Internet Control

[mydigitalhome]

If you client has broadband set up using RAKO from a Internet Browser it is really easy and more important it is reliable far better than X10. You can get cheap products from USA or from B&Q but I would not want the risk of having to return to my client every 5 mins to sort problems out. Any RAKO product and a RS232 port connected into a PC will do the job. Obviously that PC would need to be left on all the time. Most modern PC's motherboards can be set to auto restart if there is a power cut so function is always maintained. Who knows your client may like the idea of controlling other stuff later with the possibility of more work.

Do it once, do it right.

 

[Zimmer]

Do it once, do it right.

Absolutely, and agree totally, that means staying far away from X10. Total junk, I should know, spent plenty on it in the good old days. The modules are unreliable and the operation even more so.

 

[Andyfm]

Siemens were in the process of bringing out a system that could be net or phone operated, but had problems getting getting BT approval for connection to their networks, this was about 18 months ago - I dont know if they`ve sorted this problem yet, so it might be worth a look

 

[ToolGuy]

Interesting to hear the comments about X10, I've just read about it occasionally for past 15 years or so but never used it. Have talked in the past to some computer guys who control all sorts of things with it seemingly without problems.

 

[Zimmer]

Interesting to hear the comments about X10, I've just read about it occasionally for past 15 years or so but never used it. Have talked in the past to some computer guys who control all sorts of things with it seemingly without problems.

Yes you can control all sorts of things with it, and usually it works, but nowadays "usually" is not good enough. It was a "fun" domestic system, which could amaze the neighbours, but could you 100% guarantee that it would work every time - NO.
One of it's main issues is there is no feedback from the X10 modules, so you press the "ON" button and the only way you can be 100% certain that your appliance switched "ON" is to go look, which kinda defeats the purpose.
e.g last time I played with X10, it would work fine as long as my macbook psu wasn't plugged in and yeah I know fitting filters could fix that etc. etc. but I stand by my original comments that X10 is a bygone unreliable system.
There is a similar type of arrangement using rf, which had feedback called Zwave
Z-Wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
haven't used it myself, but it looks like it has adressed some of X10's failings.