This year is going to be a little different though. This year X10 is going to pitch in and help him out. As Harold put it... "One problem with opening pools is the refilling time before you take the winter cover off." Harold told us that it usually takes many hours to fill up the pool. Hours that Harold doesn’t have because, like the rest of us, life places a lot of other demands on his time and attention.

Another of the problems with filling his pool is that, as Harold put it, "I have to keep my eye on it so it doesn’t overfill and flood the area." That’s pretty much a no brainer. You can’t just go off to work and leave the water running, because you have no idea what the rest of the house is going to look like when you get back. And Harold’s schedule is so busy that he doesn’t even have time to fill it in the evenings unless he wants to get up in the middle of the night and check on it.

His X10 solution consisted of several components including using an ActiveHome Appliance Module, the X10 Programmable Interface Module, a sprinkler valve, a weather proof metal JIC box and a super bright Jumbo LED for a filling indicator on the box.

"The complete assembly allowed me to remotely fill the pool and turn the water off at a programmed time to prevent overfilling," Harold told us. "I can check on the status of the valve by looking out the 2nd story window of my home to the JIC box below and seeing whether the LED on the JIC box is on or not. The LED will be on when the valve is on." He also told us "Later additions to the system will include a float in the pool skimmer that triggers the system to turn water filling off when the water level reaches the appropriate level."

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