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My Office
I have a comfortable 12' x 13' office on the lower level of my split-level home. This is where I spend most
of my time. I've got a capable computer
which is networked with the family computer in the other room.
I am running the most recent version of HomeSeer,
a great home automation program from Keware Technologies.
The ceiling light in my office is controlled by an X-10 wall switch dimmer
(WS467).
The stereo and the fan are on X-10 appliance modules (AM466). On the wall opposite the
door I have a motion sensor (MS12A).
I hacked the motion sensor to defeat the light
sensor (dusk/dawn), so that it will detect motion regardless of what time of day it is.
When I walk into the office, the motion sensor generates a signal that cause my computer
to greet me with a friendly "Hello Scott". It also turns on the ceiling light and speaks
to me, telling me the current weather conditions outside, and if my garage door is open.
If it's more than 68° outside, then it also turns on my fan.
After all that, it also sends a text message to my Nokia 5120 cell phone so that if I'm
not here,
I know that someone has entered my office. Since I don't always listen to the stereo that does not turn
on automatically, however, when I leave the room, the motion sensor generates another signal
which causes my computer to turn off the light, the fan and the stereo (if it was on).
I also have a palm pad controller (HR12A)
and an 8 in 1 Learning Remote Control
(UR24A)
right here on my desk, so that I can easily turn applicances on and off.
My Garage Door Status
I installed surface mount magnetic contacts (SM300) on the garage door. I wired this to a
powerflash interface (PF284)
and plugged that into the wall. I set this powerflash interface
to input 2, mode 3. This tells the unit to send an X-10 on command when the garage door opens
and an X-10 off command when the door closes.
In my kitchen, I installed an X-10 wall outlet (SR227)
and I plugged a simple Leviton 4 watt night
light (837-06501-W) into that outlet (the night light is not light controlled, it has a little switch
on it that I leave turned on all the time). Hence, the night light is on whenever the garage door
is open. This allows me to tell quite easily if I have accidentally left the garage door open in
the evening.
Also, I've always had a problem when I pull into the garage at night. You know how most garage door openers
have a light bulb on them, and that light comes on for a few minutes when the door is open? Well, the light
bulb on my garage door
opener does not provide enough light, and for some reason, it is always burning out. So I replaced
the wall switch that controls the garage ceiling light with the 3-way dimmer
(WS4777).
Now, when the garage door opens, my computer will turn on the ceiling light in the garage, but only
if it is dark outside. So now, as I pull in the driveway at night, the
garage door opens and the light comes on. This provides much more light than before.
Then when the garage door closes, the ceiling light turns off.
This is also great if you need extra time to get the kids in the house or carry in the groceries, since the light
stays on as long as the garage door is open.
You can also accomplish a similar solution by installing
a motion sensor (MS12A) directly on the garage
door (on the inside). Then, when you drive up at night
and open the door from inside your car, the motion sensor immediately knows that the garage door is moving and it
turns on the garage ceiling light. It then turns the light off 6 minutes after there has been no motion
in the garage.
This is how I originally had it set up. It worked great. I only changed it for something to do. :)
My Garage Door Action
Since X-10 house codes and unit codes are not very hard to guess, it is not a good idea to simply set
a code that allows you to open and close your garage door via X-10. There are several good approaches that
address this issue. I initially had one scenario setup and then I switched to another solution.
I initially decided to just make it so that the door cannot be open via X-10 (only closed). This is the quickest,
short-term solution and should suffice if that's all you need.
To do this, I replaced the outlet that my garage door opener is plugged into with an X-10 wall outlet
(SR227).
I plugged the door opener into the non-controlled (always hot) outlet, and I plugged a universal
module (UM506) into the X-10 controlled
outlet. I set the house/unit code for the outlet to the same
code as the status light described above. I wired the two contacts on the universal module
directly to the two control contacts on the door opener (in parallel with the existing door opener
button on my garage wall).
So, when the garage door opened, not only did it turn on the status light, but
it also turned on the universal module. This effectively enables the ability to close the garage
door via X-10. When the door is closed, the status light is off and the universal module is off.
This setup insures that the garage door cannot be opened via X-10, it can only be closed.
Then I changed my mind and I installed a Code Encryptor
(made by Street Smart Security). This unit
requires 12VDC and it has 3 channels for remote operation. It also comes with a keychain remote with
3 buttons. This unit is not an X-10 device, so it is not possible to use X-10 commands to open or close
my door.
However, even though it is not an X-10 unit, it works very well with my X-10 system. I have
the first channel wired in parallel to the garage door opener terminals, so when I push the first button
on the remote, it opens/closes the door. I have the second channel wired to a powerflash interface
(PF284)
so when I press the second button on my remote, it turns on the lights in my living room. I haven't done
anything with the third channel yet, but I have some ideas.
It should be noted that there are dozens of configurations that you can come up with for controlling
your garage door. You just need to figure out what suits your needs best without sacrificing security.
My Driveway
Like many houses, I have two very nice driveway lamps mounted on the wall on either side of my garage door. The problem
with these lamps is that the wall switch is in the garage and cannot be turned on from anywhere inside the house.
