<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >X10 - Home Automation System</TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="Linux Ecology-HOWTO" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="Using Embedded Linux Boards" HREF="ecology-howto-embedded-boards.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="Uninterruptible Power Supply - UPS" HREF="ecology-howto-ups.html"></HEAD ><BODY CLASS="chapter" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >Linux Ecology-HOWTO</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="ecology-howto-embedded-boards.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" ></TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="ecology-howto-ups.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="chapter" ><H1 ><A NAME="ecology-howto-home-automation" ></A >Chapter 10. X10 - Home Automation System</H1 ><P > "X-10 modules are devices that plug into an electrical outlet and allow you to remotely control the power to a lamp or an appliance that is plugged into them. There are also X-10 modules that install in place of wall switches to control lights, and there's one that can be used to set back a thermostat." </P ><P > These <A HREF="http://www.x10.com" TARGET="_top" >X10</A > folks make a really cool dongle called the Firecracker. These allow for the control of X10 devices via a serial-port of your PC. Programs like <A HREF="http://www.linuxha.com/bottlerocket/" TARGET="_top" ><B CLASS="command" >Bottlerocket</B ></A > and <A HREF="http://www.miscreation.net/projects/gtkx10/" TARGET="_top" ><B CLASS="command" >GtkX10</B ></A > allow Linux programs to control X10 devices using the Firecracker device. You may be able to get the Firecracker, a remote control, a receiver, and a lamp module for as little as $5.95 U.S. (special promotion). </P ><P > <A HREF="http://www.joethielen.com/phantom/home/" TARGET="_top" >GNU Phantom.Home</A > is a computer controlled home automation system. The software includes a circuit diagram for building the Phantom.Home.Controller, a simple circuit board that attaches to your PC's parallel port. Using the combination of hardware/software you can control (i.e. flip on or off) nearly any 120V device. And with a little bit of electronics know-how, you can probably control nearly any device at any voltage by modifying the circuit board to meet your needs. The simple circuit included can be created and built for around $25. The modules cost around $10 (basically a heavy duty relay). </P ><P > More details on this topic are available on the <A HREF="http://www.linuxha.com/" TARGET="_top" > Linux Home Automation</A > website. </P ><P > Turn that light off when not in use! </P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="ecology-howto-embedded-boards.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Home</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="ecology-howto-ups.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >Using Embedded Linux Boards</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" > </TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >Uninterruptible Power Supply - UPS</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >