higher voltage on the power line which
can provide more reliable communications.
Similar to Insteon, Pytomation communicates to
switch, lamp and other modules via a computer interface called a
PIM, Powerline Interface Module. It is a small plug-in device
designed to be the interface between an RS232 or USB port on a
computer or dedicated controller and the powerline. At this point in
time UPB probably has much the best support in Pytomation vs Insteon.
UPB has the following advantages over say Insteon:
-
Its incredibly simple and based loosely on
X10 protocol
-
It sends at 40V which can power through
most noise
-
2 way devices by default
-
PCS is completely open about their
protocol. No SDK fee, no NDA.
-
The protocol in the last 10 years has never
changed
-
Light switches can actually decouple the
load from the switch.
-
The switch can control something that isn't
the attached load and vice / versa
-
All UPB devices can relay UPB messages. No
one has implemented this yet, but I intend to as I have a
problematic switch on the other side of the house.
-
Have never had a UPB device die on a surge
suppressed house. Cant say the same about Insteon.
-
The UPSTART configuration program (free
from PCS) can do anything without ever having to physically touch
the equipment to configure.
Disadvantges:
Below are the model numbers supported.
The PIM communicates to wall switches and lamp
modules etc. Here is a small list of devices known to work. This is
by no means all of the devices that will work. We will provide an
updated complete list as time allows.
Using in an Instance
# Create the interface
upb = UPB(Serial('/dev/ttyS0', 4800))
# Use in a light
l_recroom_lamp = Light(address=(49,6),
devices=(upb, sl_recroom_lamp, m_recroom),
delay={
Attribute.COMMAND: Command.STILL,
Attribute.SECS: 60
},
name='Recroom Lamp')
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