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[MusikerongBundukero]

Hey guys,

Just consider this.. X10 Automation or any Home Automation of some kind is not that widely used in my country.  Now, I am considering the possibility of having this business venture and of course, with that I need some marketing strategies.  One of the things I have in mind is to encourage my prospect customers the advantages.

Certainly I am not yet the right person to make testimonials since I haven't been setting up anything for that matter.  But I'm looking forward to having a "cool" setup at home, that initially was thought to be something only the millionaires can have.  Something very sci-fi-ic (if there's such a word.. ) that can only be attained thru imaginations...

Now, getting to the right track, what are the advantages?  Does it save power? In what way?  The only thing I know is, comfort.  Other than that, nothing else.  Of course, tracking your home miles and miles away is a different story.

Another thing, can someone quantify the "added" power expenses with the devices available?  Like percentage basis...  KNowing the low consumption of solid state devices, I would presume it to be negligible, I hope I'm right.

Okay peers, please help.

Oh, and don't worry, I will really have to try to make my own small house a testing ground for the devices so I can attest things personally.  I just want to have an initial input.  Have a nice day everyone!

[dave w]

  Does it save power?

I don't think so. If anything, the convenience ends up increasing consumption slightly. I have a dozen or so indoor and outside accent lights coming on at dusk that if I had to go around and turn them on individually would be a task I would only put up with for a week. I think most savings come from converting to more efficient lighting devices which isn't really HA. IMHO typical home automation marketing features such as pre heating or cooling the home, (or spa, hot tub, sauna, pool, etc.) prior to arriving home from work, only ends up using more power, not less.

Point: IMO HA does not result in enough of a power savings to use as a market point. It's all convenience and security. $0.02 

[dhouston]

There is a modest savings from the fact that devices can be scheduled for on/off, which reduces the time devices may be left on because someone forgot them. These small savings are probably offset by the phantom power used by switches/modules.

The modules/switches use a small amount of power when off. You can see some that I have measured by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

• http://davehouston.org/x10-sig.htm

[MusikerongBundukero]

Basically there's no powersaving really except that part that you automate due to external factors (day/night, motion sensor, etc) or on a timed mode.  Power saving may not be the best feature but thanks for making me realize it can also be.

The modules/switches use a small amount of power when off. You can see some that I have measured by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

• http://davehouston.org/x10-sig.htm

Thanks, this really helps somehow to quantify.

Thanks for your replies folks.