The Official Smarthome Blog – All Things Home Automation

Melding luxury and technology with an environmental-friendly design, the 2007 New Southern Home – a showcase house at the 29th annual Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) – uses INSTEON switches, keypads, and dimmers to control all the lights in the 10,200 square-foot home. Focusing on incorporating “green” technology into the home, the builder, the James M. Krantz Construction Corporation, chose INSTEON for its ability to reduce energy costs as well as for its affordability and ease of installation and use.

The Home

Located in Orlando, Florida, the 2007 New Southern Home boasts two stories and the latest and most innovative products available in the marketplace. In addition to its 6 bedrooms and 7 full bathrooms, the “southern cottage” styled home features a media room, a recreation room, multiple garages and more. The mission of the 2007 New Southern Home, the 19th built for the SEBC, is two-fold: to celebrate innovative and creative architecture, building and interior design, and to educate the homebuilding industry and consumers.

Energy Savings
With energy costs for lighting alone accounting for more than 20 percent of a typical home’s electricity costs, the INSTEON lighting-control system was chosen for its ability to keep electricity costs down. Using INSTEON switches, keypads, and dimmers, the home’s lighting system remotely turns lights on and off and reduces intensity so lights will never use more power than they need in order to reduce energy costs.

“We looked at the other lighting systems on the market and, after talking with our electrician, chose INSTEON because of its lower cost and easy set-up,”
- Roland Krantz, Vice President, Krantz Construction.

Convenience
The 2007 New Southern Home has 56 INSTEON keypads and 200 INSTEON light switches to manage lighting throughout the home’s living spaces, inside and out. In addition to energy savings, INSTEON technology also adds convenience to the home.

The 2007 New Southern Home will be open for tours the first Sunday of every month from September through December of 2008 from 10am to 5pm.
The New Southern Home is located at: 3880 Anderson Road • Orlando, Florida 32812 For more information, please visit the New Southern Home Website.