The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), in connection with the CEDIA Expo 2026 (now owned by Apollo Global Management and managed by Forge), announced a series of Smart Home Awards for 2026. The tagline or theme for this contest was “Beyond What You See,” which was intended to suggest that these awards “captured the outstanding achievements in innovation, technical excellence, and design.”
A panel of judges assembled by the association considered all candidates’ entries and rendered their decision, with awards presented at a ceremony that took place at CEDIA Expo 2026 in Denver last week. In this post, I will highlight those winners I feel deserve even greater recognition.
See more on my picks from the 2026 Smart Home Awards…
Let me start by saying that typically, I’m not a big fan of these types of industry awards programs. Oftentimes, they exist more as a fundraising exercise rather than a true search for a better product or service. And the awards programs run by trade magazines are really conducted solely for the purpose of generating a revenue stream. One industry insider I spoke with calls them “Pay-to-Win” programs.
Seeking Recognition for Products or Services
In any event, many industry participants, whether manufacturers or integrators, desire an opportunity to have their product or service recognized, and awards programs are one way to accomplish that. The Smart Home Awards are one of those options.
The headline sponsor of the 2026 Smart Home Awards this year was Lutron, with category sponsor AVPro Global, and sponsors DMF Lighting and Kohler.
The awards covered multiple categories of entries, including Project Categories, Business Categories, Global Product Categories, Individual Categories, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. The winners I’d like to highlight are those I’ve either written about or otherwise know the products and feel they deserve a special spotlight.
THE STRATA-GEE RECOMMENDED CEDIA SMART HOME AWARDS WINNER LIST
In the Best New Hardware Winners Category
- AudioControl– for the Hyperion APR-16
- AudioControl – for the Hyperion Axis10 10-Channel eARC AoIP Processor
- Crestron Electronics – for the Cevo Mini Remote
- Kaleidescape, Inc. – for the Strato K Movie Player
Best New Software Winners
- Crestron Electronics – for the Crestron Configure Pro
- Savant Systems, LLC – for Savant AI
Product Hall of Fame Inductees
- Sonance – for the Invisible Series
- Sonance – for the Visual Performance Series Ultra Thin-Line
Below, I’ve included the complete list of all winners in the 2026 Smart Home Awards…
| This year’s winners are as follows: |
| PROJECT CATEGORIES |
| Best Integrated Home Level I Winner: Lima Sound Contractors SAC, Apartment T (Peru) |
| Best Integrated Home Level II Winner: SmartTouchUSA, Washington DC Home with a Voice (US) Honorable Mention: Petrone Technology Group, Edge Theory (US) |
| Best Integrated Home Level III Winner: HAAS Home Technologies, Casa de Verano (US) |
| Best Home Cinema Level I Winner: Casaplex, Sunset Lounge (US) |
| Best Home Cinema Level II Winner: Audio Images (Henry’s Audio Visual Solutions), Pinnacle Cinema (US) Honorable Mention: Audio Images (Henry’s Audio Visual Solutions), Avalon Cinema (US) Honorable Mention: HAAS Home Technologies, Casa de Verano (US) |
| Technology Beyond the Home Winner: Petrone Technology Group, National Polo Center (US) |
| Technology Meets Design Winner: HAAS Home Technologies, Casa de Verano (US) |
| BUSINESS CATEGORIES |
| Excellence in Business – Integrator Winner: Aspire Audio Video Solutions, LLC, (US) |
| Excellence In Business – Trade Supplier Winner: OneVision Resources (US) Honorable Mention: DMF Lighting (US) |
| Excellence in Experience Center Innovation – Integrator Winner: HTS, Home Technology Solutions Showroom (US) |
| GLOBAL PRODUCT CATEGORIES |
| Best New Hardware Winners: AudioControl – Hyperion APR-16 AudioControl – Hyperion Axis10 10-Channel eARC AoIP Processor Coastal Source – VIA™ Intelligent Outdoor Lighting System Crestron Electronics – Crestron Cevo Mini Remote DMF Lighting – Artafex 1 HK Lighting – HK Luxury In-Grade Series Storm Audio – EVO One Kaleidescape, Inc. – Kaleidescape Strato K Movie Player Lutron Electronics – Aviena Keypad Samsung Electronics America – Samsung 130” Micro RGB TV Sony Consumer Integrated Systems – BRAVIA 9 II TRUE RGB TV |
| Best New Software Winners: Crestron Electronics – Crestron Configure Pro Lutron Electronics – Lutron Shades Visualizer for Lutron Luxury Experience App Savant Systems, LLC – Savant AI |
| Product Hall of Fame Inductees DMF Lighting, DMF 4” Downlighting System Sonance, Invisible Series Sonance, Visual Performance Series Ultra Thin-line WALL-SMART Ltd, WALL-SMART Universal Access Point Mount Wisdom Audio, Sage Series ICS7a |
| INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES |
| Best Sales Representative Winner: TJ Morgan, OneVision Resources (US) |
| Best Newcomer Winner: Weslie Kliment – Luxury Integrated Technologies (US) |
| Best Technician Winner: Chris Lambrecht – CWAV LLC (US) |
| Advocacy Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Will Breaux (US) |
| Education Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Andy Bull (Ireland) |
| Certification Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Gabi Hughes (UK) |
| New Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Nicholas Beatty (US) |
| Standards Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Tom Dellicompagni (UK) |
| Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Adam Pelz (US) |
| Workforce Volunteer of the Year Recipient: Shawn Lemay (US) |
| Fellows Recipient: Dave Tkachuk (US) Recipient: Gordon van Zuiden (US) |
| Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Peter Lyngdorf (Denmark) |
See more on the 2026 CEDIA Smart Home Awards by visiting cedia.org/awards.
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