The thought of coming home to a flooded house again makes me cringe! This Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit is well worth it. It is a safety system that averts costly damage stemming from your washing machine, a common source of ruptured hoses, connection seepage and other water-related catastrophes. The very moment the system detects a leak, it responds by automatically shutting off the water source — before the real damage starts. Uses AC power supply (included).

Installation of the Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit is fast and easy for anyone with even the most basic do-it-yourself skills (like me) — no plumber is necessary (good!). You’ll need a screwdriver to connect the valves to the existing hot and cold water faucets, mount the control unit, place the water sensor on the floor, plug a cable into a receptacle and plug in the power supply. That’s it! 

No more flooding. No more costly repairs (believe me, it is COSTLY!). Best of all, no more worries or being paranoid about  the hose ruptures.

Find out more about the Washing Machine Valve Shutoff Kit
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• Remotely control lights and appliances
• Preset your household lighting schedule
• Built-in buzzer alarm clock
• Security mode turns lights on/off at a slightly different time everyday to give your home a lived in look

This X10 Mini Timer is an upgrade from the previous mini timer. You control up to eight X10 lights or appliances.

I own the previous X10 Mini Timer which has a slightly different look than this one. As a proud X10 Mini Timer owner, I can tell you that I have not turned a light on or off in years – the X10 Mini Timer does all the work for me. It’s convenient and I don’t worry about walking into a darkened house when I get home. My favorite feature is the security mode. If I have a light set to turn off at 11 PM, the light really turns off any time within the hour of 11 PM. Every day it’s different.

The X10 Mini Timer is also convenient to keep next to your bed in case you need to get up in the middle of the night. You can turn lights on downstairs before you even get out of bed. Much safer then groping around in the dark.

With the backup battery power, your programmed times are protected for up to 48 hours in case the unit is without power.

Oh, of course you’ll need X10 Lamp and Appliance Modules to enable your lights and appliances to work with the X10 Mini Timer.

The X10 Mini Timer was surprisingly easy to setup. If you do not have X10 lamp or appliance modules already set up, the complete setup will take you a little longer.

But it’s so worth it!

No messy wires or anything and INSTEON is X10 compatible.

You can set up the INSTEON Holiday Lighting Starter Kit in less than five minutes. This INSTEON remote kit controls any connected device remotely using a simple “Plug and Tap” setup process.

To control “linked” devices, just tap one of the RemoteLinc’s buttons on or off, or you can hold a button to brighten or dim. Each of the six ON/OFF buttons on the RemoteLinc can be set up to control every light or just one light in your home remotely to create dramatic lighting scenes.

As a bonus, the included ApplianceLinc can control any load type, so you can remotely control anything from the spooky smoke machine in your entryway to a mechanical Santa waving to your neighbors from your rooftop.

Best of all, the INSTEON wireless remote kit can be used all year long. So, when you put your holiday gear away, you can use your INSTEON wireless remote kit to conveniently turn lighs on and off throughout your home!

Get yours – INSTEON Holiday Lighting Starter Kit

There are many items in our homes that make our lives as easy as possible. For instance:

• Cable TV allows you to watch broadcast television as well as order movies – all at the click of a button! Suddenly, you’ve saved your self a trip to the local movie rental store and also saved the gasoline in you car.
• Voice mail systems have made it easy for people to listen and pick up their messages from anywhere, and at anytime. Say hello to convenience, and goodbye to old busy signals! Voice messages can be received through your e-mail box and then listened to, just by using your computer.
• Automatic garage doors, are a home automation tool that has helped to take us further into the automated world, via a wireless remote.
• Can you even remember the last time you had to adjust the temperature on your preprogrammed home thermostat? These thermostats let you set your heat to fit your lifestyle; warmer when you’re home, and lower while you’re at work. The tiny plastic box, located on the wall, utilizes a solid-state microcomputer that enables your unit to provide flexibility in controlling the temperature.
• No one can live without the miracle of a microwave. Right? Once the microwave became widely available, cooking became easier and much faster. However, microwaves weren’t always included as an essential part of our lives. Even though microwaves were actually invented in 1946, sometimes taking up a full room, they were much to large for the home kitchen to accommodate. By 1967, they were scaled down to fit the home environment. It wasn’t long before the microwave could be found in most homes across America.

Smart technology is smoothly blended into the home, reducing the amount of time spent on everyday household tasks, and increasing the fun you can have.

Some gadgets in your home are so commonplace that they do not strike you as being automation. They’re just normal, everyday items. Technology is constantly improving; with new inventions ready to show up in your home!

We can’t even imagine, all of the new and exciting gadgets that will be made available, to make our homes more automated and more comfortable. You can integrate as much or as little smart technology into your home, as you want. It really only depends on your budget.

