Active Home Professional

ActiveHome Professional is a home automation starter kit developed by X10 Wireless Technology, Inc. It is a user-friendly program that does not require Web access. Instead, it uses the following modules connected to the user’s PC via USB, in addition to the program itself:

• A module for appliances
• A module for lamps
• A remote-controlled keychain
• A universal controller
• A PC device interface

The user employs a screwdriver to set the alphanumeric code on each module’s dials. The interface connects to the PC, and sends instructions to stop and start each module via the wiring in the user’s home. The antenna of the PC interface receives commands from the remote controllers via radio frequency.

The program has a colorful and clean layout to allow the easy creation of “rooms” to represent the rooms in the home. It then establishes links to each module. Lights can be turned on and off, and can be dimmed via the macros utilized by ActiveHome. It can also use different additional modules, including external motion-sensitive lighting and lamp modules that can be screwed into the sockets of these appliances. Timed events can also be set by the program itself or activated upon motion-sensor detection of activity outside and inside the home.