I just received my Harmony 550 and was thinking of making use of those 15 devices that it can handle. Id like it to control the lights. I'd be cool to be in bed and use it to turn the lights off, so i don't need to get out of bed. Maybe a fan controller too. Also, Id like the remote to turn the lights off when I hit "Watch a DVD". That would be so cool. Can I make this happen without dropping my paycheck? Thanks

You will need an IR X10 controller and X10 modules for the lights and fan you want to control. There are obviously more sophisticated systems to do this but this will work well and can be done for well under a hundred bucks.

My whole house runs on this type of system, and with motion sensors and dedicated computer control, I rarely have to touch a light switch.

Can you post links to what you mean? Im not really sure, I looked on google and im not sure what im looking at.

Thanks

Here yugo... although much of this stuff can be found on eBay for less.

http://www.x10.com/automation/automation_modules.html

http://www.x10.com/automation/plugin_controllers.html#infrared_controller

Which one controls a light switch on a wall (well replaces the switch)? I see ones for plus in lamps, but what about ceiling lights?

Might have found it. http://www.x10.com/automation/ws467_s.html Is that it?

If you're new to x10... I should probably offer you an overview. X10 controllers and modules communicate with each other by sending signals through your home's electrical wiring.

Each controller has a house code (a-p).

Each module has the same house code setting, and an address setting (1-16).

Modules can be placed between an outlet and a lamp/appliance, or replace an outlet or a wall switch.

Pressing 1 then "on" on a controller will send a signal to any module set to "1", telling it to turn on. Lamp modules/switches can also dim/brighten, and most controllers have "all lights on" and an "all off" buttons.

There are also RF wireless controllers and motions sensors, as well as usb interfaces that can be controlled by computer software like Indigo (http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/indigo/index.html).

Which one controls a light switch on a wall (well replaces the switch)? I see ones for plus in lamps, but what about ceiling lights?

Might have found it. http://www.x10.com/automation/ws467_s.html Is that it?

Yup... that's one of them. There are many X10 modules built not only by X10 but other folks as well. There are many systems designed to do this sort of thing... X10 is simply the cheapest.

It works well, but can have issues communicating to all devices in a large house, especially when different modules could be across phases on your electrical panel. There are bridges you can put in your panel to help with this, but the newer, more expensive, and robust systems use RF, and each module acts as a repeater in order to be more reliable over large areas.

Wow that sounds pretty cool. And Harmony remotes can actually control these? Interesting.

Wow that sounds pretty cool. And Harmony remotes can actually control these? Interesting.

Most programmable remotes can. In the case of Harmony, you can create a new device as an x10 device. It will be able to send codes the IR controller will recognize, and control up to 16 devices (on, off, dim, brighten, all off, all lights on)

I use Lutron Maestro IR dimmer switches in my bedroom and living room.