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.

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"Lamp" module question (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by Retro2Neo@alien.top to c/homeautomation@selfhosted.forum

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I'm looking to see if what I remember is correct and, if so, if there is a modern version of it.

Here is the background. Back when I was younger, in the 80's, my dad had his townhouse rigged up with an X.10 system complete with a little controller that you can see things on a TV. Back then there were "lamp" modules and "appliance" modules, etc.

Here is what I think I remember and what I'm looking for. For the "lamp" modules, they had a feature that if you didn't want to use the X.10 controls, you could simple turn the lamp off and back on again ( perhaps multiple times) and the "lamp" module would detect, I assume, the drop and then increase in load and turn the relay in the module on. I assume it did this by letting a trickle through that it could monitor.

If I AM remembering that correctly, anyone know of a smartplug that has a similar feature?

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[–] rsachs57@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I don't think you'll find one these days. The problem is the trickle current is enough to make some LED's glow dimly all the time since they use so little current. I use an Insteon system in my house and when I used an older dimming lighting module with that feature to try to run my LED Christmas lights they would always stay dimly lit even when switched off.