Smart Home Automation Systems with x10 controllers

Posts Tagged ‘X10’

It doesn’t happen to often, but when it happens it’s the most annoying thing ever; locking yourself out of your own house. Your mind starts racing. Where are the people who also own a key of your place? Your looks become one of a burglar. Didn’t I leave the backdoor unlocked? Isn’t there a window open somewhere? What will be the smallest damage to my house when I brake into it?

Of course you could have hidden a key somewhere in your garden. But is that something you really want? Maybe today, it is something you want. But you would be worried for the rest of your life, worried if not somebody saw you picking up that key or hiding it away.

There is a simple solution however to your problem, a Smart Code Deadbolt.

The Smart Code Deadbolt can be as simple as a deadbolt which can be unlocked by a key as well as with a code. The bolt is a true locking dead bolt due to its motor driven bolt inside. The activation code is set by a 4 to 8 digits string of numbers. Locking is done by pushing one simple button and the code is not needed for this action. Nothing new so far, this technology has been on the market for a while and is used all around.

The true Home Automation System connection comes with the Smart Code Wireless Z-Wave Deadbolt. The bolt is able to talk wireless to your installed Home Automation System. This is home automation taken to the level it should be taken to. Imagen while unlocking your house with a simple code, the lights turn on, the alarm system disarms, the thermostat goes to high and the entertainment system turns on. Coming home has turned into a real coming home feel.

The system even takes it a step further. What about locking your house from your smart phone. Or receiving a message on your smart phone telling the children just came home. Or what in case of an emergency to be able to unlock all the doors of your house (remote if you need to) with only one command. Features which will make your life easier and saver.

Installing the system is a matter of minutes. The Smart Code Deadbolt runs on 2 AA batteries and no extra wires are needed to install the bolt. Simply remove the current bolt and mount the Smart Code Deadbolt in the door and the job is done. Remember the Z-Wave products are fully incorporated with the X10 Home Automation System. Which runs over existing electrical wires in your house. All in all, no extra wires are needed.

The bolt comes in brass, nickel, bronze, or just a simple black colour.

Next time when locking yourself out of your own house, a simple code lets you get back in.

The simplest way to start Home Automation is to start controlling lights. Here 3 light switches discussed.

X10 PLW01 In-Wall Light Switch
The switch can carry loads ranging from 60 Watts to 500 Watts. Take care, because this switch can only handle incandescent bulbs.

The switch can be controlled directly at the panel by simply pushing the button. This will cause the connected light to turn On or Off. The trick sits behind the panel, where 2 dials are located. Here the home code and unit code of the switch is set, to allow the X10 controller access to the dimmer. Be aware, the dimming function can only be controlled via the X10 controller, and not directly at the panel. Below the main button a small button is located for direct total power turn off, for save bulb replacement.

X10 PLW02 Three Way Master and Slave Switch Set
This is a so called Three-Way system. A term used for a light that can be controlled by 2 separate switches. These systems are most commonly used to control a hallway light which is connected by stairs to another level. To replace the Three-Way system with a Home Automation Three-Way switch set, a master and a slave switch has to be installed. The master switch is the unit where the home code and unit code can be set. The slave switch doesn’t need a code, as it follows the master code. More than one slave switches can be connected to one system.

Also this switch can carry loads from 40 Watts up to 500 Watts and also here only incandescent bulbs can be connected. Both the master and the slave unit have a single button for turning the connected light On or Off. The dimming function is also here only possible by the X10 controller. The master switch has a second local total power off button, to be able to replace the connected bulb.

X10 XPD03 Decorated Dimmer Switch
The switch can carry a load up to 500 Watts and as low as 40 Watts. Connecting the switch to a lower load then 40 Watts, a flickering light might be the result. Take care, because this switch can only handle incandescent bulbs.

By setting the home code and unit code, located behind the panel, the Dimmer Switch can be controlled via the X10 controller. But for the quick dimming, the switch can also be controlled directly and that is different from the PLW01 In-Wall Light Switch. A short paddle stroke will turn the connected light On in 3 seconds, in which it fades up from Off to On. Another short paddle stroke fades the light Off in again 3 seconds. By holding the paddle down and releasing it at the desired fading/dimming mode, the light is set to an intermediate light level. The switch has a second button for a total power Off mode, to be able to replace the connected light bulb safely.

X10
Home Automation can be as simple as to group controls (think of when opening the garage door, the lights in the house switch on), and can get as complex as remote control over all appliances in your house (think of turning on the heater on the way home, or even better the coffee machine).

What all the systems will have in common is a language to communicate between each individual appliance in the system. A language originally coined by a Scottish company called Pico Electronics in 1975 is X10. Even nowadays X10 is still the most common used “system” for Home Automation.

Functionality
The communication is done over ordinary electrical wiring. But there is also a radio protocol defined (this however needs some additional hardware). The X10 signal consists out of little bursts of radio waves representing a digital signal.
The protocol consists out of 3 segments: a house code, a unit code, a command code.
The 4 bit house code (A to P) can divide your house in 16 areas (the kitchen, the office or all lights, all heaters).
The 4 bit unit code (1 to 16) can address 16 different appliances within a house code.
This makes a total amount of 256 (16 house codes x 16 unit codes) possible addresses (read appliances).
The command codes are handling the message send to the address.

So for example:
The garden has house code B.
The lights in the garden have unit code 3.
The sprinklers in the garden have unit code 5.

Sending the code: B3-off followed by B5-on, will turn off the lights in the garden, before turning on the sprinklers. All from within the comfort of your house. It gets even better when programming the system with a routine. At 7pm / B3-on, at 9pm / B3-off and B5-on, at 9:30 pm / B5-off and B3-on, creates an automatic garden watering program without exposing the turned on lights to water.

Phase Couplers
The X10 system operate seamlessly on most devices but runs into issues with high voltage appliances like washer, a dryer and the electric stove. This can however be solved by introducing additional phase couplers to distribute the X10 signal between the different phases.

Repeaters
Like any other signal the X10 signal incurs loss over a distance greater than 240 feet of electrical wiring and that includes the junction boxes. For houses larger than 2000 square feet, this is not an uncommon situation. In this case a repeater system which boost the X10 signal is needed.

Further recommendation
With this brief introduction into X10 for Home Automation we have provided you with a starting point in getting your “Do it yourself automation project” on the roll. Here is an easy to understand home automation book to get your projects on the way.

The three major home automation technologies that are in the top of the ranks are Insteon, X10 and Z-Wave. The difference between them is worth pondering over when it comes to the decision which Home Automation System to use.

The X10 technology
It is the oldest system and is the pioneer when it comes to home automation. Originally started with Sears to automate their facilities, now the major player in home applications. The X10 technology is based on existing electrical wires and doesn’t interfere with other radio frequency system in a house. It is the most widespread and mature  system, but its reliability is not always the best.

The Z-Wave technology
The company Zensys, in the need for speed and range, developed the Z-Wave RF radiation technology. It has proven a worth while technology that is faster than the X10 technology. Its is a very new technology and the amount of modules is still limited.

The Insteon technology
The Insteon system takes advantage of both the power line controller (PLC) and RF radiation method in controlling all the equipments in the home. The system is backwards compatible with the X10 technology, meaning that Insteon and X10 modules can coexist on the same power line network and Insteon modules can be setup to respond and transmit X10 as well as Insteon commands. Still developing, but this system might be the future.