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[spam4us]

Hello everyone,

Looking to get some WS13As to control some outdoor floodlights (either CFL or LEDs).  I have some questions.

Will I need to have an  incadecent bulb in the circuit to prevent the CFL or LED bulbs from flickering or glowing dim?

Is there any problems with the WS13A not responding to on/off commands because of line noise generated by the CFL/LEDs?

If there is are line noise problems, what are the solutions to get the WS13A working as it should?

Thanks

[Brian H]

The WS13A/XPS3 has a very small sensing current on it output. So it can determine if it is On or Off. It does not have Local Control Sensing.
I doubt the very small On Off sensing current will be enough to cause flicker or pulsing.
No incandescent load on the output should be needed.

No one can say for sure you would not have an issue with certain bulbs as each may have different characteristics.

Leviton use to make a small 5 amp wired in filter. You could put between the X10 modules Load output and the load itself. Unfortunately it was discontinued but I believe some may still be floating around.

I tried a spare XPS3 on my test stand. With a few LED bulbs none pulsed or flickered. I also tried a CFL spot light bulbs and it also seemed to be OK.

[spam4us]

Brian H.  Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

Do you know if the sensing current is the same as what's on the WS467?  Is there a current that is always going thru the bulb (an incadecent) even when the WS13A if turned off?

The reason I'm asking is that I currently have halogen floodlights that are constantly burning out.  I've checked and rechecked everything and I'm unable to resolve this.  The halogens are currently hooked up to WS467s and I'm thinking that maybe the current going thru the bulb may be contributing somewhat to the premature failure.  I know it's a long stretch but like I said everything else I've checked(connections, voltage, grounds, neutrals, etc.)

So I was thinking about getting the WS13A and trying them.  Also I will be replacing the halogen over a period of time with some other type of floodlight(LED or CFL).

Thanks

[Brian H]

I did a few tests.
Standard incandescent 40 watt light bulb load
X10Pro XPS3 {X10 WS13A}, WS467 and a WS12A.

Since the WS12A and WS467 steal power through the load. The current is much higher than the XPS3.
About 100 times more off current, with a WS12A or WS467.

XPS3  0.29 mA AC Off.
WS12A 28.0 mA AC Off.
WS467 29.1 mA AC Off.

One thing that may effect your bulbs with a WS467 or WS12A. Both have a voltage drop across them. So your bulbs are running
on a lower voltage. Also the dimmer is also having to turn the power on every AC cycle to the bulbs.

The WS13A or XPS3 do need a Neutral Power connection. So you may want to verify. The location you want to use has a Neutral.

[spam4us]

Brian H,

Thanks for all the work you've done to help me. You went above and beyond any answer I could have hoped for. Much appreciated.

I do have the neutral connections.  As I mentioned previously, there nothing else I can think of to eliminate the bulbs burning out other than replacing the fixtures with either LED or CFL. So since I'm going this way I will also replace the WS467s with the WS13As.

Thanks again for your help.  

[bkenobi]

Is the inline Leviton filter you referred to model 6289 and compatible with the X10 XPNR?  I have a couple fluorescent lights on a X10 3-way switch that works from local control but not remotely.  It's not a big problem since I don't use remote control for the lights, but if a cheap filter in the box would work, then I'll do that.

[JeffVolp]

The Leviton 6289 and XPNR are identical bandpass filters that attenuate noise outside 120KHz.  They can't attenuate near 120KHz because that would kill the X10 signal too.  If the noise source is near 120KHz, the 6289 is not too effective.

A better choice is the Leviton 6287 in-line filter between the switch and the fluorescent lights.  I installed them in our own home for all lighting circuits that might have CFL (and now LED) lights.  The 6287 is essentially a mini version of the X10 XPF, and will squeeze behind the X10 switches in a deep electrical box.

The 6287 has been out of production for awhile, and is hard to find.  (We have some if you can't pick up one on eBay.)

Jeff