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If you live in a home that’s more than 20 years old, there’s a very good
chance that you have light switches in odd places, or that you need to cross
a room in order to turn on a light. In my case, I have to walk across a dark
and frighteningly cluttered basement, so I often end up leaving the light on
and wasting energy. If I could automate this light switch so that it turns on
when I enter the room and turns off when I leave it, I would save myself both
money and frustration.
The best way to ease your household into home automation is to start small.
This will build your confidence, and make the other people in your household
more comfortable with the idea of you replacing switches, cutting holes in walls,
and otherwise performing tasks normally done by someone who charges $150
an hour.
Figure 1-1 illustrates the project’s simple design, which includes a motion
detector and a control mechanism. The motion detector is triggered simply
by someone entering the room, and will then send a signal telling the con-
trol mechanism (an intelligent light switch) to turn on. Just as when you
manually flip a light switch, the intelligent light switch will close a circuit
and provide electricity to the light.
Automate a Light
What You Need
• An X10 wall switch
• An X10 motion detector
• Two AAA batteries
• An X10 controller (optional)
• Replacement faceplate (optional) ...