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November 2021 Volume 38 Issue 08

Home Automation Today – Not quite like X-10

By Phil Sorrentino, Newsletter Contributor, Sarasota Technology Users Group

www.thestug.org
philsorr (at) yahoo.com

Home Automation refers to automating the control of certain house activities, like lighting, temperature, en-
tertainment, and even appliances. A Home Automation system typically connects the controlled devices to a
central hub. The system is then controlled from a wall-mounted terminal, a desktop computer, or a mobile
device like a
smartphone. The addi-
tion of a home automa-
tion system to a home
creates a “smart
home.” Modern smart
homes are beginning to
take advantage of Wi-
Fi to connect the vari-
ous parts of the home By Dorothy Fitch
automation system.

Wi-Fi is becoming an
essential part of the
modern home. Where-
as the basic utilities are
necessary to sustain
your modern life, Wi-Fi
is necessary to sustain
your modern digital life.
Maybe not as important as water or electricity, but Wi-Fi provides the basic wireless interconnection capabil-
ity for all the devices that, working together, support your modern lifestyle and make up the “smart home.”
Before wireless, devices could only be connected by wires. Many techniques and devices were developed to
use the internal house wiring for this interconnection. Some systems used the telephone wires like HomeP-
NA, and some systems used power wires, like X-10. There even were some early attempts at wireless sys-

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