House with 2 Breaker Boxes...

[dcpool]

I have the following situation... house is about 5000 sq ft... there are 2 electrical panels one on each side of the house. So basically looks like this:

Meter --> Panel A --> Panel B (Panel B is a subpanel and is not wired directly from the meter)

-----
Connected to Panel A I have:
1 - http://www.smarthome.com/2380w.html
-----
Connected to PANEL B I have:
http://www.smarthome.com/1289.html Which is supposed to function as a coupler/repeater
AND
1 - http://www.smarthome.com/12074w.html
AND
1 - http://www.smarthome.com/2380w.html
=====


I have a: http://www.smarthome.com/1132U.html AND the HCA software for testing and setup. This is my first foray into X-10 and I am just trying to prove out the concept with a few devices before I dive in.

Bottom Line... The signals on devices connected to panel A are NOT getting to panel B and reverse. I have a 220v table saw on panel A which I turned on and to see if this would 'fix' the problem (acting as a second coupler), but nothing changed. I want to know what I need so that signals will be able to course throughout the system... Any help and or advise from others who have delt with this situation is much appreciated.

TIA!
Doug

 

[DavidL]

I have similar situation, but worse (5 subpanels now).
I have this one of my main panels:
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php...0&cat=42&page=1
This thing is so good, the signal goes from main panel, to transformer (outside) back to the other main panel (and the barn's main panel 200 ft away) and then to all the sub panels without a hitch.

Well worth the investment.

You are probably missing a leg somewhere in the chain.

You can even buy two of the above and string low voltage cable between the two which acts as a repeater between two main panels. This is pretty extreme, but you have that option if needed.

Your house is on the larger size for an X10 setup. You need the best coupler / repeater / amplifier which is in the link I provided.

 

[dcpool]

Sounds VERY promising... I did look at the instructions for installing this device [ http://www.smarthome.com/manuals/4821AC.pdf ]and I am not confident how to wire it... I do not know what they mean by:

Power/Signal Phase A AND Signal Phase B

I have installed new circuits in a panel before, but I do not understand this... is there some place I can read to learn more or could someone explain this?

TAI,
Doug

 

[DavidL]

for a typical US house that has 220 volts coming from the utility company to the power panel, there is Phase A (hot) and Phase B (also hot). When a wire is connected to Phase A and the Common (usually White), then you get 110 volts. Phase B and the Common is also 110 volts. Circuit breaker boxes usually alternate every other breaker (goind down / up) of a breaker on Phase A , then Phase B, then A, then B and so on.

So, the X10 signal coupler is attached to a breaker on Phase A and also on a second breaker on Phase B, which is usually two breakers next to each other. A voltmeter connected to these breakers will register 220 volts. If it registers 0 volts - then you both are on the same Phase.

If this doesn't make sense, then, don't take this the wrong way, but hire an electrician to do the install. Of course, the Main power breaker should be shut off when messing with the power panel.

 

[dcpool]

Perfectly clear. Thank you.

 

[huggy59]

I have a similar setup here, exepct that my Panel A is an outside panel from which my internal house panel is fed. My outside panel feeds the outside circuits like the pool pump and light, external AC compressor, etc.

I would put a coupler/repeater in Panel A and shut off that functionality in the water heater unit. That should clean things up for you provided the Panel B is properly connected to Panel A.

 

[dcpool]

Ok, so I did not actually describe it correctly... The system is wired more like this....

Meter on outside ---------------------> Panel A
of House
|
-----------------------------------> Panel B

Panels A and B are not connected (except via the outside 'panel' where the meter is...)

Will the product you mentioned still work DavidL ?? It arrived today but I have not installed it yet.

Thanks
Doug

 

[huggy59]

If it's a single meter outside, it should work ok, but the wire length and meter windings will attenuate a lot of signal from one panel through the meter box to the other panel and out to the other circuits. Put the phase coupler/repeater in the panel that is closest (by wire length) to the meter - that should get it closest to the middle of the wiring runs. Put your PC interface as close (again, by wire length) as possible to the repeater.

In my setup, I have an IBM (relabeled Leviton) repeater in my internal panel. I have no problems with signals going out to the external panel, which is next to the meter box, but it's not quite like your setup. You may want to have an electrician come in to put passive couplers in the non-repeater panel and meter box. That might help.

Using more than one repeater can cause problems if they aren't isolated, because it could possibly get into an inifinite transmit loop (one transmits, the other repeats, the first repeats the second's transmission, and so on).

 

[DavidL]

Can't really tell by the diagram, but here is a pic of mine. All of it is covered with X10. The signal coupler is towards the middle of the mess (by length of wire).

Try it.

 

[dcpool]

I installed and and SURE ENOUGH... works LIKE A CHARM. Thanks for the help!! One more thing, just wondered if you changed the unit from it's default settings, I seem to now get some commands repeating twice, but at this point this does not seem to be a problem.

Thanks again!
Doug

 

[DavidL]

Glad to hear you got it installed and are able to post about it
I don't think I changed the defaults. Don't remember even reading the manual