-by Chief Gizmateer

When it comes to protecting your family and home, there is no such thing as being too careful. Motion-activated security lights are one answer, but most of the floodlights you'll find at your local home warehouse store will only illuminate one small portion of your property. Experienced burglars know this, and they know how to approach homes without stepping into the hot spot.

The Solution

Fortunately, there's a better way of doing it. By installing multiple X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Lights around the perimeter of your home, you can program them all to illuminate when just one detects motion. Once it's set up, there's no way someone can approach your property at night without lighting up the house like the middle of the day.

If you want to take it to the next level, plug any indoor lamp into a Smarthome Lamp Module, and that lamp will light up, as well. You can even add an X10 Chime Module to hear a chime when X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Lights are activated.

The Shopping List

What makes this project extraordinarily easy is the fact that Smarthome's Leviton X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Security Lights already have this feature built into them. Although they connect just the like ordinary motion-activated security lights that you see everywhere, they have the added ability to communicate with one another using the power lines that are already installed in your home - no new wiring is needed!

Order as many as you'll need to provide sufficient coverage of your home. Each unit covers approximately 4,000 square feet (110° wide, with a monitoring distance of 40 feet). Note: Leviton X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Security Lights do not include light bulbs, but we do offer Energy-Efficient Fluorescent Floodlight Bulbs.

If you also want to add the optional ability to activate an indoor lamp or hear an audible chime when the security lights are activated, you'll also need:

Powerhouse Lamp Module
X10 Chime Module

Total Cost

$64.99 Leviton X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Security Lights - order as many as you need but 4 should cover the perimeter of most homes.
$9.99 Energy-Efficient Fluorescent Floodlight Bulbs - order double the number of lights so for 4 lights you would need 8.
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$339.88

Optional products that could turn on an inside light or sound an internal alarm:
$13.99 Powerhouse Lamp Module - order as many internal lights as you want to turn on.
$21.99 X10 Chime Module - order as many internal chimes as you need (1 per floor maybe).

For less than $500 you could cover the perimeter of your house and have a chime and internal light turn on at every floor in a three story (two story and a basement) home.

The Setup

Using the steps outlined in the instruction manual, install the Leviton X10-Controlled Motion-Activated Security Lights at the various mounting locations you've selected. To download the instruction manual, click here (PDF format, 170KB).

Next, take a small screwdriver and set the address wheels of each security light to one X10 "house code" (represented by the letters A-P) and an X10 "unit code" (represented by the numbers 1-16). Altogether, you'll have 256 total choices. It doesn't matter which house/unit code you choose, although we recommend avoiding house codes that begin with "A." House code A is the default setting and the one your neighbors are most likely to use if they get a similar system, which could result in phantom signals.

If you also want to add the optional indoor light feature, use the small screwdriver to set the Powerhouse Lamp Module to the same house/unit code you set the lights to. Then plug the module into any power outlet, plug the lamp into the module and set the light to the "on" position. Now when the security lights go on, they'll send a signal to the lamp module to turn the lamp on.

If you want to add the optional chime feature, use the small screwdriver to set the Chime Module to the same house/unit code you set the lights to. Then plug it into any convenient outlet. Now when the security lights go on, they'll signal the chime module to ring.

By putting these features together, you'll have one of the most burglar-resistant homes on the block!

This article was originally posted to gizmosforgeeks.com