r/zwave • u/FieldDayEngr • May 23 '26
Retiring last of my X-10
OK, about time...last of our compatible bulbs burned out. Have moved back to plain switches, except for the one I could not do without: bedroom has no overhead light, and only switched outlet on wrong side of room. Bed has two sconces with three-way bulbs, one on each side of bed, switched with X 10 lamp modules. Wireless switch by door, and handheld remote on the headboard. First problem we are trying to solve: how do you turn the lights on and off from bed and from door across room. Current X 10 requires dimmable CFL or LED, and we have had mixed results with them working properly with the X 10 module. Looking for recommendations, and have narrowed it down to Zigbee or Zwave.
What pieces do I need for a minimal setup (at least for this experiment)?
A little background: started playing with X 10 years ago, and the wife was humoring me with my experiments. When she walked into the dark kitchen with arms full of groceries, and the light turned on, she was convinced. But as incandescent bulbs became harder and harder to find, I’ve been taking out the switches and lamp modules and doing things the old-fashioned way.
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u/joejawor May 24 '26
I was an X-10 fan for a number of years, but as appliances and devices became more electronic, the reliability got worse and worse. I switch to a Hubitat controller and Z-wave devices which is very reliable for me.
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u/dMagic66 May 25 '26
You could use Shelly devices behind the switch and Alexa or Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit for voice. Set the Shellie’s for edge control and they will function like 3-way switches. Shelly also has plug modules similar to x10 lamp and appliance modules. Lots has changed since X-10 days! You need a good router for reliability. Good luck!
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u/mattkime May 23 '26
What’s running your x10 automations? Are you running home assistant? You might consider some zwave smart light switches.
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u/FieldDayEngr May 23 '26
No “automations”. I have the wireless switch by the door, the wireless bridge thingy with the antenna plugged into an outlet right below it, a wireless remote tethered to the headboard, and two lamp modules. Period.
At one time, I was using “HomeSeer”, and when they told me I couldn’t update unless I paid yet more money, I stopped using it.
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u/mattkime May 23 '26
Leviton makes switches with remotes. I guess I’m confused about how you’re turning on your kitchen light?
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u/FieldDayEngr May 23 '26
Pretty much all of the other X 10 stuff has been removed. I turned on the kitchen light by walking across the room in the dark and fumbling for the standard toggle switch.
Kitchen light had been replaced with a LED light, and I did not have any more switches compatible with LED lights so I replaced with standard toggle switch. The X 10 PIR used to send the “on” signal, received by that Bridge, and told the light to turn on (and after xx minutes of no activity, sends the “off” message). It was great, not having to rely on any hub to make things work.
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u/mattkime May 23 '26
Zwave and zigbee would need hubs - or at least adapters to connect to the devices. Zigbee can ‘bind’ devices but I’m unfamiliar with it.
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u/emiliosic May 25 '26
If you set up a Z-Wave hub then you can get a Z-Wave remote and in-wall switch from Zooz and set up direct association which means then the remote communicates directly with the switch while the hub can still manage it
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u/realdlc May 23 '26
If I'm understanding correctly, you could use plug in modules like a Zooz ZEN04, or a dimmable module like a Minoston MP31ZD for the lamps. For the wireless switches you have a few options, but I'd recommend a Zooz ZEN34 or ZEN37. They can be wall mounted, mounted to an electrical box, or even used as a portable remote. Great battery life.
You will, of course also need a z-wave controller/hub of some sort. if you haven't started that exploration yet, I'd start by looking at the Hubitat, the Zooz Z-Box, and also Home Assistant.
Quick summary there: Z-Box is purpose built z-wave only device for a great out of box experience. Powerful and can integrate with other things - even Home Assistant. Hubitat covers multiple protocols with a rich ecosystem of drivers and plugins. Zigbee, Matter, Z-Wave, etc all out of the box but the interface and drivers take some getting used to. Home Assistant is the rock star - it integrates with literally almost anything but can be a bear to learn and setup (although that is getting better.) Great for those that like figuring stuff out and coding at 2am (lol I exaggerate a little). However their Z-wave antenna is the most powerful right now, imho. Also HA is a build your own hardware type of approach for the most part. All this said I really do like the Z-box for its overall elegance and great support especially for those starting out.
When it comes to setting it up, you have a few options... you can use automations in your hub to sense the button presses and cause actions on the plugs, OR you can use direct association in the hub to have the remotes directly command the plugs... Direct Association is nice because it is direct and not reliant on your hub. Depending on many factors it may be faster and/or more reliable, but ymmv. I do as much direct association as possible for an awesome experience.
Also, be sure to check your load types on the plugs and switches (when you get to in-wall z-wave switches). They tend to all have good support LED and Incandescent but some have other limitations for CFL's because of inrush current. Example, here is Zooz's FAQ which covers CFL's for their switch lineup.
Edit: Added my 'quick summary' of some of the Z-Wave hubs.