Recently, we realised our dream : moving to a home in a nice suburb, on a leafy residential street within walking distance of the town centre! Compared to the collective building where we always lived before, it is a real change. I must say we really enjoy privacy each day, with no noisy neighbour around.

As in every situation, there is a balance to this comfort : the greenery and proximity to town also makes us vulnerable to burglary. And of course, we do not have any caretaker to watch out. Because of the increase of breaking in around, it became obvious that we needed a complete surveillance system. After making a little market survey, wandering in the stores and on the basis of friends’ testimonials, I realised that most of the security systems work like classical medicine; in the best case, they inform you in real time of a breaking in, and by the time the police arrives, it's too late, the thief had time to take the most expensive goods you had ! The thieves are real experts, they steal in a very short time.

What we dream of is a system which would stop the thief before he enters our home ! A kind of preventive medicine ! A dog is not efficient enough, with a little tear gas grenade, it is possible to stop any Cerberus, even a rottwieler. And moreover, if the dog bites the thief, you may have to refund the medical costs, and even, pay for damages…

Finally, we founded a wonderful system named the X10 Active Home system.

With user friendly software, a simple setting of our computer provides an occupied, and more importantly, realistic - lived-in look to our home. While we are away, during the day various lights throughout the house switch on and off at random intervals – as well as radios placed in rooms throughout our 2 levels. At sunset, both indoor lights and outdoor lighting come on and blinds and curtains are automatically drawn closed. We have the lights set to go off at a pre-determined time, and at dawn the blinds and curtains open. With the External Motion Sensor, (detecting anyone within 12m of the house), specific lights and responses are activated if someone approaches our property. It is as if the house has taken on a life of its own! Which is just what we want to project to any tempted burglar.

What is more amazing is that the lived-in look works with the PC switched off : indeed, once finished, the setting is transmitted to a Computer Interface, which is plugged into the serial port of the PC on one end, and into a standard 230 volts socket on the other end. This interface stocks the commands and sends the order to the various electric appliances, just when needed, even if the PC is turned off. It is possible to insert batteries into it in case of power cut.

Yes, the bad guys will always be a part of society - but with proper deterrents and protection; they will be fighting a losing battle against homeowner determination and X10 technology.