So, I replaced that wall switch with a wall switch dimmer (WS467).
I then installed a Stanley motion detector (4081)
aimed out over the driveway. I did not install the flood lights that you would
normally see with such a motion detector.
When the motion detector senses motion, it sends an X-10 on command, which turns on the driveway lights.
It also turns on a light down here in my office, so when I'm working late at night, I know if there is
someone outside. This motion also brightens my living room lamp to 80% so that there is light waiting
for me when I go up to see who's there.
And of course, my computer also notifies my Nokia cell phone that it has detected motion in the front yard.
The above mentioned Stanley motion sensor also sends separate X10 signals at dusk and dawn. So I wired up the
lamp post in my front yard to a standard wall switch dimmer (WS467)
in my basement. And when dusk arrives, the lamp post turns on. When the sun rises in the morning, it turns off.
My Master Bedroom
Everything I setup in this room was to make my wife happy, so that she understands the benefits of automation
and she allows me to spend a little money. I highly recommend this approach to anyone who has to share
financial resources with a loved one.
We live in Wisconsin, but my wife is from Southern California and she is a big Anaheim Angels fan (as
I have also come to be). At night, she frequently reads or watches TV in bed upstairs, while I work in
my office downstairs. I am able to listen to Angels baseball games on the internet
while I work, which used to make her jealous.
So I installed a speaker system throughout the house (see below). I put standard RCA jacks on the wall in the bedroom.
This allows me to plug in a pair of computer speakers which have their own volume and on/off controls.
I plugged the speaker power into an X-10 appliance module (AM466). I also plugged a dresser lamp into
an X-10 lamp module (LM465).
I gave my wife a keychain remote (KC674) which she uses to control the
lamp and the speakers from the bed. So now, when her TV show is in a commercial, she can flip on the speakers to
listen to her hometown baseball broadcast, instead of just checking the score from CNN Headline News.
This setup went over big and I scored lots of points as a result.
My Speaker System
I wanted to be able to play music from a single source, and be able to listen to it from various
locations throughout the house. So, I bought the HTS6 Speaker Switcher, made by HomeTech of San
Clemente, CA (888-HA-INSTALL). This unit controls up to six pairs of speakers.
I ran a cable from my stereo output jack to the input on the HTS6. And I installed 5 pairs of
speakers around my house.
To get my computer to play through the stereo system, I ran a stereo
cable from my computer's sound card speaker jack to the auxilliary in jack on my stereo. So, when
I flip a switch on my stereo, it plays whatever sound is coming from my computer. This is how I
can listen to the Anaheim Angels games as explained above. And as you can gather, since you can
listen to hundreds of radio stations on the internet, I now have the ability to listen to them
all from anywhere in the house.
For the speakers, I have a pair installed in the ceiling in my kitchen; those were there when I bought
the house. I also installed a pair of 6" round all weather speakers (Radio Shack #40-1371)
in the ceiling of the front porch; this is great for playing
spooky music for Halloween! And I installed a pair under the soffet over my backyard patio. I had
planned to install ceiling speakers in my master bedroom also. However, as mentioned above, I decided
to install RCA jacks in the wall instead. This allows me to plug in a pair of computer speakers which
have their own power. The ones I'm using are 85 watt speakers made by Agusher Amedia (apparently
some off brand). I bought them at a computer swap meet. And since they have their own power, I
plugged them into an X-10 appliance module
(AM466).
For all of the speaker wiring, I ran 16 gauge 4 conductor cable that is CL3 rated for in-wall use.
And of course all connections are neatly soldered (well, as neat as I could get it). When figuring
out a budget for such a system, don't forget to include good cable. The right cable will insure an
easy installation, and it will insure that you don't have problems down the road.
My Basement
When we moved into this house in the summer of 1997, it was our kids' first experience with a basement.
They quickly discovered how they could come upstairs, turn the basement light off and shut the door
behind them while their siblings were still down there. This practice often triggered civil unrest
in the Crevier house. So I installed a motion detector on the lights down there. Now it's impossible
to turn off the lights while someone is still playing in the basement. And love flourished once again
at the Crevier home.
Future Plans
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Install motion sensors in all three bathrooms because my kids are always leaving the lights on.
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Install coded transmitters in my cars so that the garage door will open automatically only when
one of my cars drives up.
Vendors
I purchased all of my X-10 hardware from
X10 (USA),
Home Automation Systems and
Home Controls.
There are enough vendors out there that you can shop around a bit and just pick the
best deal. When I order by phone from X-10 (USA), I don't pay any sales tax, and they ship via
UPS ground for free. However, it seems to take them a few days to get the stuff shipped.
On the other hand, both Home Automation Systems and Home Controls charge for shipping, but they have
always shipped on the same day that I placed my order.
The prices among the companies are pretty competitive. Home Automation Systems and Home Controls have products from
various manufacturers (where X-10 does not). This allows them to provide more options and offer better pricing.
However, X-10 seems to have the best specials (lots of free stuff when you buy other stuff).
Just make a list of what you need today, then shop around and get it from whoever offers the best deal today.
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