Hi,
I'm about to do a complete re-wire in my house and I don't want to miss the opportunity to do a spot of automation.
I don't think I can really afford the cost of CBUS stuff or similar, so I've been looking at the other end of the scale at X10.
I've spent quite a while searching the various forums (of which this is the most helpful so far) but there are some areas I'm still not clear on. I'm sorry if I'm asking daft questions...
I should explain what I want to do:
Lights:
I want to be able to control lights in each room (a variety of 12v halogens and dimmable energy saving stuff I think).
Heating:
I'd like to be able to integrate the heating into this - in a basic way at first. I'm considering more localised control in the future with individually controlled radiator thermostats like the Z-wave ones just out. Is it possible to easily integrate Zwave with X10? Or, is there a better way to deal with heating control more natively to X10?
Security:
I also want to integrate security - basic CCTV and access control, and also possibly use motion sensors to trigger events.
Software and Macros:
I realise I need some kind of computer interface and software to manage more complicated events - I'd like to be able to create macros which respond to the doorbell etc. I'd also like to create macros for various things which may be triggered from the tv remote, a switch in the hallway or motion sensors.
Controlling it all:
I want to be able to control all of this in a variety of ways - I want local light switches in the usual places, but also the option to control the system from a one-for-all style remote, and ideally via my laptop/desktop computers.
Something I haven't managed to work out with X10 so far- there are some locations where I have only one light but would like a dual switch so that one switch could control the light and another could be used to trigger a macro.. is this possible or do all switches have to be linked to a specific light?
As far as the reliability of X10 is concerned - I've read (somewhere on this forum) that I should install a whole house filter which I will definitely do, but I am interested in people's views on the reliability of the new X10^2 stuff. Is this the same as the X10 Domia branded range?
Are there alternatives to X10 which I should look at? I’ve seen a lot of comment on the US forums about Insteon – but am I right in thinking that it’s not available in the UK?
I'm sorry so many questions, I'm very grateful for any help anyone can give me.
Thanks
toast0r
I'm about to do a complete re-wire in my house and I don't want to miss the opportunity to do a spot of automation.
I don't think I can really afford the cost of CBUS stuff or similar, so I've been looking at the other end of the scale at X10.
I've spent quite a while searching the various forums (of which this is the most helpful so far) but there are some areas I'm still not clear on. I'm sorry if I'm asking daft questions...
I should explain what I want to do:
Lights:
I want to be able to control lights in each room (a variety of 12v halogens and dimmable energy saving stuff I think).
Heating:
I'd like to be able to integrate the heating into this - in a basic way at first. I'm considering more localised control in the future with individually controlled radiator thermostats like the Z-wave ones just out. Is it possible to easily integrate Zwave with X10? Or, is there a better way to deal with heating control more natively to X10?
Security:
I also want to integrate security - basic CCTV and access control, and also possibly use motion sensors to trigger events.
Software and Macros:
I realise I need some kind of computer interface and software to manage more complicated events - I'd like to be able to create macros which respond to the doorbell etc. I'd also like to create macros for various things which may be triggered from the tv remote, a switch in the hallway or motion sensors.
Controlling it all:
I want to be able to control all of this in a variety of ways - I want local light switches in the usual places, but also the option to control the system from a one-for-all style remote, and ideally via my laptop/desktop computers.
Something I haven't managed to work out with X10 so far- there are some locations where I have only one light but would like a dual switch so that one switch could control the light and another could be used to trigger a macro.. is this possible or do all switches have to be linked to a specific light?
As far as the reliability of X10 is concerned - I've read (somewhere on this forum) that I should install a whole house filter which I will definitely do, but I am interested in people's views on the reliability of the new X10^2 stuff. Is this the same as the X10 Domia branded range?
Are there alternatives to X10 which I should look at? I’ve seen a lot of comment on the US forums about Insteon – but am I right in thinking that it’s not available in the UK?
I'm sorry so many questions, I'm very grateful for any help anyone can give me.
Thanks
toast0r
Comment