X-10 was created by a UK company named Pico in 1978 for BSR. The signal that X-10 communicates with is based on bursts of a particular frequency on the power line. Combinations of these power line bursts create an X-10 command. It takes 11 cycles of the power line to send one command. Since the powerline is a noisy environment, the command is sent twice.

The command set is a patented modified binary code that was unique to X-10. This patent has since expired allowing any company to create new devices and modify the command structure.

Since the signal travels on the power line, the whole house will hear the signal and any neighbours that share the same distribution transformer mounted on the utility pole. There is no security mechanism in the system.

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