What is Univeral Powerline Bus?

Universal Powerline Bus (UPB™) is a highly reliable, cost effective, 2-way communications technology which enables control products to utilize existing powerlines for both residential and commercial applications. The award winning UPB™ technology was developed by Powerline Control System (PCS) and has been awarded several patents
for its innovation.

UPB™ INNOVATION

Universal Powerline Bus (UPB™) a highly reliable, cost effective, 2-way communications technology which enables control products to utilize existing powerlines for residential applications.

While other powerline technologies exist, none compares to UPB™ cost per node, reliability, and functionality. Introduced in 1999, UPB™ is now considered a communications standard for residential lighting control.

Other potential applications include appliance control, HVAC control, and Internet-to-Application device communication, with a cost to the manufacturer of less than $4 per node.

Benefits of UPB™ TECHnology

Reliable:

UPB™ uses low frequency, spread spectrum technology which produces a very strong signal. In addition, UPB™ uses true 2-way communications, allowing devices to reveal their status to each other. This feedback, that commands have been successfully executed, results in reliable communications—greater than 99% accurate!

Flexible:

UPB™ technology supports either peer-to-peer or centrally controlled communication environments, providing flexibility for a wide range of applications. See our current list of UPB™ compatible controllers.

Lower Total Cost:

UPB™ sizes existing powerlines, eliminating the need to pre-wire or pull new wire to install a system. Additionally, during the installation of typical PLC products, service callbacks are needed to install filters or repeaters to fix reliability issues. Because UPB™ products work right the first time, installers deploy once and no more service callbacks are required. The end result is a reduction of cost and significantly increased customer satisfaction.

High Speed:

Supports .3 second response time or 10 full commands per second which is 20 to 40 times faster than other PLC technologies. This increase in speed delivers a lighting control system that is responsive to the touch.

Read more about UPB™ Specs or Compare X10™ to UPB™