Irvine, CA – At a ceremony Friday in Washington, D.C., the Department of Energy announced its winners of the 2009 Solar Decathlon. The competition, in which student teams designed and built solar and energy efficient homes, was won by Team Germany. Smarthome supported teams from Cornell University and the University of Arizona, which placed 7th and 18^th respectively. Both homes featured a variety of smart products, including Smarthome’s award-winning INSTEON home automation technology, to control appliances and lighting.

During the last week, each of the 20 competing teams had their homes evaluated and judged in 10 different categories ranging from net energy metering to market viability.

“We’re extremely impressed by what Cornell and Arizona were able to accomplish,” noted Laurie Maroni, Vice President of Marketing for Smarthome. “We are certainly happy that both teams reached out to us for assistance. This reaffirms our goal to develop products that make life more convenient, and help people manage and save energy.”

Cornell University finished in the top 10 in scoring in five of the 10 categories, including a third place finish in “Communications” which challenges teams to communicate the technical aspects of the homes. The University of Arizona finished in the top 10 in scoring in three of the 10 categories, including a seventh place finished in “Architecture” where they were measured on architectural elements, holistic design and inspiration.

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KeypadLinc is a scene control keypad that allows you to control a local lighting or appliance load as well as multiple other INSTEON controlled devices, all from a single location. If you’re already using or plan to purchase an INSTEON 6-button KeypadLinc Dimmer, 8-button KeypadLinc Dimmer, or a 6-button KeypadLinc On/Off Switch, why not use personalized buttons that specifically identify what lights, appliances or scenes each button controls? Until now, these personalized buttons have only been available as a one-off hand-etched custom order – with an extended turnaround time and high price tag. To offer a faster, low cost alternative, we have compiled data on our most commonly requested custom etched buttons and put together this convenient 25-pack of pre-printed buttons that feature the most popular applications for KeypadLinc. A 50-pack of KeypadLinc pre-printed buttons is available that includes the same buttons as this 25-pack with 25 additional applications. If you simply need some blank buttons with no printing at all, a 10-pack of blanks is also available. Give your KeypadLinc the ultimate in personalization and you’ll be able to tell at a glance which lights or rooms each button controls.

Please Note: The Popular 25-Button Set for KeypadLinc uses the same font and text color of the “as-shipped” buttons with KeypadLincs and Smarthome’s custom etched buttons, allowing you to mix and match any button setup while maintaining a consistent look and finish.

A 50-pack of KeypadLinc pre-printed buttons is available that includes the same buttons as this 25-pack with 25 additional applications.

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KeypadLinc is a scene control keypad that allows you to control a local lighting or appliance load as well as multiple other INSTEON controlled devices, all from a single location. If you’re already using or plan to purchase an INSTEON 6-button KeypadLinc Dimmer, 8-button KeypadLinc Dimmer, or a 6-button KeypadLinc On/Off Switch, this Blank 10-Button Set is great way to replace the standard buttons with blank buttons that offer a clean look and finish. These blank buttons can also be used on KeypadLinc to indicate an unused button or they can be used as a placeholder for a future INSTEON application.

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SmartLinc is an affordable and flexible central controller that integrates INSTEON technology with any web-enabled mobile device through Wi-Fi and cellular communication. SmartLinc has been designed for optimal use with an iPhone or iPod touch as a mobile touch screen; however, there are customizable user-downloadable server applications that provide a flexible interface for any web-enabled device. Control or create timers for INSTEON devices or scenes or watch and control your IP enabled surveillance camera. This model has been refurbished with v2.0 features that include Status/Feedback, Sunrise/Sunset Support for Timers, Enhanced Thermostat Status and Control, Start/Stop Dimming, Advanced Custom Control and more. From inside your home, in the backyard, at work, in the car or on vacation halfway around the world, SmartLinc puts the power of managing your entire INSTEON home automation network in the palm of your hands!

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The INSTEON Home Theater Starter Kit has everything you need to create a wireless, automated lighting system in your home theater using your existing universal remote. The kit includes a LampLinc Dimmer to control any standard plug-in lamp, two SwitchLinc Dimmers to replace two existing light switches, and a KeypadLinc Dimmer which also replaces an existing switch and has enough buttons to allow control of up to four other INSTEON devices or scenes. The real beauty of this kit is the IRLinc Receiver, which is compatible with IR codes found in most universal remotes and is easy to program as other INSTEON devices, using simple Plug-n-Tap setup. Once your devices are installed and programmed, you can use your existing universal remote as you normally would. to control home theater equipment such as your TV, stereo and cable/satellite TV. But now, you can also use that same remote to turn your lights on or off, dim your lights up and down, or create specialized lighting scenes for watching TV or movies. If you’re one of those people who want one remote for everything, IRLinc is a perfect fit. Keep the clutter off your coffee table by combining your home theater and lighting remotes into one.

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If you’re like most people, rising utility costs are hitting you where it hurts the most – your wallet! One way to combat skyrocketing utility bills is to use energy efficient CFL light bulbs and/or LED light bulbs (each sold separately) as a replacement for power guzzling incandescent bulbs. If you’re already using dimmer switches, it’s likely the dimmer switches won’t work on the new energy efficient light bulbs, it may actually cause lights to flicker, or even worse, cause damage to your bulb or dimmer switch. By using this Remote Control Lamp Kit along with energy efficient CFL and/or LED light bulbs installed in your lamps, you can start saving on your electricity costs immediately. As an added convenience, the RemoteLinc allows you to shut off the lights connected to each ApplianceLinc anywhere in and around your home (up to 150 feet away from the nearest plugged in Access Point) – by hitting the ‘ALL OFF’ button, you can ensure that any linked lights are off at a moments notice.

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If you’re like most people, rising utility costs are hitting you where it hurts the most – your wallet! One way to combat skyrocketing utility bills is to use energy efficient CFL light bulbs and/or LED light bulbs (each sold separately) as a replacement for power guzzling incandescent bulbs. If you’re already using dimmer switches, it’s likely they won’t work on the new energy efficient light bulbs and may actually cause lights to flicker, or even worse, cause damage to your bulbs or dimmer switches. By using this Keypad Switch Kit along with energy efficient CFL and/or LED light bulbs installed in fixtures they will be controlling, you can start saving on your electricity costs immediately. As an added convenience, the KeypadLinc allows you to shut off the lights connected to each SwitchLinc (or up to four total INSTEON devices or scenes) from wherever you have it installed – by linking all of your lights together, you can create an ‘ALL OFF’ button to ensure that any linked lights are off at a moments notice.

For remote access and control of your INSTEON home automation network, this exact same kit with a SmartLinc – INSTEON Central Controller is available as a Keypad Switch Kit – INSTEON Advanced Control for CFL and LED Lighting.

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Also Available:
Keypad Switch Kit – INSTEON Advanced Control for CFL and LED Lighting