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[buckomac]

hello, i am new to this forum but have been using a simple X-10 system for years with a few bugs but now it is driving me crazy.
the system has 4 switch modules on different outdoor floodlights and is controlled by the 4 on/off switches in one module.
there are 5 of these on/off modules around the house for convenient control of the exterior lights.
we recently installed solar panels and the utility put in a smart meter.
the solar installers also put in a control panel to interface the panels with my house wiring.
now the exterior flood lights activate at various times of the day.
they will easy shut off but i sometimes come home and they are on - don't know if they have been on for 5 minutes or 5 hours.
kind of defeats the reason for putting in solar.
i think the solar system/smart meter is the problem so these 20 amp filters i have seen don't seem to be the answer.
any ideas would be appreciated.
thanks.
mac.

[Brian H]

Your theory on the Smart Meter and Solar Panel Controller is a sound one.

There where some model Smart Meters that sent signals back on the power lines to the power company. Some where known to cause a random On load with X10 modules.

Some Solar Panel controls may also cause issues.

There are some thread here on both Smart Meters and Solar Panel Controls.

I believe JV Digital Engineering discontinued their Smart Meter noise blocker.

I have not seen any information on the X10Pro PZZ01 Noise Blocker working or not working.
http://www.authinx.com/manuals/X10/PZZ01.pdf

[buckomac]

before adding a filter i am curious if any of the module settings have been found to be more or less effected by interference than others.
i only have 4 receivers and have tried different addresses with varying degrees of success but wonder if the high numbers or certain letters would be better to use.

[Brian H]

I am not sure if anyone has found some X10 addresses better than others.
I found a few threads here on Smart Meters and X10. There maybe others as I did a short search.
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=22508.0
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=26056.0

Also depending on the systems in use. What filter to use or if it would help. May have to be determined.

[toasterking]

i only have 4 receivers and have tried different addresses with varying degrees of success but wonder if the high numbers or certain letters would be better to use.

I was part of a discussion in another thread in which we determined, at least theoretically, that the house codes most easily triggered by random noise are J and M, with J being more likely. Although even that is unlikely, it is in my opinion even less critical to avoid specific unit codes as they are always directly preceded by the house code sequence in the protocol and the entire sequence has to be valid for the unit code to be accepted.

Here is the thread in which that was discussed. It started out as an RF-only discussion and branched out.
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=29164.msg163750#msg163750

[dhouston]

If your solar system sends any excess power to the grid (i.e. your electric utility company) we can probably rule out problems with the 60Hz waveform as there are rather stringent rules governing that. So far, we have seen no documented issues with solar power and X10.

There were documented problems with Echelon Smart Meters used in one Duke Energy region in suburban Cincinnati. I don't recall any proven problems with other meters or even with the Echelon meters in other regions (e.g. I live in Northern Kentucky about halfway between downtown Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati International Airport and my Duke Energy supplied Echelon meter has not caused me any X10 problems.)

Details on your X10 hardware might prove helpful. Also, what solar company? What electric utility? What Smart Meter?