I’ve learned that people can often be impressed very easily.  I have also learned that because of this it often doesn’t take much money to impress the person, especially where technology is concerned.

When I remodeled my house in 2007 I made a decision to install motion sensing light switches, which has become the  most talked about feature of my home.  I placed two motion sensor light switches strategically in my hallway which does two very cool things.  The first thing that it does is that it automatically lights the pathway from my living room to my guest bathroom.  Obviously this is has a greater effect at night when the hallway is dark.  The second thing it does to impress people is that it will automatically light up the other side of the hallway as they proceed down the hall and when they exit the bathroom.

Now I can pretty much bet that a first time visitor to my house will comment on this feature if they need to use the bathroom or if they wander close enough to the hallway.  The comment usually starts off with, “Whoa!  That’s really cool!”

While it is cool to impress people with something so simple, the main reason that I installed the motion sensor light switches is that my wife and I were about to have our first child when we were remodeling our house.  I knew the time would come where our child would need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and this way they didn’t need to find the light switch in order to do so.  It also helps with guests that stay in the guest bedroom and have the same requirement to relieve themselves at night.

So, if you want to impress your friends and provide some helpful technology for your family, you can do so for about $15 per motion sensing  light switch.   Trust me, it’s money very well spent!