This is pretty straight up and simple, I use X-10 to control my Halloween and Christmas decorations for 3 main reasons:

• My home automation system is X-10 compatible so its just another simple device to control.
• I’m not doing any complex Halloween automation.
• It’s cheap!

(Information and product descriptions from the X10.com website )

Is this Right for You?

If you want something simple, non-expandable and easy to find in a local store; there are many options this time of year. Look in the Christmas or Halloween departments (if you even have a Halloween department left due to Christmas pushing it out of the way) and you are bound to find a plug-in module and hand held remote package to do the job perfectly.

If you want to haunt like the big boys, best option is a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). Your going to drop some cash here and need to learn how to set it up but for good control over your props you can do no better. I have not used a PLC since collage so when my haunt gets big enough I’ll have some re-learning to bring myself up to date. If you want to see a good site showing a PLC setup for Halloween, I recommend checking out www.plchalloween.com . For now, I just want my decorations to work like the rest of my home, by its self with as little interaction from me as possible.

After the Halloween season is over, I’ll start the other site projects and Home Automation is on the list. Some of this stuff has been around since the 70’s but seems the DIY people are the only ones taking advantage of it.  I think the main reason for this is not knowing what to get or what it can do. If I can shed some light on the subject inspiring anyone to start at least a little home automation, I would say I have done well. So consider this an excuse to get your feet wet in home automation without spending a lot of money. All we want to do is turn the Holiday decorations on and off without fidgeting with all the wires most of us untangle every year.

What's in this Article and What's Not

We will not be going into control of you lights or decorations with your PC here, not yet or not much anyway. Also, we will not be covering cameras or surveillance. This will be covered in the home automation site after the Halloween season is over but the main reason for not going into these aspects is that I am not fond of what X10.com has to offer for these things. Other solutions will be covered later that have worked much better for me and is compatible with hardware found at X10.com . 

What we will be covering is the basic X10.com automation hardware that can likely be reused for further home automation. Most is compatible with other equipment and hardware if you should decide to go further than just turning on the holiday lights.

Keep in mind that X10.com runs specials all the time on different things, the only thing that you can pretty much count on is that any order over $49.99 gets free shipping so if we get close to $40 in purchases, might as well get something extra for around $10 and have it shipped free. The cost will be almost the same either way so it just makes sense to get more for the money. But keep an eye on the specials because they do run some really good deals.

What We Want to Do, an Example

Here is our starting situation. We have holiday lights we would like to control without going outside to unplug them or hitting the switch they are attached to. We want to have more control than just a timer and prefer to turn them on and off ourselves just like the TV.

to accomplish this we will need at least 2 things, a module to plug the lights into that can accept commands from an X-10 remote and the X-10 remote itself.  Unless there are some specials running, we will be best off with a starter kit because you will get more for less. The one below is simple and cheep.

Keychain Remote Control System "While safely sitting in your car, turn on your home?s lights with the simple press of a button on your key chain remote."

A Bit More Flexibility 

the kit above will do what we want at a good price but the smaller remotes have a limited range. Keep that in mind if this is your choice. Here is a good alternative with more flexiability and range.

FireCracker Lighting Control 4 Piece Kit 4-Pack Firecracker Automation System: Control your lights and appliances directly from your PC or wireless remote -- anywhere in your house!

Going for Free Shipping

Nice thing about this kit above is we not only get what we need but also get a dimmable lamp controller. It comes with a computer interface to turn things on and off via the PC as well. This particular computer interface will likely be usable later so play to your hearts content if you like or set it aside for later. The lamp module can turn on, off or dim incandescent lights. If you have a separate set of holiday lights you would like to turn off separately or a light that would be nice to turn on or off after going to bed, this would be perfect. Just keep in mind that dimmable lamp modules will only work properly with incandescent lights. So no florescent lamps, no fans and no motors; they will need to be controlled by an appliance module.

At $40, we could spend another $10 and get free shipping. The Palm Pad remote in the kit will control up to 16 separate devices and the modules below are around $12.99 unless you find some sales. This is up to you but makes sense to get more for your money. You may want to consider another controller so you can turn the lights on and off from more than one location without carrying the palm pad remote everywhere. Personally, I have one table top controller and several Palm Pad remotes including one in each car. (I can get double the range of my garage door opener and I can turn on lights before entering my house as well)

"Appliance Module (2-pin, Polarized)" "Plug-in modules for controlling appliances such as fans, air-conditioners, dehumidifiers, coffee pots, stereos, TV's, etc. Controlled by any X10 programmable, wireless, or telephone controller"

Lamp Module (Dimmable) "Control your lights from across the room or from the other side of the house! And now your lights dim too, even if they didn't normally! Now set the best lighting level for any lamp or light in your house. The Lamp Module works with incandescent lights"

Mini Controller Console (4 button) Control up to 8 lights and appliances located anywhere in your house ? directly from your bedside or by your couch.

X10 Powerline Transceiver Module "The powerful Transceiver Module is the backbone for any Home Automation setup. It allows you to remotely control any household appliance or light that is plugged into an appliance, lamp module, wall switch module or any of our many other lighting and appliances"

"Appliance Module (3-pin, Grounded)" "Plug-in modules for controlling appliances such as fans, air-conditioners, dehumidifiers, coffee pots, stereos, TV's, etc. Controlled by any X10 programmable, wireless, or telephone controller. "

Timers To

If you also want to have a timer, this will allow you to set 4 separate X10 modules to go on and off at set times during the day and you will also have control of those 4 modules manually as well.

Mini-timer with & Home Automation Console "Simply the easiest way to schedule all of your lights, appliances and heating to go on and off at different times! "

Motion Detection

You also have the option of using a battery powered motion sensor shown below to turn on any module. Only real drawback to these is a minimum one minute delay for turning the module it turns no back off again making Halloween prop control less affective without modification.

EagleEye Motion Sensor "Small, sleek and very powerful, the EagleEye Wireless Motion Sensor supercharges any home by removing the need for switches and buttons. Integrate into any X10 system to automate your home! "

Other Kits

If you were wondering why the starter kit below was not recommended, the all in one remote is a big pain to use, I have 2 that just came with the order free but never touch them. The only other remote has poor range but it dose come with a 2-Way PC interface and software. This PC interface works well but the 2 second delay to make things come on is less than ideal for Halloween automation. You can program timers and control devices with your computer using this kit. In my opinion you are better off with one of the other 2 kits above. The choice is up to you but I believe upgrading to a better PC interface/software later and getting a good remote now is more sensible when starting out.  

ActiveHome 6 Piece Home Automation Kit Going away on vacation? Protect your home and make it look lived-in with ActiveHome. Schedule your lighting & appliances from your computer for automated control of your entire home.

Do you want more Information?

So there you have it, two birds with one stone. If you start to use it, you will be addicted to the ability to control more things from most anywhere in your home, including the decorations.

I won’t be covering the setup of these devices now unless requested , its rather simple and support is good. I will go over the setup of these devices along with solutions to common common problems and upgrades to different brand name equipment/software in the automation site when it is up. Keep an eye on the hub site at http://HyperReactor.com for new network site information.

I hope with videos and my experience, you will find home automation can  improve your homes safety, efficiency, and convenience.

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