In today's high-tech world, it was just a matter of time before wireless technology merged with home automation to produce some of the great products offered by X10. Would you like to have the capability of remotely controlling your lights, heating, air conditioning and appliances? X10's home automation products can do that and more. How does having the capability to pre-program any of these household electronic gadgets sound?

That's right, a product called ActiveHome Pro gives you the capability of controlling your entire home from your computer. You can schedule lights and appliances to turn on or off any time of the day or night. It's a great way to make your home and family more safe and secure. Once you program these devices via optional modules also produced by X10, you can transfer control to a wireless controller that plugs into any wall outlet. From that point on, you only need your computer if you want to change the programming in any way; otherwise, the system will just run itself.

Let's talk a little more about the wireless controller. To initially program the modules (lamp module, appliance module and wall switch module), the controller is connected to your computer via a USB cable. The ActiveHome Pro software detects the controller, and you can go ahead and program any of the modules. Once everything is programmed, just disconnect the controller from the computer and plug it into any wall outlet. Then connect the modules to the appropriate lamps or appliances, and you're ready to go. The controller sends digital commands to each module over the existing electrical wiring system in your home. In this way, lights and appliances are turned on and off according to the programmed schedule. An optional remote control can also be used to send wireless commands to the controller.

So what happens if there is a power failure? Nothing, thanks to four AAA batteries that can be inserted into the controller. The controller will run on battery power until the regular power comes back on, and all your programmed commands are maintained. Another great feature of this automation kit is the option of utilizing a wall switch to manually override the automatic programming. You can place the wall switch anywhere (no mounting screws required) and turn on/off lamps or appliances whenever you like. Very convenient.

With the ActiveHome Pro system, it's never been easier to control all of your home automation tasks.