Arnold Spier is an observant Jew. That means that he’s ethnically Jewish, and he practices the Jewish religion as well. If you know anything about the Jewish religious observances, then you know that they can have a fairly strict regimen. Especially when it comes to observances such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and, of course, the Sabbath.

For those unfamiliar with Jewish traditions, the Sabbath (every Saturday) is the last day of God’s creation when he declared a "Day of Rest" for himself and his creation. So, every Saturday the Jewish people must rest. This rest period lasts from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. In observance of the scripture - "And there was evening, and there was morning, the (first/second/third/etc)... day."

"As part of my religion I am prohibited from turning on and off electricity on the Sabbath or holidays," Arnold says. This can be especially complicated during those long winter nights when it gets dark around 5:00 in the evening. That means that for most of the night on Friday nights Arnold either has to turn the lights on and leave them on, or turn the lights off, and leave them off. But Arnold found a solution.

"I hooked up my bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and even bathroom lights to the Active Home system," he says. "The lights are programmed to go on and off as I plan on needing them." As the days get longer or shorter, then the timers can be easily reprogrammed. And, as the time of year changes and needs in certain rooms vary, changing the program from the PC is simple.

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