INSTEON Smart Grid: Who Built It and What It Costs Now

INSTEON smart grid technology is a dual-mesh home network that SmartLabs released in 2005, built so every device repeats every message over both the home’s electrical wiring and radio. In March 2011 SmartLabs said the platform was in trials with four of the top 10 U.S. utilities, serving more than 10 million customers. The company shut down the Insteon cloud servers in April 2022 without telling users first, and a group of customers bought the business that June. Home Current has tracked the hardware, the prices and the ownership since, because buyers with INSTEON gear installed still have to decide what to buy next.

Who developed INSTEON smart grid technology, and when?

SmartLabs released INSTEON in 2005 after filing for patent protection on the powerline-and-radio network in 2004, a filing that became US patent 8,081,649 B2 dated December 15, 2004 (Wikipedia, July 2026). In 2012 the company shipped the first network-controlled LED light bulb and spun INSTEON out as its own business (Wikipedia, July 2026).

Richmond Capital Partners bought SmartLabs and the Insteon trademark in 2017 and put in $7.3 million (GeekWire, June 13, 2017). By June 2019 the product count was being cut back to concentrate on smart lighting and electrical controls (The Digital Media Zone, June 18, 2019), and readers comparing that era with newer protocols can start from the home area network coverage on the front page.

How does INSTEON carry messages through a house?

INSTEON repeats every message over both house wiring and radio, so interference on one medium does not block a command. Each device is a peer that transmits, receives, confirms and repeats, and none needs a central controller to work (Wikipedia, July 2026). Powerline messages use phase-shift keying and radio messages use frequency-shift keying (Wikipedia, July 2026).

A controller still adds phone control, schedules and problem reporting, and older SmartLabs chip sets can answer X10 power line commands without repeating them, so X10 and INSTEON gear can share a house (Wikipedia, July 2026). The knowledge base holds the protocol definitions.

What did utilities test INSTEON for in the smart grid era?

Utilities tested INSTEON for demand response and scheduled load shedding, and SmartLabs counted four of the top 10 U.S. utilities in trials as of March 2011. Property owners could let a utility switch devices off when demand for electricity exceeded supply, with lighting and heating and cooling named as controllable loads (PR Newswire, March 17, 2011).

Robert Holz, managing director for Smart Grid and Vertical Markets at SmartLabs, put the pitch this way: “Our solutions allow utilities and electricity providers to enable more customers in their geographic foot print” (PR Newswire, March 17, 2011). Sprint announced a wireless energy management agreement with SmartLabs the same month, and the release names none of the four utilities or reports any pilot result (PR Newswire, March 17, 2011).

Who owns INSTEON today?

Insteon Technologies is owned by a group of Insteon customers who bought the company in June 2022, months after SmartLabs ran out of cash. SmartLabs had looked for a buyer from November 2021, and the sale it expected in March 2022 did not happen before the servers were switched off in April 2022 (The Register, April 22, 2022).

Michel Kohanim, CEO of Universal Devices, which makes an Insteon-compatible controller, sized the installed base at the time: “Insteon has about 100,000 hub users” (The Register, April 22, 2022). Ken Fairbanks, who worked for Insteon from 2004 to 2007, led the 2022 buyout (Ars Technica, June 10, 2022) and announced a new brand identity in July 2025 (insteon.com, July 8, 2025), the kind of ownership change the industry news desk follows.

What does an INSTEON setup cost in October 2026?

An INSTEON hub lists at $99.95 and the Connected Home Access service at $39.95 for one or two years, as of October 2026 (insteon.com).

Item	Price as of October 2026	Note
Insteon Hub 2 (2245-222)	$99.95	Controller for the app and voice control
Connected Home Access	$39.95	One or two years of hub service
i3 Dial rotary dimmer	$54.95	Cheapest device on the list
Dimmer Switch	$59.95	Handles 150 W of LED lighting
Dimmer Switch (High Wattage)	$69.95	Handles 250 W of LED lighting
6 Button Dimmer Keypad	$79.95	Dimmer plus scene remote

All prices from insteon.com, accessed October 9, 2026. Devices can be linked manually, put into scenes and given custom ramp rates without a hub (insteon.com, October 2026). The Director app, notifications and Alexa or Google Home control need the hub and the access plan, and a Hub 2 bought since March 18, 2025 ships with a free year of access included. The buying guides put that cost next to the alternatives.

INSTEON Smart Grid FAQ

Is INSTEON still sold? Yes. Insteon listed the Hub 2 at $99.95 and dimmers from $54.95 in October 2026, and the company still runs a support site. The catch sits in the service plan: the app and voice control need Connected Home Access, priced at $39.95.

Who owns Insteon Technologies? A group of Insteon customers owns it. They bought the company in June 2022 after SmartLabs shut down its cloud servers, and Ken Fairbanks, who worked on INSTEON between 2004 and 2007, runs it.

Do I need Insteon Connected Home Access to run INSTEON switches? No for the basics. You can link devices, build scenes and set ramp rates by hand without a hub. The app, remote access and voice control do need the Hub 2 and Connected Home Access, listed at $39.95 for one or two years as of October 2026.

Did INSTEON devices ever ship with Apple HomeKit? Yes, briefly. Insteon was one of two launch partners for Apple HomeKit in 2015 with the Insteon Hub Pro, and that hub was later discontinued. The Hub 2 sold in October 2026 lists Alexa and Google Home voice control instead.