What do you use to control your holiday lighting?

[TonyNo]

I started with a timer, but, the changing sunset time drove me nuts. My life as an HA junky all started there.

 

[zack]

I have a 1500W photocell on order from an electrical supply shop. It'll be hooked in-line to a programmable timer. Facing southwest, the lights should turn on some time between 4-6PM, the timer overrides and turns off the lights at 1AM.

 

[JohnBullard]

I use X10 (same house / unit code) for all of my outside and inside lighting.

The Ocelot does the turn on at sunset and off at 11:00 PM.

I also use a Sundowner for turn on if the weather creates darkness before the "official" sunset time, and a mini-timer programed for additional on / off times ( offset 5 min from the Ocelot) just in case other X10 activity should be occuring when the Ocelot sends it's commands.

This is my 4th year using this arrangement, and I have 99% reliability.

Also a palmpad if I want them on ealier on the weekends, etc

I also enclose all of the outside appliance modules in plastic bags, in fact all exterior (on the ground or exposed to weather) electical connections are in plastic bags.

 

[Mark S.]

X-10 via Stargate is much better than my first automation attempt over ten years ago - The Clapper. Sing it! Clap On... Clap Off... Clap On, Clap Off, The Clapper.

Mark

 

[JohnBullard]

A link to a few pics of some of my outside lighting. I use several hundred feet of rope lighting, most of it changing between red and green in the same rope light


http://bullard.photosite.com/Xmas2004/

 

[Treetop]

And the "Geek" award goes to.....

I have a 1500W photocell on order from an electrical supply shop. It'll be hooked in-line to a programmable timer. Facing southwest, the lights should turn on some time between 4-6PM, the timer overrides and turns off the lights at 1AM.

I better see a "how-to" zack!

0 geek points for me then

In highschool...this was +250 points
but being that we are not in highschool,

<soup nazi> ZERO points for you! </soup nazi>

The Clapper. Sing it! Clap On... Clap Off... Clap On, Clap Off, The Clapper.

LOLol... Cheers mate... that "tune" is gonna be stuck in my head for days now!

 

[zack]

I hope this is an acceptable [How-To]...

BTW.. for a small fee and maybe a nuclear substation in my front yard, I'd be willing to spell out "COCOONTECH" bright enough for the space station to see.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Who is going to get THIS to get true "Geek" holiday status?

 

[JohnBullard]

BSR, I've got it!! Pretty good price on the Smarthome page. Mine was $99.00
It works so so. Not as good as the advertising pictures seem to show.


I've figured out how to use X10 to animate outdoor displays, without flooding the powerlines! (will possibly do this next year)

My backup generator is electronic regulated on the output. Very voltage and freq stable. Could use it with a CM11A with a simple macro, or with an Ocelot for more advanced control.

The generator will provide an independent isolated from the house power source.
Besides, the generator needs more exercise!!!!

 

[electron]

I hope this is an acceptable [How-To]...




BTW.. for a small fee and maybe a nuclear substation in my front yard, I'd be willing to spell out "COCOONTECH" bright enough for the space station to see.

That looks great! You forgot to hook up your Christmas tree tho

 

[Treetop]

10

Finally, a How-to that I can understand! :blink:

Classic Zack!

 

[Rupp]

I am impressed. How long did it take you to do that drawing Zack? Where does one gather such artistic skills? I would have had to draw it on a napkin and scan it. Remember those ... scanners :blink:

 

[jlehnert]

Bonus points if anybody actually does sequencing of a display via X-10 or Z-wave or UPB. With X-10 you would flood the powerline pretty easy, but I bet Z-wave would be able to do a decent speed light show. anybody?

Been there, done that. Spending Christmas with the parents this year so didn't decorate inside, but last year had sequencing both inside and outside.

The tree inside would sequnce Blue->White->Red&White->Red->Mixed colors->Blue. Total of eight, 100 lamp strings and 4 lamp modules. When changing between colors, they would fade/brighten at 1 minute intervales. An example would be minute 1 (100% Blue), minute 2 (25% Red /75% Blue), minute 3 (50% Red/50% Blue), minute 4 (75% Red/25% Blue), minute 5 (100% Red).

The outside tree did the same thing, but cycled Red->Red/Green->Green->White->Red. I built some homemade multiple extension cords using PVC conduit and wet-run boxes. Each extension has 2 wall switch dimmers, each connected to a receptacle.

The house also has candles in all the windows (lamp modules), and the house, garage, and windows are outlined in red. When the house was built, I had switched outlets placed on the four corners of the house, and the front two corners of the garage. These outlets are controlled by leviton relay switches.