Control4 Sponsors Team NJ in the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

Twenty college teams compete to design, build and operate a solar powered house.


Salt Lake City, UT – – Control4, a leader in IP-based home control systems, is proud to announce its sponsorship of Team NJ in the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The Solar Decathlon is an international competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), this biennial competition aims to draw public awareness of smart energy practices.

Team New Jersey, including Rutgers University and The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), will together compete against 19 other international colleges and universities to design and build a solar powered home. Over the course of the past year, the design and manufacturing of the house concept (code named “eNJoy”) has been refined, and it was eventually selected as one of 20 international finalists in the competition. Ultimately, the house will be transported to Washington, DC, where it will be assembled and viewed on the National Mall for three weeks in the Fall of 2011.

As part of its sponsorship, Control4 will be supplying the team with its Control4® OS2 operating software and full access Control4 4Store, an online application marketplace with numerous apps form everything from entertainment and security to home control and social tools. While designing the home, Team NJ wanted to create an in-market example of technology helping the average homeowner gain awareness and control of their energy consumption as well as demonstrate potential savings opportunities through selected real-time connections to the home’s environmental systems.

“While the technologies in this house are complex and advanced, the students have pushed very hard to ensure that the controls for the house mask this complexity, making the home as easy to manage as possible”, said Jason Valdina, NJIT faculty advisor on the home automation aspect of the house’s design. “Control4’s latest suite of integrated products made it possible to unify disparate systems and technologies under one simple control interface that is user friendly and educational.” The home will be able to control the homes entertainment systems, lighting control as well as third-party energy management tools, such as Eragy and Siemens, Inc. through the Control4 applications.

“We are very excited to sponsor this great competition”, said Paul Nagel, VP of Energy for Control4. “These talented groups of students are the future in home energy monitoring and management. Their work and determination will help raise awareness of the importance of energy management to the next generation.”

The homes will be on display in Washington, DC for three weeks this fall. For more information about the competition, visit www.solardecathlon.gov. For more information on Control4, please visit www.control4.com.

About Control4

Control4, a leading provider of the operating system for the smart home, delivers intelligent control over consumer electronics products, appliances and networking systems through an easy-to-use and intuitive software interface. Founded in 2003, the company delivers affordable automation of lighting, music, video, thermostat, security, and energy management systems through more than 1,900 custom integrators, retail outlets, and distributors in over 70 countries. With the most intelligent, open and affordable control solution on the market, Control4 is the platform of choice for major consumer electronics companies, residential homes, businesses and utilities that require an intelligent, open and affordable control solution.

About Solar Decathlon:
The Solar Decathlon is an international competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) sponsor the international biennial event. www.solardecathlon.gov

About Team New Jersey “eNJoy(tm)”:
Team New Jersey is a collaborative partnership between Rutgers University and The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), who together are competing against 19 other international colleges and universities to design and build the most efficient solar powered home imaginable. Over the course of the past year, the design and manufacturing of the house concept (code named “eNJoy”) has been refined, and it was eventually selected as one of 20 international finalists in the competition. Ultimately, the house will be transported to Washington DC where it will be assembled and viewed on the National Mall for three weeks in the Fall of 2011. www.solarteamnj.com