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The Lifestyle Automation guide to X10 home control

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We are authorised resellers of the most advanced and comprehensive range of X10 equipment on the market today, namely Marmitek. Okay, now that is out of the way let’s talk about X10.

Before reading any further, they say a picture paints a thousand words, so the interactive sequence below should help, please go through the sequence before reading on, it will really help.

X10 is an ‘industry standard technology for power line transmission of control signals’. Let me explain what this piece of technical jargon means in practical terms. There are two basic aspects of X10 which are addressed, firstly the hardware to allow low level control signals to be transmitted along the existing wiring (that’s the power line transmission bit) and secondly the information carried by those control signals, a kind of language called the X10 ‘command set’. The ‘command set’ is a set of simple commands which are generated by controllers (hand held remotes, your PC etc) and then understood and acted upon by ‘plug in modules’ which sits between a mains socket and an electrical appliance elsewhere in your home. These commands are very simple and are along the lines of ‘switch on’ or ‘switch off’. Each module has a code which means that the information is directed to the module you require to be controlled. Here we have the basics to quickly and easily automate your home, no wiring or technical knowledge required, just ‘plug and go’!

The final part of the jigsaw is the term ‘industry standard’. What this part means is that any company manufacturing any item of X10 equipment must do so to the ‘industry standard’. This is very important to you as a user as it means that, in theory, you can mix and match any products from any manufacturer, so if you like the controller from one company but they do not have the module you need you can simply buy that from another manufacturer.

Stand alone control, PC controlled or both?

One of the key considerations when buying an X10 automation system is how do you want to control the various appliances and lights around your home.

There are three basic methods and these can be used exclusively or in combination.

STAND ALONE
By stand alone we mean that you do not have a PC connected to your system and use a hand held or table top controller. These are effectively no different to how you would use your TV remote. Each controller will have an on/off and optional ‘dim’ (for lights) button for each appliance you are controlling in your home.

This is a very quick and easy way to get up and running with X10 automation, simply plug in a module to be controlled anywhere in your home, plug in your TM13 transceiver in the room you would usually use your remote and press the button on the remote to control your appliance, it’s a snap!

We carry a range of stand alone controllers (see below) which can be used with X10 systems and some go one step further and include universal remote control for your TV, DVD player etc, bringing all your control needs into one easy place.

• Wireless keypad remote control
• EasyControl 6
• EasyControl 8
• EasyTouch 35
• Easy Icon 10RF
• IRRF 7243 Mini-controller
• Desktop bedroom X10 controller

PC CONTROL
If you would like to have more precise control of your home automation system you would use our CM15Pro system. This simple device plugs your PC into a mains socket via a USB connection. The supplied software on CD-ROM then allows you full on-screen control of all of your remote X10 devices. One of the major benefits of PC control is that you can schedule X10 controlled devices to switch on and off a pre-determined times of the day. For example, to switch on the immersion every other day at 6pm ready for your evening bath, or switch on and off random home lights and a radio to simulate that ‘lived in’ look when your home is unoccupied for long periods.

Remember, you can use both hand held and PC controllers in combination for control of your X10 devices, hand held for convenience and PC when you need more precise or timed control.

• CM15Pro Programmable PC interface

What can I control in my home?

You can control just about any electrical item in your home, with the appliance modules (AM12) you can control any appliance which is within it’s power rating and is plugged into a 13 amp socket anywhere in your home. You can even control motorised blinds and shutters with the SW10 wall mounted shutter switch.

With the various lighting modules you can control floor and table lamps with LM12 a plug in module almost identical to the AM12 but with a lower rating and additional dimmer function. You can control your ceilings lights either by replacing the wall switch with an X10 version (only if you feel qualified to do so) or you can fit an LM15 to an existing ceiling pendant lamp to allow X10 control, this simply screws in to your existing lamp holder.

What will I need?

If you are new to X10 control we would suggest that one of our starter kits may be the best place to start, these have everything you need to get you up and running and have been created to meet a range of needs and budgets.

If you are confident about what you need you could buy extras, as needed ,at the time of purchase, for example additional appliance or lighting modules. If you are new to X10 you may want to build your confidence with some ‘hands-on’ experience with the equipment and then come back and add to it once you have a clear idea of your needs and what items are available.

There are many options open to you and what you need depends on your application. If could be a simple system with control of one or two items or you may want to automate your whole home, so saying what you need is difficult. But what we can say is that any system will need three ‘must have’ components, these are:

• A CONTROLLER
  The controller allows you to manually (via a hand held remote) or automatically (via PC control) switch on and off modules (and appliances attached to them) around your home. See section above for clickable list of controllers we stock.

• A TRANSCEIVER
  A transceiver takes the signals from a hand held remote control and transmits them to the various modules plugged in around the home, it will convert RF (Radio Frequency) signals into X10 commands to make sure your modules understand what is being asked of them.

• TM13 Transceiver

• MODULES
  These plug in (or integrated – see advanced section below) modules listen for signals to switch on and off from the controller. Any appliance or light plugged into the module will then be controlled.
  
  
  • AM12 Appliance module
  • LM12 Lighting dimmer module
  • LM15 Lamp holder insert

• SENSORS (optional)
  Although you can control modules automatically via your PC, usually to allow scheduling, for example, to turn lights and appliances on and off a preset times. With sensors your modules can react to ‘real world’ changes. For example, using the
  MS13 motion sensor you could have an outside light switch on only when motion is detected.

• MS13 Motion sensor

If you take a look at our starter kits then you will see that each one contains at least a controller, the TM 13 transceiver and at least one module.

Advanced installations

By far the easiest way to automate your home is with ‘plug in’ X10 modules but if you really want to get professional you can actually buy the same modules but in modular form for integration within existing lighting and power socket back boxes so they are completely hidden.

A note of caution here, we do not recommend that you attempt to do this unless you are fully qualified to do so. Electricity is a wonderful, yet very dangerous resource and working with it requires extreme caution.

If you are great at design but not qualified to carry out these kind of works, then why not plan it and buy the equipment and then contract a local electrician to install and test it all for you. Setup is simple and so any reasonably competent electrician should be able to do this.

If you are a very advanced user with electrical and or electronics knowledge you can get really down and dirty and start interfacing your X10 equipment to CMS/TTL electronics, for example, alarm systems or your own built electronic kits via our XM10 TTL/CMOS Interface.

Hints and tips

• START SMALL
  You can always extend your system later with extras once you are confident is how different components work and how they integrate into a complete system, so maybe a starter kit is the best way to get going.

• PLAN AHEAD
  Whilst the X10 system is very flexible it is still best to plan ahead and decide what you want to control and how you want to
  control it.

• BE CAREFUL
  Whilst the plug in modules really are no more dangerous than plugging in your own appliances, the integrated modules are
  really meant for professional installations. If you do purchase these items, buyer beware, electricity can and does kill!

Happy automating!