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Planning Your System
OK, so maybe it’s fun to freak out your spouse by controlling a single lamp by surprise, but sooner or later, you’ll want to go beyond that simple system. Before you do, though, it pays to do a little thinking ahead of time and actually plan what your system is going to look like. You don’t have to have it all figured out right from the get-go, because you can always add modules later, but you do need to do some thinking about how things will work together, or else you may end up redoing some of your work later. Here’s how you can plan for your system:
Sketch Out Your House
Draw a simple line sketch of your home. In the sketch, mark the devices you want to control on it (such as lights and lamps).
Divide Your House Into Areas
This process can be as simple as dividing by floor or by room. It will help you later if you decide to control items by zone.
Determine How You Want to Control Devices On Your List
Most of the devices will be controlled by the software running on your Mac. However, you might want to also control some devices with a motion sensor or some other device.
Make a List of Devices On Your Plan
Now that you’ve brought some order to your idea, you can make a shopping list for X10 modules.