Project #1: My introduction to home automation

As I mentioned in my previous post, this will serve as my introduction to home automation (not really an introduction to X10 since I'll be using all Insteon for this!). My goal is to be simple, and be able to turn on/off the lamps in my bedroom without getting up.

Now, we've been using flourescent lights to save money for a long time, so I thought I would need to buy Insteon ApplianceLinc On/Off modules (you don't want to use dimmers on flourescent lights... another hard-learned lesson). But then, the list of items that I will need to buy looks like this:
Insteon ControlLinc Tabletop Controller ($29.99 http://www.smarthome.com/2430.HTML)
Insteon ApplianceLinc On/Off Module (2x $29.99 http://www.smarthome.com/2456S3.HTML)
this comes to $90 (+/- 3 cents).

For about the same money ($99.99 on sale), I can get the Insteon starter kit (http://www.smarthome.com/2490.html or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A0BPCC/ref=sr_11_1/104-7703429-3936722?ie=UTF8) which includes the ControlLinc Tabletop Controller, 2 LampLincs (on/off modules with dimmers) as well as two Insteon SignaLinc RF's that would be used in the future to bridge the phase gap (even though I don't need them now). So, to save money, I can buy this and switch back to incadescents in the bedroom lamps.

Stay tuned to see how this works for me!