X10 or not X10

[MrTea]

Hi Folks

I've been keeping an eye on this and other HA groups/forums recently and have been trying to build up some kind of picture as to the best way to get started.

However I seem to hit more questions than answers.

I have looked at Charmed Quark, Homeseer, Harmony and in fact various other systems but I am hitting a more fundamental problem than "which controller".

Here's the situation as I see it.

Being based in the UK, I've come to realise that our options re budget home automation are somewhat limited.

We seem to be some distance behind the US in this area, and as such X10
is still very much the obvious choice for budget HA installations.

There are others but they are either too expensive or not quite
available yet (take Z-wave, looks like it will be 2007 before we see
any modules for that)

So I'm a bit stuck because I want to get started, I don't really want
to run cables everywhere (awkward retrofit) and I dont' want to spend a
lot of money on this, hence X10 being the obvious choice.

But then I read about X10 being "dead" and notice from a few threads on
the Charmed Quark message board (for example) that this is the general sentiment and that they are reluctant to support devices like the CM11/12

Given that I'm pretty much stuck with X10 and the CM12 for the time
being, this makes me nervous and somewhat unsure what to do.

I had decided to go for Homeseer but notice there are many problems
with V2, I have looked at Charmed Quark but without CM11 support it's
not much use to me, and all the time I have this nagging feeling in the
back of my mind that I shouldn't be using X10 anyway.

A hardware controller may be an alternative option, I saw an Ocelot on
Ebay for about £60 but let it slip through my fingers.

So basically I'm feeling a bit swamped about which particular horse to back!

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated. Remember my budget is limited and I'm only looking at a very modest system to start with (isn't that how we all start!, and then the credit cards get involved and all hell breaks loose!)

[bobsmith]

Re: X10 or not X10

Hi
I too have been moitoring this forum and am in the same position as you so I suppose my help wont be of much value, suffice to say that, I agree in your choices so far. It seems that in the UK we are really trapped by circumstance somewhat.
Yes - I am going for x10 aswell.
Yes the CM11 and a pc interface is where I am going to go too.
I have bought a remote control and an appliance module from ebay (from the guys at gadgetsville.co.uk -nice people too) just to test it and have a play, (Yes I spotted that ocelot too tch!) and it works a treat.
My main priority (initially) is to x10 the lights in my house and link it into a controller, then add a sc9000 alarm/phone panel, add a thermostat and then if money allows a small touch screen. There are a few things that dont do exactly what I want but for the first go I think it will suffice and more importantly be a bit of fun.

I'm with you in this learning curve MrTea, let's hope it'll be what we want.

Kind regards.

[danward79]

Re: X10 or not X10

Unfortunately, we are stuck with x10. Althou zwave is starting to make an appearance. It is available from the uk, and is now ce approved I beleive. but x10 is still the best choice for your situation.

Interms of Software, I use Girder 4. It is really comming along and has emence flexibility.

[FrankMcAlinden]

Re: X10 or not X10

Hi Guys

Im sure i replied to your thread in the other forum.....

Anyway have a look at xPL and xAP both UK Based and FREE....

CQC ....has done some work on a xAP interface......

http://wiki.xplproject.org.uk/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.xapautomation.org/index.php

HTH
Frank

[UKAutomation]

Re: X10 or not X10

To be brutally honest, X10 has it's shortcomings, but I believe that at this moment in time it's the best 'beginner' home automation solution available.

One of the great things about X10 is that it allows you to 'flesh out' ideas of what can be done without spending *too much* money.
If you use your imagination then you'll find many tasks can be automated via X10.

Plus, you're not ripping out walls, etc. to experiment and the modules are fairly portable, making it easy to try out that fantastic 'automatic beer fridge' idea you had.

Finally, as Frank says above, the free software support for X10 is great and any commercial home automation application worth it's salt has X10 support so it's a great entry point to play with and learn home automation scripting, events, etc.

Once you find you need something more 'enterprise level' then you should always be able to re-sell your modules (which may be more difficult with specialist kit) and you can then upgrade to a more robust solution.

Just my £0.02!

[toscal]

Re: X10 or not X10

As long as you follow a few guidelines. X10 can be made very reliable. I have X10 in my home for about 2 years now. And it runs very well. Most of my problem have been either finger trouble or programming trouble.
Have you has a look at the HomeVision (HV) controller at www.csi3.com . I used to use HomeSeer but needed a non PC alternative. The HV just needs a PC to program it. It has worked flawlessly.
Be carefull with the Ocelot when programming it. Longer programs can be a real pain to de-bug. And the ladder logic system it uses is not to everyones taste. Saying that my Ocelot now runs a friends security lighting system, and works very well.
Its horses for courses really on which controller / system you choose.

To make X10 run more reliably you do need an X10 filter for the whole house, try to minimise the amount of noise on the mains by fitting filters to noise prone devices. Some energy saver bulbs, and low voltage lighting transformers can play havoc with X10 signals.
I think thats about it.

[Guest]

Re: X10 or not X10

Not X10

There are many other and more modern solutions than the X10 like open source PLC modem:

https://www.vscp.org/wiki/doku.php?id=power_line_modem

[toscal]

Re: X10 or not X10

Another technology to look out for is UPB this is similar top X10 in that it uses the mains wiring for communication. But they claim its 99% reliable compared with 70-80% for X10. The good thing with UPB is that it can transmit X10 commands as well as its own UPB protocol. So you can use your X10 modules. Like most things, Uk/european spec modules are a little hard to come by. Martin at Automated outlet www.AutomatedOutlet.com can get some modules but these are on special order.
UK/European modules etc are supposed to be coming sometime this year.
For more info look here http://www.simply-automated.com/upb_technology.htm