Owner's Manual (Complete)

Glossary
The Home Control Assistant 3
right-click
Click the right mouse button, not the left, that you usually use. Of course, if your mouse is set up
for left-handed use, click the left mouse button.
run
Between the time a program is started and the time it finishes, it is said to be running.
scene
A preset illumination level and (optionally) the rate at which the light changes illumination levels.
Scenes are stored in the switch hardware and can be programmed by HCA.
schedule
Tells when things will happen. When devices will turn on and off, when programs will start, what
the “time plan” for HCA is. HCA can have only one schedule current at any time. You can
suspend a group or device or program so the current schedule doesn’t see it. For more information
on schedules, see the Schedule and Visual Scheduler chapters.
start
When a program is started it begins running. Programs can be started in several ways. The first is
from the HCA display by using the popup menu from right clicking a program icon in the display
pane or on a program icon in the design pane. You can also start a program that has a house
code/unit code address by sending that home code/unit code from a control panel.
sun-relative time
As used in the Visual Scheduler, refers to a time based upon sunrise or sunset. For example, you
can set a schedule entry as 10 minutes before sunrise, or 30 minutes after sunset.
test
A test is an element that allows the program to analyze a condition and execute different elements
based upon the outcome of that test.
time markers
On the Visual Scheduler, the three sets of markers below each bar. The ones on the left of the bar
are used to create specific times (10 a.m., 3:15 p.m., etc.) and the ones to the right are used to
create times relative to sunset and sunrise (at sunset, at 30 minutes before sunrise, etc.).
trigger
A event used to cause a program to start, a group to pass the signal to it’s members, or a device to
send the command to it’s primary address.
UPB
Universal Powerline Bus. A protocol for sending messages over the powerline.
unit code
Part of the address for your device, this is set on the module, and referenced in HCA. The unit
code works with a house code.
Visual Programmer
Is an accessible, visual method of constructing programs for HCA. It helps you see the sequential
steps you are creating and placing in a grid that graphically represents the program.
Visual Scheduler
Provides a graphical manner for adding entries to a schedule. You can see the current on/off
entries for all devices in a particular schedule. And you can see markers for the entries you are
adding.
X10
A protocol for sending commands over the powerline.