Case Study: CM15Pro X-10 controller, Tranquil PC running Windows Home Server and a Squeezebox Duet
The aim of installing the home automation hardware was to both lower the energy bills and have more convenience in day to day living. The Windows Home Server ensured that all the data on the PCs and Laptops was secure and the Squeezebox Duet allowed the CD collection to be put in storage…
Automation Hardware used:
CM15Pro Controller
Plug-in appliance modules
1 way and 2 way micro modules
Plug-in filters
Micro module filters
Micro module amplifier.
4 way remote control
Plug-in wireless module
Plug in power meter
Digital Music Hardware used:
Tranquil T7 PC
Logitech Squeezebox Duet
Energy Saving/Monitoring Hardware used:
Eco-Eye Elite
Automation
Initially the CM15Pro was setup to control a couple of plug in modules attached to table and floor lamps. These contained energy saving bulbs so lamp dimmer modules could not be used.
The CM15Pro was configured using the supplied ActiveHomePro software to turn the modules on at Dusk and turn them off at 23:00h. Channel 1 on the remote control was also configured to turn the modules on and off at will.
After a few days it was decided to change the ‘on’ time to fifteen minutes before dusk, this now brought the lights at a more comfortable light level. More plug-in modules were added along with micro modules placed behind existing light switches.
An additional plug-in wireless receiver and remote control was added to allow the bedrooms to control the lighting.
On one particular mains circuit (a radial not a ring), the X10 signals started failing. After unplugging all the devices on that particular circuit and powering them up one by one it was found that an HP PC base unit and Canon printer were causing the issues. Plug-in filters were connected to those two devices and the X10 signals once again flowed.
After adding more X10 modules to remote parts of the house, again, the signal started to become unreliable to the furthest one. An amplifier module was therefore added close to the consumer unit. This had the effect of doubling the signal strength on the X10 transmission, so now all parts of the house were reachable.
Energy Saving
A few hours were spent with a plug in power meter measuring the standby/off load of every device that was plugged into any socket. This ranged from mobile phone chargers (about 4w) to gas cookers (21w), the hi-fi (50w) and flat screen televisions (only 1w, don’t believe the media hype). After this list had been drawn up, plug in modules were placed on the high consuming devices and a macro created in the CM15Pro to turn all the devices off at 00:00 and back on again at 06:00. This is the sort of energy saving measure that is painless and just happens in the background. If anyone happened to still need anything after midnight, channel two on the remote control was programmed to re-enable i.e. turn on everything that had been turned off.
Alarm Interface
The interface to the intruder alarm has now been installed. Four outputs have been taken from the alarm panel : Alarm, Set/Unset, Chime and Lounge PIR. These go via a small relay board to provide isolation into a TMA4 4 channel X10 micromodule transmitter. An X10 On is sent when the input from the alarm goes high and an off is sent when it returns to low.
The Set/Unset signal triggers the powersaving macros described earlier. So when the alarm is fully set, i.e. the house is unoccupied, all devices that are not needed are powered off. When the alarm is unset, they are powered back on. Again, a simple technique that required no thought from the user will save energy. The Chime input is used to detect when any of the external doors are opened. This will activate the external lights and does away for the need for PIRs which can be a bit hit and miss. The Lounge PIR is used to stop the lights turning off at 23:00 if someone is still up. The macro to turn the lights off keeps checking every five minutes to see if there has been a trigger from the PIR, after fifteen minutes of no activity the lights will be turned off. The Alarm input is also useds to trigger the external lights and implement additional security protocols.
Download
You can download the actual AHX file that runs inside the CM15Pro from here. This will allow you to see how the macros have been implemented.