• Generally a lot of time is spent in the kitchen by everyone, usually in cleaning or cooking. Traditionally, the height of cabinets and sinks in kitchens were not designed for individuals, but for one preset height. In the new intelligent kitchens, cabinets and sinks can be adjusted to your preferred height, with the simple touch of a button. This machine not only allows family members of varying heights to use the kitchen with equal ease, but also can assist people in wheelchairs.
• If you hate carrying those heavy pots of water from the sink to the stove, then you’ll be a big fan of the all-in-one-sink. Integrating the stove top into the sink unit, provides extra convenience, especially when doing your cooking. With its built-in drainage, you no longer have to worry about boiling water spilling over.
• Have you ever pondered who invented the peephole. A tiny hole is almost impossible to see through, even if your vision is flawless. A new innovation, great for safety as well as convenience, some door surfaces can change from opaque to transparent.
• If you need more laundry room space, the combination ventless tumble dryer and washer will be a favorite choice. Since it washes and dries your clothing in the same machine, it takes up less space than you would expect. With its high power efficiency rating, you will save on power consumer, which justifies it’s higher purchase price.
• Even if your current refrigerator still works fine, you may wish to replace it with a newer model, with many improved features. An intelligent refrigerator gives you the ability to check your email, assemble a to-do list, re-order groceries via the internet, and even watch TV on its screen. This is all brought to you by a high-speed connection, high-tech tracking database, and a high price.

New inventions are coming in the future, like: appliances that communicate with each other, self cleaning showers, intelligent cooking devices downloading recipes from the internet, fog proof mirrors, and so forth.

Why do I love Roomba? Let me count the dust bunnies. Seriously, so many reasons, but my favorite is the fact that Roomba gets the job done better than I do sneaking under the bed to get the dust bunnies and finding all those nasty tidbits hiding along the baseboards. With a cat in the house, Roomba is my new best friend.

The iRobot Romba 570 vacuum cleaning robot is the latest in a series of Roomba robotic devices that help you around the house with your chores. Roomba 570 is the sleekest design yet with it’s cool looking black finish and flatter design.

That’s not all. All cleaning features are improved over the Roomba predessors and you can control your Roomba 570 with the Wirelss Command Center.

It’s so effiicient that it automatically returns itself to the self-charging Home Base when YOUR chores are done! So you don’t have to worry…you can cook in the kitchen or write in your blog without thinking about the vacuuming.

What will you do with all your new free time?

How cool is this? Get your Roomba on.

Roomba 560

Here’s  fast and inexpensive way to get started with home automation.

If you are just getting started with home automation, consider using X10 devices. X10 is a power line carrier protocol that uses the existing wiring in your home. X10 works with up to 256 coded addresses. X10 modules consist of the following:

• Receivers: Devices are plugged into receivers and respond to signals from a transmitter with the same code.
• Transmitters: Can send up to 256 coded, low-voltage signals over existing wiring.
• 2-way Receiver/Transmitter: Can both transmit and receive signals.

X10 devices are controlled from a variety of wireless remotes, wall mounted key-pads, or touch screens and tabletop keypads.

With X10, you can easily control and adjust in-home temperatures, door locks, lights, security, music, video, or anything that is electrical.

Take a look at a simple example of how X10 works:

1. Set the house code on an X10 transmitter module. The transmitter module pro-vides you with 16 house codes to choose from. For example, set the dial to “A” to enable the X10 transmitter to communicate with X10 receivers with the same house code setting.
2. Plug the X10 transmitter module into any wall socket. The transmitter module includes a small antenna.
3. Set the unit and house code on the face of an X10 receiver module. You can choose from 16 house codes and 16 unit codes. If you set the house code on the X10 receiver to “A”, then the X10 receiver responds to the X10 transmitter with the same house code. Set the unit code to “1″. The X10 receiver responds to a controller that is set to send a signal to house code “A”, unit code “1″.
4. Plug a lamp into the X10 receiver and then plug the X10 receiver into any wall socket.
5. Get the wireless remote, set the house code to “A”, and then press the button that corresponds to the code you set on the X10 receiver (in this case, “1″). The light turns on/off.

X10 is fast and inexpensive method to get started with home automation. If it runs off of electricity, chances are you can plug into an X10 module and begin tak-ing control right away.

Now that you have an idea of how much your home is already automated, and a few tips on making your home even smarter, what will you do with all your free time?

Head over to SmartHome for your Wireless X10 Controls!

INSTEON , a product of SmartLabs, is a home control network with a revolutionary technology that allows you to control your home easily and affordably. INSTEON is more dependable and flexible than any other home management system on the market.
INSTEON uses your existing electrical wiring, combined with RF signals, and it’s simple to set up—I installed mine in minutes. Best of all, it’s backwards compatible with all your X10 devices. For instance, an INSTEON switch can turn on an X-10 lamp module. An X-10 switch can also turn on an INSTEON lamp module.

How Does INSTEON Work?

INSTEON is a dual-mesh network. The messages between devices are sent both wirelessly through Radio Frequency (RF) and through your home’s existing electrical wiring. Each message is confirmed as it is received. If errors are detected, the message is automatically resent. This network is also redundant; every device on an INSTEON network receives and sends every message to every other device, so instead of stressing the network by adding more INSTEON devices, you actually strengthen it.

INSTEON was specifically developed for home control and automation. Whether you’re looking for a basic lighting control system or envision a fully integrated and automated Home of Tomorrow, if you can dream it, you can do it with INSTEON.

What is INSTEON Used For?

• Scene and remote control lighting
• Security alarm interfaces and sensors
• Home sensors (e.g. water, humidity, temperature)
• Access control (e.g. door locks)
• Heating and cooling (HVAC) control and management
• Audio-video control
• Appliance management
• Fire alarm system networking
• Exhaust fan control and networking
• Irrigation control
• Shade and blind control

Getting Started with INSTEON Home Automation (Lighting and Appliance Control)