How do I choose between a hard-wired lighting control system and a power-line controlled lighting system?
As with most choices, there are trade-offs involved. A modern UPB power-line controlled lighting system provides the greatest ease of installation, the most flexibility, very high reliability, moderate price level and does not require a control cable. Instead, signaling and control information between devices uses the existing AC wiring in the home. Likewise, X10 type power-line systems can be fairly reliable with proper power-line preparation consisting of signal coupling and noise reduction filters, although this requires more skill and can change over time when new lights or appliances are added to the power-line. A hard-wired lighting system is typically immune to any interference that may be encountered in a power-line system. The immunity is provided by the dedicated “hard-wire,” or control cable, that is connected to all the switches and devices that are to be controlled. The Advanced Lighting Control (ALC) system utilizes this control cable for communication between the ALC con
