This will be the first post in what I hope to make a series about using mControl to automate your home, control your thermostat, control your lighting, secure your home, and more.  Home automation and lighting control is a very in-depth subject, so I’ve found it difficult to group everything into these posts.  Choosing a lighting control or home automation system is not an easy task and several variable play into the technology purchasing decision.  If you are interested, I’d highly recommend checking out other website and forums to get a more in-depth understanding.  I’m trying to write to the largest audience and thus I’m leaving some parts out of the posts.  Having said that, lets get starting with choosing lighting control and home automation technologies.

Several of you have asked questions, and while some are addressed in here I will address others at a later date.

X10

X10 is the oldest home automation technology out there, but it still works depending on your setup.  X10 is a power line carrier (PLC) technology, and thus sends commands over your existing power lines.  The advantages are simple, lots of modules that cost next to nothing.  Downsides exist with that however, mainly in reliability because of noise in the power lines and older crappy modules.  At this point it most likely isn’t a good idea to build your whole install around X10, but it still can be useful for inexpensive RF-based control options.  X10 modules go for $5 and up on eBay (which is actually one of the best places to buy).  The amount of different modules also exceeds most other technologies, with RF remotes and motion sensors being key.

Z-Wave

Z-Wave relies on RF-based communication without using power lines.  Every Z-Wave modules acts as an RF Repeater, so the more modules the stronger the communication within your home will be.  Z-Wave modules can respond faster than X10 modules because of the use of RF-based communication.  Z-Wave lighting modules start at around $40 and go up from there.  Z-Wave has gained the backing of several larger tech companies including Intel, Monster Cable, Logitech, and more.  The number of modules is increasing, but many of them are also costly.  The average module cost is around $60/each.

INSTEON

INSTEON is backwards compatible with X10, making it attractive for those who have existing X10 installs or want to easily take advantage of other X10 control solutions.  INSTEON uses power line communication, along with RF to bridge power phases.  Every device acts as a repeater making the network stronger as you add more devices (like Z-Wave).  Until recently, INSTEON offered a lower cost line of modules (ICON) starting at about $20.  These have been discontinued for the most part and now the base prices starts at about $40 per lighting module.  Newer modules are finally starting to arrive using INSTEON, but again they costly starting at $80 and up.  These include IR control, irrigation, and more.  INSTEON requires a neutral wire.

Others (RadioRA, UPB, Zigbee)

Lutron RadioRA and UPB are two other technologies that you might want to look into.  The reason I’m not covering them in-depth here is because of the module cost and the lack of mControl support.  I know the majority of readers here are interested in lower cost solutions, RadioRA and UPB are most likely the most reliable; however that comes with a price.  UPB lighting modules start at $90+ and RadioRA starts at $140+ per lighting module and goes up significantly for other control options.  Some have asked about Zigbee, and for the most part this it is used by higher end products from the likes of Crestron, AMX, and Control4.

Which should you pick?

The age old question for lighting control and home automation is which standard to choose? Unfortunately, there is no single answer.  Each of the above offers advantages but of course there are disadvantages as well.

I chose INSTEON a year ago when modules started around $20 as price was my main consideration.  I’ve had a great experience with INSTEON and have added various other INSTEON and X10 modules to my setup.  Likewise, Z-Wave is a great choice and basically required if you have an older home without neutral wires.

Personally, I’d say it is a toss up between Z-Wave and INSTEON at this point.  Both have matured and both can offer great functionality with or without mControl.

One great advantage of mControl is that it can control all of the above from within a single install.  All you need to do here is have a PC-based controller connected for each standard.  Since INSTEON and X10 are backwards compatible, all INSTEON controllers also handle X10.  If you want all three standards to work concurrently, just pickup an INSTEON controller and a Z-Wave controller and you are good to go.

None of the above are perfect, and I will say DIY home automation might still be at the point where you are going to have to play with it to get it right (same as HTPCs), or rather exactly how you want it to be.  If you’re interested in a rock hard system that you never touch, I’d highly recommend going the route of a custom installer.  That said, I don’t want to paint the picture that these technologies don’t work.  I use INSTEON and X10 in a very small setup and have no issues other than my breaking stuff on my own.

It’s not just about the PC

I think one common mistake people make is thinking that control should be limited to your PC.  The greatest advantage of lighting control to me is the various types of control form factors that you can have.  For example, mControl is a great control interface in rooms that you use Media Center/Media Center Extenders.  However, you might not always want to turn on your display in order to turn off a light in the room.  Depending on which standard you choose there are various other control options including RF/IR remotes and tabletop controllers.  If we can ever get some shipping Sideshow devices, mControl will have this angle covered too.  Bottom line; don’t forget to consider other switches, tabletop controllers, and remotes as a part of your decision.

mControl also has a mobile interface so it is simple to integrate your iPhone/iPod touch, SmartPhone, Tablet PC, touchpanel, etc.

Adding mControl

The next step in your lighting control process is adding mControl for complete Media Center control and macro support.  I’ll have another post on things you can do here, but the first step is always picking the right technology.  The one thing that I see everyone is interested in before starting your projects is seeing how everything wraps up with lighting, security, cameras, etc.  Clearly there is a lot of information here, so it is difficult to try and wrap everything up into a tight package.

If X10/INSTEON is your technology, then one of the best starting points is picking up an INSTEON Starter Kit.  You can either get one with plug-in lamp modules, or in-wall switches.  If Z-Wave is your choice, then you can pick up a Z-Wave Starter Kit too.  These don’t include your PC controller, so for X10 or INSTEON this is the one you want, and for Z-Wave this one.

What Others Say

Ben Drawbaugh has had a few recent posts on lighting control and his INSTEON setup.  DW writes about his X10 setup and not knowing if INSTEON or Z-Wave would be a better choice.  He ends with “as with wireless networking, go with whatever works for you” which kind of sums everything up.

I’d be crazy to say I’m the best source of home automation information, so on your journey to find the perfect system you might want to check out other websites like CocoonTech, AVS Forum, mControl, and SmartHome’s INSTEON forum.