What is X10?
X10 is a communications protocol or "language"
that allows compatible products to talk to each other
by sending signals over the electrical wiring in your
home or office. Most X10 compatible products are well
priced and the fact that communication signals are
sent over your existing electrical cabling means that
no costly rewiring is necessary. Installation is simple,
a transmitter plugs (or wires) in at one location
in the home and sends its control signal (on, off,
dim, bright, etc.) to a receiver which plugs (or wires)
into another location in the home. |
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X10 is Simple
Press a Button on the Transmitter and the Signal is Sent
over the Home's Wiring to a Receiver. Using simple dials
or buttons you assign each Receiver with one of up to 256
addresses. If you wish two products to go on and off together
you can set them to the same address. All X10 compatible
products can be freely mixed and matched.
X10 Advantages
It is estimated that X10 compatible products can be found
in over 15 million homes across the world. This is because
it has so many advantages over other types of remote control
products and systems:
- Inexpensive
- No new wiring is required - perfect for retrofit
- Simple to install
- 100's of compatible products
- Control up to 256 lights and appliances
X10 is also time proven - it has been around for over 20
years. Envious Technology is Australia's largest online
retailer of X10 compatible products. Our experts can recommend
the right products for your needs and walk you through installation
should you need help. Visit our contact
us section for details on how to obtain assistance.
X10 - Making it Trouble-Free
An X10 installation will normally work very reliably.
Due to the fact that the X10 system operates over your home's
electrical wiring network, the following situations could
possibly affect the system.
The first is when there is an appliance running that generates
"noise" onto the powerline. Appliances that may
cause problems are motors (e.g. dryer, treadmill, vacuum
cleaner, etc.) and advanced electronics (e.g. switching
power supplies on some laptops, some big screen TV's, etc.).
The good news is that all you need to do is plug the appliance
into a noise filter such as our FM10 plug-in noise filter.
The second issue that occasionally arises with X10 is if
you have 3-phase power. If you have 3-phase power some of
the circuits in your home are on different phases, and there
is no wiring between the phases. Therefore if your X10 transmitter
is on one phase of your home's electrical wiring and the
receiver is on the other phase then the signal can not make
it to its destination. Often 3-phase homes don't have any
problem as the 3-phases are only used for a larger air-conditioning
system and the circuits in the home share a single phase.
If you do have 3-phase power and the circuits are spread
over more than one phase then a 3-phase coupler will be
required (see our CR244 3-phase repeater).
X10 Module types
Our Home Control category is where most of our X10 products
can be found. This has been divided into different sections,
representing the different types of X10 modules. The most
important categories are listed below:
Transmitters: Transmitters send a specially coded
low-voltage signal that is super-imposed over the 240 Volts
on the home's electrical wires. A transmitter is usually
capable of sending up to 256 different addresses on the
AC line. Multiple transmitters can send signals to the same
module.
Receivers: Receiver Modules receive the special
signals sent by the transmitters. Once a matching signal
comes in, the device responds and turns ON or OFF, dims
or brightens a connected load. Receivers generally have
"code dials" that are adjusted by the user to
set the address. Multiple devices with the same address
can co-exist in the same home - they will turn on/off together.
Interfaces: These devices both send and receive X10
signals. Like regular receivers and transmitters, they can
communicate on all 256 addresses. Interface products are
helpful for status reporting and triggering other receivers
to turn on, off or even run a macro event (a multi-step
event run by a programmable controller).
RF Devices: These products add the convenience
of a radio frequency link (e.g. signals which travel through
the air) to X10 products. Popular products in this class
include wireless hand-held remote controls and wireless
motion detectors. An RF Interface is required to catch the
radio signal from the wireless unit and puts the X10 signal
onto the line (just like a garage door remote activates
the opener). The TM13 RF Interface is popular, which is
a DIY plug-in unit with an antenna.
Troubleshooting X10/A10 systems
For more information on X10 including troubleshooting techniques,
click here
to view our troubleshooting guide.
View our X10 products
Click here
to visit our X10 Home Control category
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