MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 58,104
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
I was asked to post some information about X10 home automation, so here it is. Enjoy.
X10 is a home automation technology that works by transmitting a signal over the existing AC wiring in your home. There are two basic components to X10. Receivers(sometimes called modules) and transmitters. Receivers can operate lamps, appliances, home entertainment systems, just about anything. A typical use for X10 would be to automate a lamp. To do this, you would assign an address to a lamp module, plug the module into the wall outlet, then plug the lamp into the module. Lets say you give the lamp module the address of A1. Now you can plug a transmitter into any other wall outlet. A typical transmitter has a keypad on it. The keys can be assigned addresses as well. Assign A1 to one of the keys on the key pad. Now you can use the keypad to turn on or off the lamp module that we assigned A1. Some keypads also have dim and brighten.
You can assign any number of modules with the same address. So if you wanted those neat little electric candles in every window of your house, you could plug them into X10 modules and assign them all the same address. Now, with one push of a button, all of the candles will come on at the same time. You don't have to walk around your house and plug them all in, or set a timer for each one.
Speaking of timers, some X10 transmiiters have built in timers. So you could have the Christmas lights come on at 6 in the morning and turn off at 8 and come back on at 5PM and turn off at 11pm. You can get more elaborate controllers that have dusk to dawn that adjust as the days get longer and shorter. Then the lights can come on at dusk, stay on until 11pm, and come back on agian at 6am and stay on until dawn.
They make heavy duty appliance modules and wall outlets as well. I use one for my pool pump. It turns the filter on about an hour before I come home from work and runs it until 9pm on weekdays, and runs it continuosuly on Saturdays and Sundays.
I also have a remote control that runs all of the TV/VCR stuff as well as controls the lights in the house. So I can sit on my butt, watch TV, dim the lights in the living room and turn off the lights in my kids room so she goes to bed without getting up from the couch.
It is inexpensive and easy to set up.
Two great sources are www.smarthome.com
X10 is a home automation technology that works by transmitting a signal over the existing AC wiring in your home. There are two basic components to X10. Receivers(sometimes called modules) and transmitters. Receivers can operate lamps, appliances, home entertainment systems, just about anything. A typical use for X10 would be to automate a lamp. To do this, you would assign an address to a lamp module, plug the module into the wall outlet, then plug the lamp into the module. Lets say you give the lamp module the address of A1. Now you can plug a transmitter into any other wall outlet. A typical transmitter has a keypad on it. The keys can be assigned addresses as well. Assign A1 to one of the keys on the key pad. Now you can use the keypad to turn on or off the lamp module that we assigned A1. Some keypads also have dim and brighten.
You can assign any number of modules with the same address. So if you wanted those neat little electric candles in every window of your house, you could plug them into X10 modules and assign them all the same address. Now, with one push of a button, all of the candles will come on at the same time. You don't have to walk around your house and plug them all in, or set a timer for each one.
Speaking of timers, some X10 transmiiters have built in timers. So you could have the Christmas lights come on at 6 in the morning and turn off at 8 and come back on at 5PM and turn off at 11pm. You can get more elaborate controllers that have dusk to dawn that adjust as the days get longer and shorter. Then the lights can come on at dusk, stay on until 11pm, and come back on agian at 6am and stay on until dawn.
They make heavy duty appliance modules and wall outlets as well. I use one for my pool pump. It turns the filter on about an hour before I come home from work and runs it until 9pm on weekdays, and runs it continuosuly on Saturdays and Sundays.
I also have a remote control that runs all of the TV/VCR stuff as well as controls the lights in the house. So I can sit on my butt, watch TV, dim the lights in the living room and turn off the lights in my kids room so she goes to bed without getting up from the couch.
It is inexpensive and easy to set up.
Two great sources are www.smarthome.com
