Ok. I'm prefacing my post with this information as I usually have to end up saying it anyway. I'm in (probably) a unique situation for most home automators here. I'm in rented accommodation in the UK. Judging by the responses of most posters here landlords in other countries are either a lot less suspicious than landlords in the UK or most of you have never rented. In the UK you would be thrown out of rented accomodation if you made alterations to the wiring of the house you were in without asking permission and permission would probably be unlikely to be granted even if you used an approved electrician to do the job.
This means the only home automation solutions I can use in my house are those that I can screw into lightbulb sockets or plug into sockets.
Now I've made that clear:
I've been looking at the X10 Sundowner unit.
There don't seem to be any commercially available first hand but I've seen plenty going secondhand on ebay.
Firstly: It's mentioned that they can control up to four X10 lights through the usual X10 channels but I don't really want to use the sundowner as a direct controller. I just want to use it as a sensor to detect whether it is light outside - I was planning on popping the case and extending and waterproofing the light sensor so that I can pop it out of a window to detect the ambient light outside. The plan would then be to send that sensor information to a computer based X10 controller which would control ALL of the lighting in my house. Would the Sundowner be fit for this purpose? If not is there another plugin option/ something which could easily be adapted by wiring it to a 3 pin plug via which I could do this?
Secondly: As already mentioned I live in the UK and this is an American device. Some modern devices are rated for a voltage range between US and UK voltage (UK voltage is somewhere between 230 and 240 volts). Does anyone know if the Sundowner is a device which is voltage compatible with a UK voltage or would I have to use a transformer - and if I used a transformer would it then lose its powerline communication ability?
Lastly: General information on how to adapt hard-wired type X10 solutions to be plugged in via a 3 pin plug would be very welcome. Also Would X10 work via a multiplug or does it have to be plugged directly in?
This means the only home automation solutions I can use in my house are those that I can screw into lightbulb sockets or plug into sockets.
Now I've made that clear:
I've been looking at the X10 Sundowner unit.
There don't seem to be any commercially available first hand but I've seen plenty going secondhand on ebay.
Firstly: It's mentioned that they can control up to four X10 lights through the usual X10 channels but I don't really want to use the sundowner as a direct controller. I just want to use it as a sensor to detect whether it is light outside - I was planning on popping the case and extending and waterproofing the light sensor so that I can pop it out of a window to detect the ambient light outside. The plan would then be to send that sensor information to a computer based X10 controller which would control ALL of the lighting in my house. Would the Sundowner be fit for this purpose? If not is there another plugin option/ something which could easily be adapted by wiring it to a 3 pin plug via which I could do this?
Secondly: As already mentioned I live in the UK and this is an American device. Some modern devices are rated for a voltage range between US and UK voltage (UK voltage is somewhere between 230 and 240 volts). Does anyone know if the Sundowner is a device which is voltage compatible with a UK voltage or would I have to use a transformer - and if I used a transformer would it then lose its powerline communication ability?
Lastly: General information on how to adapt hard-wired type X10 solutions to be plugged in via a 3 pin plug would be very welcome. Also Would X10 work via a multiplug or does it have to be plugged directly in?
Comment