Insteon (company)

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American developer of home automation hardware and software

This article is about Insteon the home connection technology company. For Insteon technology, see Insteon.

Insteon

Insteon's Irvine, CA headquarters

Type| Private
Founded| Irvine, California (2005)
Defunct| April 15, 2022
Fate| Opened back up, after suddenly shutting down.
Headquarters| 1621 Alton Parkway
Irvine, California 92606
United States

Key people

| Joe Dada, Founder
Products| Proprietary dual-band home automation and lighting control systems using radio frequency (RF) and powerline technology
Parent| Smartlabs, Inc.
Website| www.insteon.com

Insteon was an Irvine, California, United States, based developer of home automation (aka domotics) hardware and software. The technology, also called Insteon,[1] allows light switches, lights, thermostats, motion sensors, and other electrical devices to interoperate through power lines, radio frequency (RF) communications, or both.[2] The company produced over 200 products featuring the technology.[3] Insteon is a subsidiary of Smartlabs, Inc., also based in Irvine, CA. As of April 15 2022, there are reports that Insteon has shut down its servers and closed.[4] As of June 9 2022, a group of Insteon users acquired the company and committed to rebuild the business.[5][6]

## History[edit]

Insteon was founded in 2005 in Irvine, California, by CEO Joe Dada.[3] Dada had previously founded Smarthome in 1992, a home automation product catalog company, and operator of the Smarthome.com e-commerce site. In the late 1990s, Dada acquired two product engineering firms which undertook extensive product development efforts to create networking technology based on both power-line and RF communications. In 2004, the company filed for patent protection for the resultant technology,[7] called Insteon, and it was released in 2005. In 2012, the company released the first network-controlled light bulb using Insteon-enabled technology, and at that point Dada spun Insteon off from Smarthome.[3][8]

## Technology[edit]

Main article: Insteon

Insteon technology uses a dual-mesh networking topology[9] in which all devices are peers and each device independently transmits, receives, and repeats messages.[10][11]

## Products[edit]

Insteon produced over 200 products using its technology, including LED bulbs, wall switches, wall keypads, sensors, thermostats, plug in modules and embedded devices, along with central controllers for system management.[12]

Insteon markets two different central controllers: its own brand, called the Insteon Hub, and a newer HomeKit-enabled Insteon Hub Pro designed for Apple HomeKit compatibility.[13] In 2012, the company introduced the first network-controlled LED light bulb.[14]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "INSTEON - Trademark Details". Justia.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
2. ^ "How to Control Your Home with your Cell Phone". Popular Mechanics. October 1, 2009. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
3. ^ a b c "Wired Innovation Insights". Wired.com. 2014-06-12. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
4. ^ "Shameful: Insteon looks dead—just like its users' smart homes". arstechnica.com. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
5. ^ Scharon Harding (10 June 2022). "Insteon customers purchase, revive the smart home company". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
6. ^ Ken Fairbanks (9 June 2022). "A New Day for Insteon!". Insteon Company Blog. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
7. ^ "Network of intelligent devices communicating via powerline and radio frequency US 8081649 B2". US Patent Office. 2004-12-15. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
8. ^ "Insteon Partners With Nest". Orange County Business Journal. January 6, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
9. ^ "Refresh!: Insteon Technology". Electronic Design. Penton Media, Inc. April 5, 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
10. ^ "What is Insteon?". Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
11. ^ "Can we talk? Internet of Things vendors face a communications 'mess'". Computer World. IDG. April 18, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
12. ^ "New Insteon Hub Makes 200+ Products HomeKit Compatible". smarthome.reviewed.com. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
13. ^ "Insteon HomeKit Enabled Hub Reviewed". SmallNetBuilder.com. July 14, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
14. ^ Molly Oswaks, "Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb", Gizmodo, June 20, 2012

## External links[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Home automation

System|

| Elements|

* Actuators
* Hardware controllers
* Sensors

|

Interconnection
type|

| Wired|

* Cable (xDSL)
* Optical fiber
* Powerline
* PLCBUS
* Universal powerline bus (UPB)
* X10

|

Wireless|

* Radio frequency
* Bluetooth
* Bluetooth Low Energy
* DECT
* EnOcean
* GPRS
* Matter
* MyriaNed
* One-Net
* UMTS
* Wi-Fi
* Zigbee
* Z-Wave
* Infrared (Consumer IR)

Both|

* Insteon
* KNX

Network
technologies,
by function|

| Device
interconnection|

* Bluetooth
* Bluetooth Low Energy
* FireWire
* IrDA
* USB
* Zigbee

|

Control and
automation|

* AllJoyn
* Bus SCS with OpenWebNet
* C-Bus (protocol)
* CEBus
* EnOcean
* EHS
* Insteon
* IP500
* Luxom
* KNX
* LonWorks
* One-Net
* Universal powerline bus
* X10
* Zigbee
* Z-Wave

Data
networking|

* Ethernet
* HomePlug
* HomePNA
* Wi-Fi

Tasks|

* Audio and video
* Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
* Lighting control system
* Other systems
* Robotics
* Security
* Thermostat automation
* Gateway
* Smart home hub

Other|

* Costs
* Mesh networking
* Organizations
* Smart grid

See also
Home of the future
Building automation
Floor plan
Home automation
Home energy monitor
Home network
Home server
House navigation system
INTEGER Millennium House
The House for the Future
Ubiquitous computing
Xanadu Houses
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