Imagine retuning home on a cold night to find your abode brightly awash in light. Viewed from a shadowy driveway, especially on a chilly winter night, home lights can beckon you with a sense of a welcome home coming. If you do not have your lights on a Lutron Radio Ra home automation system a problem can arise if you would like to be greeted in such a manner but you work all day and into the night. Your parents always taught you to shot off the lights and to lock the door whenever you leave, and this lesson has been ingrained into a habit for you. Your lights, however, are still off when you finally arrive home. It is still good advice to follow for safety and energy saving purposes, but did you know that it can be dangerous coming home at night to an unlit house? Darkness has long been used by criminals to disguise their illicit activities. These rogues seek the privacy of an empty, darkened home to perform their deeds. The last thing that you want is to surprise a burglar in the act when you walk in the door. The chances of this happening are greatly reduced if the illusion of an occupied home is made. This can be done simply by setting up a Lutron system for home automation. You can use a combination of motion sensors and lighting controls to control the timing of the lights in and around your home. Even if you are out, it can appear that you are still home. This will thus persuade burglars to move on. Motion sensors will automatically turn on lights in response to motion, while lighting controls can be used to adjust the hour that lights turn on and off or the length of time that they stay on. You could even tie your lighting in with a Lutron Grafik Eye dimmer control to have the lights dim or brighten on cue. With all of these options, you will never have to return to a darkened home again.



Electronic time clock automation home systems are often purchased during the holiday season. Homeowners use these to control the timing of their Christmas lights and lighted holiday sculptures. Doing so saves electricity and the pointlessness of keeping lighted holiday decorations lit during the day, especially if the house is unoccupied. Every winter, there are news reports of homes destroyed in fires started by artificial lighted Christmas trees. While most artificial trees are flame resistant, real trees hung with strings of lights and pre-lit garland might not be if they are allowed to dry out. A dehydrated tree's leaves are very flammable and they will light if exposed to a spark or too much heat from bulbs that are left on too long on the tree. Besides keeping the tree watered daily, the best way to prevent a holiday hazard is to use an electronic time clock tied into your home light automation system to turn the lights off after a certain amount of time. You can also use them to have the lights turn on even if you are visiting relatives for the holidays.