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Topic:
X10 -vs- Lutron
This thread has 12 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Monday November 7, 2005 at 11:11
Timbre
Long Time Member
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June 2004
49
I am getting ready to remodel one whole level in my house and am a newbie on lighting choices. What are the differences between x-10 and just using lutron dimmers. Which is better? Which is easier to install with existing wiring + new wiring?

I will be using a TSU3000 to control the lighting other than wall switches.


thanks
timbre
Post 2 made on Monday November 7, 2005 at 15:47
Bill E.
Founding Member
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July 2001
947
X10 is better of course, but then Lutron makes dimmers from $20 to $300+, so I guess it's what you need out of your dimmer. X10 can work with your TSU3000 as will Lutron Spacer, but with Spacer you need line of site X10 can control anywhere you have power.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com
OP | Post 3 made on Tuesday November 8, 2005 at 09:51
Timbre
Long Time Member
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June 2004
49
Ok. If I can then I would like to describe what I want to do and get suggestions as to what I need to buy to make it happen.

At this point I am planning on remodeling one of the rooms in my house for multiple purposes. The room is 20' x 45' and will have three distinct areas. On one end I plan on having my home theatre set up, but out of sight for most of the time. That area will also have the fireplace in the room. I will have wall sconces, can lights in the ceiling, and some accent lighting over the fireplace. I want to control this portion with the Pronto and be able to create different lighting scenes from the remote and also possibly from the switches on the wall.

The center section will contain the bar and that's about it. Can lights in the ceiling, wall sconces for accent, and accent lights over the bar.

The third area will be just a general purpose area. It can be used for whatever is going on at the moment. Again can lights in the ceiling and wall sconces.

The 2nd & 3rd areas don't necessarly need to be able to be controlled by the Pronto if that pushes the cost to high. Those areas can be on wall dimmers only.

If anyone can give me a basic shopping list on what I possibly need it would be great. I would possibly like to eventually automate more of the house in the future.

thanks in advance.

timbre
Post 4 made on Tuesday November 8, 2005 at 19:04
Bill E.
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
July 2001
947
Why don't you email me with a list of switched loads you want to control, for example switch 1, (4) can lights 260 watts, 120V incandescent. With a list of what needs to be controlled it's fairly easy to get what you need to control it.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com
Post 5 made on Thursday November 10, 2005 at 12:01
zfc6e
Lurking Member
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August 2005
3
Hi Bill,
I need help too. Basement HT room. Switch 1, 6 can lights with 360 ws, swithch 2, 4 sconces 200 ws. What's you recommendation? I wnat to remote control both of them. Thanks a lot
Post 6 made on Thursday November 10, 2005 at 14:52
Bill E.
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
July 2001
947
Here an excerpt from what I recomended to Timbre, which would apply in your case also.

Basic Equipment

Coupler repeater;
[Link: homeautomationnet.com] needed for
reliable X10 operation, get one very soon as they are almost gone and when
they are gone you will be paying 2 to 4 times this to do the same thing.

IR to X10; [Link: homeautomationnet.com]
Needed as interface between Remote and X10

Controller; [Link: homeautomationnet.com]
Needed to program switches and scenes (light levels)

For lighting I would use (2) switchlics
[Link: homeautomationnet.com]

Timbre wrote back and asked if cost was less of a consideration. I told him I would chose a ACT CR234 Coupler repeater and go with PCS switches. You will still need a controller to program the switchs but you could use a PHC02 insted of the 4071 which is only really needed with the linc products.

Hope this helps.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com
Post 7 made on Thursday February 9, 2006 at 11:28
Topher5000
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2005
71
I want to control 3 sets of pot lights with 3 dimmers, 1 set of 2 at the front of my HT, another set of 2 in the middle & a set of 3 at the back. I'd like to set up at least 2 different lighting scenes depending on whether I'm watching TV or a movie.
I have 3 dimmers, & have the IR543 on order. Do I need the 4071 to set the scenes, or should I be good to go with just the IR543?

Thanks.
Post 8 made on Thursday February 9, 2006 at 13:57
erock1
Long Time Member
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Posts:
August 2005
218
Sorry Topher, the IR543 just converts a remote's IR signal to an RF signal that an X-10 components understand. It also acts as a small table top controller for 8 (1-4, 5-8) components,and includes dim & bright and allon, alloff command buttons. Just so you know, it can only be set to 1 house code at a time with the dial.
Post 9 made on Thursday February 9, 2006 at 14:30
Topher5000
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2005
71
Should I have ordered something different than the IR543, or will the 4071 work with it? I have no plans to control anything other than the 3 sets of lights.
Do X-10 components integrate well with Harmony remotes? I have a 659.

Thanks.
Post 10 made on Thursday February 9, 2006 at 16:23
erock1
Long Time Member
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Posts:
August 2005
218
Topher,
I can't answer the harmony remote question, but in order to setup scenes you need a controller other than the IR543. If you don't want to setup scene lighting and just want to turn the light on and off and dim and bright, then the IR543 is OK.
Post 11 made on Friday February 10, 2006 at 12:47
ELA
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
December 2005
238
Topher,
You should be able to got to the logitech site and see if you can add an IR-543 as a device. If you can then it should control your dimmers fine through the IR-543.

If your 659 does support all 16 device codes once setup for the IR-543 then you can make a very crude controller using your 659 and the IR-543. This is very crude and I only suggest it if you are not intending to add any more X10 in the future.

First you setup an X10 controller device (or lamp device) in your 659 that will allow you to send all the device addresses required for setup commands, including device 16. The crude part is that you need to manually rotate the house code wheel on the IR543 to send the different house codes required for scene setup (M,N,O,P if I remember correctly). First you rotate the wheel on the IR543 and then press the device 16 key on your remote for each setup command in order. It is laborious.

I did this with my H880 and it worked fine. I only had two X-10 devices that needed scene programming. If I were to add more I would either buy a X10 controller or the IR-543-AH (all house codes would be another option). The IR-543-AH is much more expensive than the IR-543 however.

Hope that helps,
Regards,
Ela
Ela
Post 12 made on Monday February 13, 2017 at 16:05
Potomac
Lurking Member
Joined:
Posts:
February 2017
1
The fact that there have not been posts for years, makes me fear that I am much behind the times. In my old house, we had an X10 system.
In my new house, I was convinced to get the Lutron which was expensive and, every time I need something, I have to call the vendor, because I don't have the credentials to make changes.

I am now redoing a bathroom. There are so many switches, I would like to have one switch to set the mood.

2 wall sconces with LED bulbs
4 recessed lights with LED bulbs
4 other decorative fixtures LEDs
3 windows that electrically become opaque [Link: glass-apps.com]

Would you suggest some sort of X10 configuration, since this is all in one room?
Any suggestions would be so very welcome.
Thank you.
RLK
Post 13 made on Monday February 20, 2017 at 11:49
sirroundsound
Senior Member
Joined:
Posts:
November 2003
1,097
Not sure which Lutron system you purchased, or how long ago. Lutron has Apps available that would allow you to make changes.
I also am not sure why someone would want two different systems in their home.
Having everything controlled by Lutron should offer better control options as well as consistency in the look and feel of your keypads.
Also not sure where "expensive" comes in as that glass is not cheap either.


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