Re: Newbie - controlling lights and creating scenes (Ocelot?)

["hholohan2000" <helen@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Kevin

thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. It's very
informative.

In a nutshell, it seems to me that X10 is a kind-of amateurish,
clunky solution. I was enthusiastic initially but the more research I
do, the more caveats and limitations I find.

I'll look into Clipsal's C-Bus and Polaron. Do you have any other
recommendations at all for a mid-range system to do what I want, even
if a small amount of re-wiring is involved? I don't want to spend the
type of money that would be necessary to have say a Lutron system but
I would like something reliable that works fairly professionally and
looks decent. I can't seem to find anything between cheap-and-
cheerful and high-end expensive luxury.


Thanks again
Helen


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Kevin Hawkins" <lists@u...> wrote:
> Hi Helen -welcome to the list !
>
>
>
>             There are two big issues with X10 - one is the actual
technology
> which is rather long in the tooth now. Whilst it is easy to
retrofit because
> it uses your existing mains wiring it is fairly slow and prone to
being
> unreliable. The second issue is the range of products available in
the UK -
> they are not cosmetically attractive and offer limited
functionality at a
> much higher price than the US (bargain eh !). We have very few two
way
> modules (which allow the status of a device to be read) nor two way
light
> switches for example. The issues you raise below are real issues
that I had
> expected to be resolved years ago by any sensible company wanting
to drive a
> growth market for X10.  Most people who are concerned over the
cosmetics
> have gone for the partial rewiring needed to support X10 DIN rail
modules
> (the ones that mount in your consumer unit) - and these are
functionally a
> lot more capable. There are a few alternative 'higher end' systems
around
> like Clipsal's C-Bus and Polaron but they require a small connector
cable to
> be run between all the switches etc.
>
>             Ian on this list is working on an alternative to X10
that again
> uses the mains wiring for communication but is much faster and
reliable in
> that it supports two way communications (status). However it's a
few months
> off being available yet and may still require some partial rewiring
in your
> scenario.
>
>             Re the scene issues - although X10 is relatively slow
it is not
> unworkable for scenes although the sequential switching is quite
evident -
> some dim sequences can take a few seconds to action  - you can
incorporate
> several modules all set to the same housecode and unit code which
means that
> they will respond together to get around this - in addition some
modules
> support a preset dim command which allows them to be set directly
to a level
> with one command (rather than a sequence of dim/bright commands).
If you do
> use basic devices then there is no way around having to set each
level in
> turn and an Ocelot, HomeVision or whatever will produce the same
result.
> They are both intelligent to the extent that if a device is already
on at
> say 50% and you have to move it to 60% they send the 10% difference
changes
> rather than switching the lamp to full brightness and then dimming
40%.
>
>             Lastly - just a comment - if you do go the route of
some 'micro
> modules' that sit behind sockets then you must ensure that they are
wired in
> a way that complies with regulations and can switch whatever rated
load
> COULD be plugged into the socket. Really if you switch a 13A socket
then you
> should be able to handle 13A+ although fusing at lower currents is
a way
> around this. If you use dimmer modules then change the sockets to
be the
> smaller 3A/5A style commonly used for table lamps - this way no one
can plug
> the vacuum cleaner into your dimmer. You are right to be concerned
with
> accessibility for fuses which blow quite regularly in all the
generally
> available X10 lamp modules - when the bulb goes most times the fuse
does too
> (true of the wall switches too) - this does not ingratiate you with
others
> in the house.
>
>
>
>             Kevin
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: hholohan2000 [mailto:helen@xxxxxxx...]
> Sent: 31 May 2003 10:57
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: [ukha_d] Newbie - controlling lights and creating scenes
(Ocelot?)
>
>
>
> Hi all
>
> Please excuse me for asking what must be a very basic question.
>
> I want to be able to dim/brighten and switch on/off most of the
> lights in my 6 year old home using an X10 system. I've being doing
> lots of research but still can't figure out something which must be
> very simple:
>
> 1) Main room lights
> Some rooms have low-voltage recessed lights in the ceiling and some
> others have basic pendant lights. I want to be able to control all
of
> these without installing ugly X10 dimmer switches. Isn't there a
> dimmable micromodule receiver that I can hide behind existing
> switches?
>
> 2) Plug-in table/standard lamps
> I already have a couple of plug-in lamp modules and these work fine
> to dim/brighten the lights. I've also read about the socket rocket
to
> which the bulb can be plugged in directly. However, isn't there
> something I can put in the wall socket itself to control these
> lights? The lamp modules are fairly big and ugly.
>
> I've read also about intelligent controllers, like the Ocelot,
which
> sound great but if I still have to use clunky lamp modules and have
> no way of controlling the ceiling lights other than by installing
X10
> dimmer switches everywhere then what's the point? I've seen
receivers
> (LM12W) which can be installed at the ceiling rose but they have
> fuses in them which would subsequently be very difficult to get at.
> So, if I get an Ocelot, isn't there a nice neat fairly unintrusive
> way of controlling all my lights from it?
>
> At the end of the day, my goal is to have scene control. Even if I
> get the Ocelot, will I be able to control multiple lights in a
scene
> simultaneously or will there be a delay while each light command is
> sent out sequentially?
>
> Many thanks
> Helen (in Ireland)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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