Like the majority of my enthusiast brethren, I’ve been remotely controlling lights and appliance using X10 modules that send on/off commands through a homes existing power line since the early ‘80s. The X10 Powerline Carrier protocol was created in the late ‘70s and continues to be the industry’s defacto standard. Over the last 30 some years, the company has developed and sold millions of units, not only under the X10 brand name but also as an Original Equipment Manufacturer for major consumer electronic companies such as IBM, Phillips, Magnavox and Radio Shack. In the mid ‘90s, X10 introduced the first PC-based home control kit called ActiveHome, enabling programmed routines to execute automatically through a serial port interface module plugged into a power outlet. Since then, over one million units have been sold. Much to the delight of these customers, the company has released a much anticipated upgrade kit called ActiveHome Pro, featuring an amazingly functional tiny white whole house transceiver box with built-in RF and a USB connection combined with newly designed control software. Overall, the kit is a hell of an improvement and admittedly superior to the current hybrid system in my home. The challenge for X10 and its Power users such as me is the intermittent interference which once in awhile causes lights and appliances to turn on/off at random. In their defense, sending commands via the power grid is incredibly difficult and often times unpredictable. The good news is that X10 has continued to develop new generations of chips that run their control modules based on extensive testing and customer feedback. They’ve seen the problems and designed hardware to deal with these issues. The company claims that they receive very little feedback concerning interference and that the benefits associated with a typical $12 dollar module far exceeds the average customers’ expectations. There’s even talk of a new X10 protocol to enhance transmission speeds and reduce the possibility of interference. Since my home contains almost every gadget imaginable, I’ve been looking for new ways to spice up the place or put another way “enhance my lifestyle.” A new control software program may just be the ticket. To be fair, there are other companies seeking to provide the ultimate home control system by deploying alternative protocols. HomeControls and SmartHome are just heading in the direction of powerline control that they claim will enable customers to scale systems to their hearts desire without the threat of interference. As you probably already know, CEBus has been successfully modeling home control for years but has yet to produce products due to the harsh power line environment. Inside sources at X10 say they would have never standardized on power line knowing what they know today. ZWave has decided to go wireless. FCC regulations limit the amount of power available to send wireless control transmissions. Therefore, additional modules are needed to repeat signals and push them further toward the modules. In order to control a light near the top of the home, you may literally need a path of modules stretching to the floor.
The major challenge for these competitors is successfully getting products into the market space and achieving the critical mass needed in the form of feedback to determine whether or not they really work. Not only has that, but manufacturers of new products such as cars usually set cheaper priced versus more expensive options for market introductions. In the end, developing a new protocol is definitely progress but the real proof lies in the pudding-- customer adoption. You’ve heard the one about whether or not if a new protocol falls in the woods will anyone care? There’s some hard work ahead for any or all of these companies to break through the trees. In its continuing quest for maximum functionality at affordable prices, X10’s new ActiveHome Pro is a clear winner for the Do-It-Yourself customer. Years of customer feedback has resulted in a system that is technologically sophisticated yet doesn’t require a computer programming degree to operate. The basic concept is simple. If only X10 had coined the term Plug and Play before the 800 pound Gorilla in Redmond. Plug control modules/switches into lights and appliances, assign each one a house/unit code such as A1, and insert the module into a wall outlet/switch box. Boot up the ActiveHome Pro software, and enter the fun and colorful world of X10’s computer based remote home control. From here, the possibilities are virtually endless. The new USB computer interface with built-in RF whole house transceiver can send and receive all 256 house/unit codes and even control X10 cameras. The newly designed software uses drag and drop commands to label, organize and view by room all X10 control modules. Within minutes you can create for example an Evening Lights tab, and then create Macros grouped Inside Lights On and Inside Lights Off. Click on Timers to easily schedule lights and their brightness level based on dusk and dawn, day of week, holidays, etc. Better yet, forget about the timers. Using the built in Lifestyle Mode, the software will automatically record when you turn lights on or off using a controller during a typical 24 hour day. Just download your instructions into the computer interface and turn off your machine. Your timers and routines will operate automatically year round. The well designed, clean
looking transceiver box will also soon be able to monitor X10 home
surveillance cameras, provide remote control via the Internet or cell
phone and even run if/then routines, commonly called conditional Macros.
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