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About Lighting & Appliance Controls
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Our lighting control systems use a method of signaling, called X10, which operates on your home's existing powerlines. This protocol allows you to use wall and tabletop controllers, wireless handheld remotes, keychain remote controls, and automated schedules to control the lighting and appliances in your home. The products are easy to install and can be as easy as replacing your current light switch(s) with one of our smart switches, or simply plugging in a lamp module and a tabletop controller. 'X10' is the industry standard term, but it's also referred to by others as PLC (Power Line Carrier) or DHC (Decora Home Controls) or PCC (Powerline Control Components) or A10. Our X10 based lighting and appliance control systems are modular and can be installed all at once throughout the entire residence, or room by room, or lamp by lamp, based on your own particular requirements.
Select from the complete product lines from the four major manufacturers of these products to insure you will find your specific needs within your budget. To create your lighting system, select the necessary items from the three Categories below: Wall Switch & Module Receivers, Wall Controllers & Transmitters and Powerline Signaling.
Wall Switch Receivers & Modules - X10
Wall Switches are referred to as Receivers, since they receive and operate from signaling commands you send over the power line, as well as manually in the same manner as your current wall switches. These devices are selected based on the type and quantity of Light Bulbs or Appliances you wish to control. Some Receivers are Modular and can be plugged in to wall receptacles to control Lighting or Appliances. All Receivers are programmable and can be made to operate simultaneously in a "Scene" with one command. Some examples could be "All Lights On" for security; or an "I'm Home" Scene where all of the lighting in your home can be turned on with any desired dim-level, with one button selection, at the front entry.
Transmitters and Wall Controllers - X10
The devices that send or Transmit the signals over the power line are referred to as Transmitters or Controllers. Select your transmitters based on convenience. These may look the same as a Wall Switch Receiver, or may have multiple buttons, or may be a Hand-Held Remote, or a Plug-In Table Top unit. They can also be a PC based Controller is programmed to operate the lighting throughout your home in a security mode a "Lived In Look". Motion Detectors are a convenient and automatic way of controlling lighting and some have built in Photo Cells to control all lighting based on sunrise/sunset.
Powerline Signaling - X10
We highly recommend at a minimum, installing a Phase Coupler or Signal Bridge device at the circuit breaker panel to insure that the X10 signal can travel between both phases of your electrical service. Maximum signaling reliability and performance is achieved by installing a Phase Coupler and Repeater to also insure adequate signaling strength throughout your entire residence. A whole-house surge protector is also a recommended investment to protect all electronics devices connected to the powerline as well as the phone and Cable services.
In the event you experience intermittent operation after installing your system, it is probable that some unrelated equipment already connected to your powerline is "un-intentionally" transmitting electrical noise on your powerline and interfering with the X10 signaling. This is usually corrected by using one of our Filters to plug the offending device into. |
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