Turn Your Porch Light on at Sunset Automatically Using INSTEON
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Hate coming home in the dark? There’s no need to stumble across your walkway or bump into scattered items left in your home’s entryway. With just a few simple products, you can use INSTEON technology to turn your lights on automatically at sunset, so you’ll never again need to fumble for your house keys in the dark.
Setting your porch light to turn on automatically at sunset is easy to do. Follow the included instructions to install the INSTEON SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer, which wires in like a standard wall switch, with an additional connection to a neutral wire. Plug the PowerLinc V2 Controller into a wall outlet and connect it to your PC using the included USB cable. You will need an Internet connection in order to download the free Smarthome Manager Essential Software.
The setup wizard will walk you through linking the USB module to the SwitchLinc that controls your porch light. Once you tell the software in what city and time zone you live, you’ll be able to set up the system to turn the light on automatically at sunset, as designated by your location. The software adjusts automatically for Daylight Saving Time.
You don’t need to leave your computer on in order to run the program: The PowerLinc V2 Controller module has on-board memory, so timers can be downloaded without the need to leave your computer up and running.
Products needed for project:
SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer - $45.99
PowerLinc Controller w/ Smarthome Manager Essential Software - $59.99
Source: Smarthome