I’m looking to setup some X10 modules, that I have lying around. Would like suggestions/advice, on which way to go.
Pros & Cons would be very helpfull
Thanks in advance, for any help…
Is there anyone, that is using the X10 Component???
1980’s tech… probably not!
I have a bunch lying around too but only because I haven’t tossed them out. They were prone to spurious line signals and hard to make work reliably across the 2 legs of the electrical panel. I haven’t used them with HA but I wouldn’t waste my time with them. There is a component and you could use them with Insteon but ??
Your timing is a bit odd to me, I honestly thought that you was subscribed to LGR on youtube, but it seems like his video on the X10 system was published 10 days after your post… Clint? 
Anyways, he did a great video on the old X10 Home automation system, I will embed it below.
I think that you should go full retro with it, if you really want to use the X10 system. But you should really want to do it retro, and not mix it up with a lot of new tech IMO.
Regarding a combination with HA and X10, you might have the best luck using scripts to get HA to SSH into your X10 system and execute that way.
I use the mochad component for a few old X-10 sockets. It works fine (or as fine as X-10 ever did).
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I am using some old X10 modules with my setup. I have them working fairly well.
Here is my script I wrote that controls them. It creates a REST interface that Home Assistant can use. I can write more about it if anyone is interested. You need https://github.com/glibersat/python-x10 install for it to work and Redis.
I have been running X10 since 1987, and for the most part, haven’t had any issues. The only issue, that I have, is software only works locally, since X10’s demise. I also have quite a few modules in use at this time.
@Zarthan. Have you installed the X10 Phase Filter, it solved the line noise issue that I had.
@GigabitGuy, That’s the beauty of Home Assistant, you can run Retro, with the latest tech.
@ Froz, I might be picking your brain, in the future…
@t0ny, I will give your script a try…
It sounded like you hadn’t used X10. 20 years ago I thought they were great but it became increasingly frustrating. You obviously understand the issues but I wouldn’t suggest anyone waste money or time that had no experience with them.
@zarthan, I have 7 wall outlets, 11 light/dimmer switches, 8 lamp modules, 8 appliance modules, and several remotes, including the LCD Universal TV Remote, which I still use. All of which still work. The money has already been invested/wasted, long ago. It would be a shame, to let them go to waste, when I can re-purpose them, with Home Assistant…
Like I said, you obviously understand the devices. With that understanding and the devices, if you can get good use of them, by all means.
I have some older X10 modules that are driven from my Elk alarm system. I’m using the Elk component that @BioSehnsucht built which exposes the X10 devices (and lots of other stuff on the Elk alarm).
I only use X10 for some lighting applications, and only for non-critical loads. They are prone to false operation due to power line noise, and likewise as was mentioned before, getting are reliable signal to the “other” leg in the electrical panel. I’m migrating away to more reliable Z-Wave alternatives, though at a significantly higher cost.
That all said, I do have some X-10 floodlamps that are useful to control from HASS and the Elk/X10 interface is working pretty well for me. Well, as well as the X10 stuff works in general.
That said, I’ll never invest any additional money on X10 hardware. Even though Z-Wave alternatives are somewhat more expensive, they work so much better in every way. You can sense the state of Z-Wave devices, but you can’t with the “classic” X10 devices. Also of note is that X10 is slow - the signaling rate on the power line is pretty slow, and even turning on one device has a delay you can notice. Trying to turn on multiple X10 devices in response to some human interaction is painfully slow. In comparison, the Z-Wave switches are significantly faster - perhaps not “instant”, but not in-your-face-slow like X10 is.
The X10 PIR motion sensor floodlamps are pretty neat, though… too bad they crap out and start to become unreliable in cold weather before they fail completely. And you can’t buy replacements any longer. So I’ve bypassed the defective PIR/X10 module in those lamps and put a Z-Wave switch in its place. And I’ll repeat that process as the remaining 3 X10 floodlamps fail. I can tell one is about to die this winter as it’s (mechanical) switching mechanism is even now starting to be unreliable.
And that’s really illustrative of the X10 stuff – it’s just a little bit too cheap. And unreliable and failure prone because it operates with little margin.
(flame off)
@dCon0ne If you have a CM11A already, there’s also an X10 component for HASS that uses Heyu : https://home-assistant.io/components/light.x10/ - another option is using a Universal Devices ISY994i (which can do both Insteon and X10), though that’s a more expensive solution than the CM11A https://home-assistant.io/components/isy994/
Hi Tony or anyone else, I’m relatively new to Home Assistant, and would be grateful if some could explain how to incorporate this script into my HAAS setup so I can control my legacy x10 devices. I have installed the pre-requisites. Thanks