X10 switch and LED floodlights

[john410]

First, I'm sorry if this is not the correct forum, but the X10 forum looks dead (latest post 5 months ago).  I *do* use an ISY controller to control X10 devices in my home.

My question is this: I have an older X10 wall switch (no dimmer, just on/off switch) that I've had for years controlling floodlights (one fixture, two lights).  I recently replaced my older incandescent floodlights with LED floodlights.  At the same time, I started noticing the lights would occasionally fail to come on in the evening and/or go off in the morning.  I'd say it works maybe 50% of the time.  I know some of these X10 wall switches sense load and thought maybe the LED floodlights "appear" differently to the X10 switch.  Again, I've never had an issue with the incandescent floodlights and the X10 switch.  Also, manually pushing the button works fine.

Is there any known issue with LED lights and X10?  Or, is my switch just getting old and needs to be replaced?

[lilyoyo1]

Most likely noise from the bulbs are the culprit

[Brian H]

The X10 section here may not have any recent traffic.

The official X10 forums are very well alive and have compatibility with LED bulb questions recently asked. http://forums.x10.com/index.php

I would also suspect the bulbs maybe noisy or your X10 signal at the switch is marginal. 

Any new or moved electronic devices around the same time you changed to LED bulbs?

Jeff has a great set of X10 troubleshooting tutorials you may want to look at.  http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm

Edited September 27, 2018 by Brian H

[john410]

32 minutes ago, Brian H said:

The X10 section here may not have any recent traffic.

The official X10 forums are very well alive and have compatibility with LED bulb questions recently asked. http://forums.x10.com/index.php

I would also suspect the bulbs maybe noisy or your X10 signal at the switch is marginal. 

Any new or moved electronic devices around the same time you changed to LED bulbs?

Jeff has a great set of X10 troubleshooting tutorials you may want to look at.  http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm

Thanks for the link.  As one of the posts noted, I suspect the older X10 wall switch I use gets it's power by tapping into the current flowing through the load.  In an incandescent bulb, that wouldn't be a problem.  But, if an LED is used and a very low voltage applied, I suspect there is no current draw.  Hence, there is effectively no power or insufficient power for the X10 receiver to work.  And when the LED is on, perhaps the LED is introducing noise.

I know X10 has many drawbacks, but I was never able to get Insteon to work in my house.

[larryllix]

11 minutes ago, john410 said:

Thanks for the link.  As one of the posts noted, I suspect the older X10 wall switch I use gets it's power by tapping into the current flowing through the load.  In an incandescent bulb, that wouldn't be a problem.  But, if an LED is used and a very low voltage applied, I suspect there is no current draw.  Hence, there is effectively no power or insufficient power for the X10 receiver to work.  And when the LED is on, perhaps the LED is introducing noise.

I know X10 has many drawbacks, but I was never able to get Insteon to work in my house.

If you have a multiple bulb load, then change one to a best match incandescent. The load doesn't have to be very large.

[john410]

8 minutes ago, larryllix said:

If you have a multiple bulb load, then change one to a best match incandescent. The load doesn't have to be very large.

Great suggestion.  I will try one incandescent and one LED and see what happens.

[Brian H]

All the X10 two wire dimmer switches and the Insteon two wire switch. Steal power through the load and specified for incandescent loads. The models with Line Load and Neutral don't have to steal power through the load. So LEDs have a much better chance of working.

The keeping one incandescent load in the mix frequently does fix the issue.