Lightolier Compose / HA alternatives

[steve gass]

This may be somewhat off-topic, but I'm just wondering if any of you have any experience with/knowledge of the Lightolier Compose control system. I know it's just glorified X10, and that a turd cannot be polished, but it seems like it might be a workable and relatively affordable solution for lighting control. Does it work?

Over the years I've looked at most of the pricey hard-wired and RF systems, and am bothered by their proprietary protocols. Relays would be easy, but I, unfortunately, need dimmers. I've considered DMX-512, but haven't yet found a system that I could realistically install in my home. Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

[sitelights]

About two hours ago I had my electrician activate a Lutron Grafik Eye 4 channel dimming system in my "work in progress" living room renovation. This system incorporates an IR pickup in the master unit commanded by a hand-held transmitter. Of course, this is line-of-sight (it works at a maximum transmit angle of about 30 degrees) technology at a range of 50' to 75'. Lutron has a broad range of remote dimming products for single or multi-channel light control utilizing IR transmit. I have never had much success with RF (too much interference) or line-carrier signaling (dirty or corrupted power transmission) to have any real faith in their utility. IR is sometimes a bit inconvenient but dead reliable. Lutron has been my choice and their microprocessor controls (as opposed to the earlier discrete chip technology) has halved their prices recently. If you'd like to control lighting through your Mac or PC, they have that too: lutron.com

[steve gass]

Well, I like the "halved their prices" part, but the "line-of-sight" part is an issue for the U-shaped room which comprises the main living area of my home. That, and the 8 lighting circuits in that single room. Plus, I need to be able to control the rest of the house and the (future) outdoor lighting (that I want you to design/install someday) from a variety of locations. The computer interface might help with that, but of course I don't use Mac or Windows for 99% of my computer work, and I'd be locked into a proprietary protocol anyway.

And I have yet to speak with a supplier who knows anything about any of these systems. One of the systems that seemed promising is TouchPlate, which has apparently been around for quite awhile. They gave me the names of some distributors, none of which seemed to know that they even carried the product.

That's the frustration I face. X10 would be the best solution if it didn't suck. It's a standard (of sorts), there's a large selection of products, it's affordable and accessible. I can buy X10 stuff at Radio Shack. The "firewall" offered by Lightolier seems like it would improve reliability . . . but it's still X10. What I want is something like X10 that doesn't suck, but I don't think such an animal exists. Why not?

Sorry, I guess I'm just ranting. :)