Home >> Electronics >> Home Automation using X 10

X10 is a remote-control system used for home automation. Its chief benefit is that it requires no additional wiring - it uses the electric power wiring in your house to send control signals. The original X10 system was a digital remote control system that worked by injecting signals into the house power wiring. This technique is called "carrier current" control. The X10 protocol consists of a "unit number" and then a "command". For example, you can say "lamp #3", "turn on!" - and it happens. You can address several units before giving a command: "lamp #3", "lamp#12", "turn on!". These commands are sent between "base stations" (transmitters) and "modules" (receivers). In order to make that lamp a part of the X10 system, you need a "lamp module". This is a plastic box smaller than a pack of cigarettes. You set a dial on the module to "number 3", plug the lamp into the module, then plug the module into the wall outlet. Then you turn the lamp's switch on and leave it on - you never need to touch it again, because the lamp can now be controlled from an X10 control panel anywhere in the house. You can have as many control panels as you want; the only one that is active is the one that you are currently pressing a button. You can also set more than one receiver module to the same unit number; they will all go on and off at once.