Home Automation

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Home automation is the residential extension of building automation.

It is automation of the home, housework or household activity.

Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), appliances, security locks of gates and doors and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security.

Warning: Working with electricity can result in injury, property damage, or even death if it is not done properly. Please keep this in mind while assisting others. If you are not sure about what you are doing, hire a licensed professional.

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X10 photocell replacement (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm visiting my parents for thanksgiving and they need a fix for the exterior light at the front door. The desired behavior is on at dusk and off around midnight plus local control with a switch at the door. The catch is they want the switch for local control to be a traditional white toggle switch.

The light is actually wired to the basement, so right now this is implemented with a pair of old Insteon X10 toggle switches (the one in the basement actually controlling the light, the one at the front door signaling it) and a Leviton 6308 X10 photocell outside signaling on and off at dusk. The X10 photocell has gotten flaky (only sometimes turning the light on and rarely turning it off) and of course it's long since discontinued to just replace it.

The exterior lighting in the rear of the house is controlled through a professionally installed Lutron RadioRA2 system, so my immediate suggestion was they get the electrician back to tie the front light into that and put a button pad at the front door, but they want a toggle switch, not a button pad.

Does anyone have suggestions for solutions? The simplest thing would be a new X10 photocell or timer that could just take over control. My overkill solution is putting in something like a home assistant green to do the astronomical timing, sense a smart toggle switch at the door, and control any random smart switch for the actual switching in the basement. Although I don't know what that smart toggle switch would be.

Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hmm, interference is certainly a possibility given all of the different systems going on in this house plus really old wiring. But whatever the source of the problem, I think I need a new solution for them.

I've been poking at this some more myself and am wondering if shelly relays are the answer. Put one at the light to turn it on and off and one at the front door switch as a transmitter. I'm presuming the shelly app (which would be needed for the dusk control) allows one switch to trigger a different relay.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I moved from X10 to Hubitat. I am not sure but I think Hubitat supports shelly directly. Might be an option. You could even replicate the photocell with one of the sensors that includes an ambient light level sensor. Many of the motion sensors have this feature.A couple of rules and you would have it.