Putting Your Whole House on Auto Pilot

Someday, goes the fantasy, everything in your house will be smart. The refrigerator will have sensors to warn you that you’re low on milk. The washing machine will send a message to the TV letting you know it’s time to move clothes to the dryer. Your heating and cooling system will use motion detectors to determine if anyone is home--and, if so, adjust itself based on an electronic weather report.

That day is a ways off and, frankly, I’m not sure when and if it will ever come. But elements of the “smart house” have been with us for a while. For years, most of my neighbors have had motion detectors that turn on porch lights when someone walks by. Automated sprinkler systems have been around for decades. Even my parents had timers that turned lights on and off.

Now things are getting more sophisticated. There are a variety of means for automatically controlling lights and appliances.

The X-10 PowerHouse system, available at electronics stores, enables you to control lights and electrical appliances anywhere on your property. It works with or without a computer. Each device that’s connected to X-10 has its own receiver, which can be a special light switch that replaces the switch you normally use or a small device you plug into a standard outlet.

You can control the devices from your PC or Mac, or you can use a simple timer or one of several types of remote devices--including a wireless controller that you can attach to your key chain. X-10 USA of Closter, N.J., (https://www.x10.com/) developed the system, but compatible products are available from Radio Shack, Leviton and Stanley. Prices vary depending on what type of device or controller you purchase.

I’ve been using these devices for years to turn lights on in the early evening, dim them and turn them off after bedtime. I’ve used them to control radios, coffee pots, Christmas tree lights and computer peripherals. Units are available to control thermostats or turn on the spa heater from inside the house or by telephone.

X-10 devices can also be used as part of a home security system. X-10 USA and other companies make a variety of motion detectors and other sensors that not only set off alarms or call the police, but send signals to other X-10 devices to turn on lights, TV and other distractions. X-10 doesn’t require any special wiring. It works by sending signals through your home’s regular electrical wires using what is called power line carrier, or PLC. Optional wireless transmitters emit radio frequencies or infrared signals that trigger a controller plugged into the wall.

The devices work pretty reliably in most houses, though some homes might require a special bridge if there are multiple circuits or panels.

X-10 USA also manufactures computer controllers that plug into the serial port of PCs and Macs. The basic device (CP290) costs $49.95 and can be used to turn appliances on and off and dim lights based on whatever you pre-programmed at the computer. The more advanced system ($109.95), called the Active Home Automation System, can not only take pre-programmed instructions, but also accept remote commands.

A single command sent from any X-10 controller to this device could trigger an entire series of events such as turning on all the lights upstairs and in the backyard.

Home Automation Systems ([800] 762-7846), publishes a free, comprehensive catalog with a wide variety of home automation devices--including its own Plato System, which is a sophisticated computer controller that sends and receives X-10 commands.

It can, for example, be programmed to trigger a series of events under varying circumstances. If someone trips a remote burglar sensor, for example, it might turn on the TV, lights or radios.

You program the device with your PC (it comes with Windows software), but it can send, receive and interpret signals even while the PC is off.

Jealous of Captain Picard’s ability to control star ship Enterprise via voice commands? The “Hal2000” controller (available from Home Automation Systems) lets you control X-10 devices by voice. You can say, “Turn on the living room lights every Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m.” However, this one requires that you pick up the phone and press # to issue a command.

CyberHouse ([800] 527-2853) is a Westborough, Mass., company that develops Windows 95 software to interface with X-10 devices, thermostats, home security systems and other computer-controllable devices. The software works with the Internet and the phone system to allow homeowners to “rendezvous” with their houses from anywhere in the world.

If the security system senses an intruder, for example, the system can trigger an inexpensive PC camera to take a picture, digitize it and send it to you and the police via e-mail. The company is working on software that will allow consumers to set up Web sites they can use to control electrical appliances from any Web browser.

The software costs $199, but for $29.95 you can purchase a book (“The Household Web”) that comes with a trial version. Although X-10 is something of a de facto standard, there are other methods to transmit data throughout the home. CEBus (Consumer Electronics Bus) has been proposed by the Electronics Industry Assn. to support a variety of transmission methods--including power line carrier, coaxial cable, twisted pair wiring and infrared--to transmit data to appliances.

A Web page with links to information sources on home automation resources can be found at https://www.larrysworld.com/smarthouse.htm

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Lawrence J. Magid can be reached via e-mail at magid@latimes.com. His World Wide Web page is at https://www.larrysworld.com