10+ years
Minimum ten years in continuous operation under current ownership, or a principal with ten or more years of documented industry experience operating a new firm.
The Cinergy Certified Standard · v2.0 · 2026
Six pillars. One badge. Real teeth.
Set, reviewed, and renewed annually by working home technology professionals — drawn from 50 of the world’s most respected home technology firms — and developed in active collaboration with the manufacturers who define the category.
A firm holds the Cinergy Certified mark only when it has affirmatively met every one of the six pillars described below — and renewed that commitment, in writing, every twelve months.
Pillar 01Tenure Licensure Insurance Clean record
Business Stability
Custom-home automation is a multi-year relationship. A firm that disappears in eighteen months leaves the homeowner with stranded systems and no warranty. The first pillar exists to keep that from happening.
Active licenses
Active business license in primary market and in every additional market the firm serves.
$1M / $2M minimum
Active general liability insurance of one million dollars per occurrence and two million aggregate, plus workers comp where required.
No major actions
No unresolved consumer-protection actions and no bankruptcy filings by the firm or its principals in the prior five years.
Pillar 02Dealer Status Certification Capability Low-voltage
Technical Competence
A trust mark is meaningless if the firm cannot do the work. Pillar two is the technical floor.
Best-in-class platforms
Qualified, authorized dealer status with the leading control and lighting platforms — Lutron, Crestron, Control4, Savant, Vantage, RTI, or ELAN — recognized by the manufacturers that define the category.
CEDIA / AVIXA
At least one principal or lead technician holds a current CEDIA, AVIXA CTS, or comparable industry certification.
Complex & estate-scale
Documented capability to design, install, program, and support whole-home systems on complex, luxury, and estate-scale construction — planned and executed with interior design intent, in close collaboration with designers, architects, and builders.
Licensed technicians
Licensed low-voltage technicians on staff or under contract wherever state law requires.
Pillar 03Conduct Contracts Warranty
Professional Conduct
The third pillar is the one that protects the homeowner from the experience itself. Every certified firm has signed a written code of conduct and agreed to operate by it.
Signed code
Firm and all owners have signed the Cinergy Certified Code of Conduct. No high-pressure sales, no kickbacks, no misrepresentation of credentials or brand affiliations.
Written agreements
Every client engagement is governed by a written agreement covering scope, schedule, payment terms, change-order process, and warranty.
1-year minimum
Honors a minimum one-year workmanship warranty plus full pass-through of every applicable manufacturer warranty.
Pillar 04Reviews Responsiveness Verified Status
Customer Accountability
Words on a website are easy. Public, durable customer feedback is harder.
Public & verifiable
Active Google Business Profile (or equivalent on Houzz, Yelp, or BBB) with real client reviews visible for anyone to see — nothing hidden, nothing curated.
Timely responsiveness
Responds promptly to customer feedback and inquiries — no ghosting, ever.
Publicly checkable
Every certified firm’s status can be checked anytime on the Cinergy verification page — homeowners never have to take a firm’s word for it.
Pillar 05Training Peer Events Contribution Openness
Peer-Reviewed Continuous Improvement
The Cinergy difference. Members are not just continuously trained — they continuously challenge and improve each other’s work through structured peer exchange.
40+ hours/year
Lead technicians and principals collectively complete a minimum of forty documented manufacturer or industry training hours each year.
1 in-person · 2 virtual
Firm participates in at least one Cinergy in-person event per year and at least two virtual peer working sessions.
2+ case studies
Firm contributes to the Cinergy peer-review forum — sharing project case studies, lessons learned, or process improvements at least twice per year.
Candid feedback
Firm gives and receives candid peer feedback on its work, in the spirit of mutual continuous improvement that defines the Cinergy community.
Pillar 06Referrals Manufacturers Mark Use
Community & Manufacturer Standards
The Cinergy mark is a collective asset, supported by the industry’s leading manufacturers. Every certified firm protects it.
Honor the protocol
Honors the Cinergy peer-referral protocol when a client need exceeds the firm’s geography or capability.
Good-standing dealers
Maintains active, in-good-standing dealer relationships with the founding Cinergy manufacturer partners (Lutron, Crestron, Savant, Control4) as applicable to the firm’s practice.
Approved contexts only
Uses the Cinergy Certified mark only on approved properties — website, signage, email, social, collateral — and never to imply individual product endorsement.
Industry Partners
The standard is built with the industry, not against it.
The Cinergy Certified standard is developed in active collaboration with — and supported by — the manufacturers whose platforms define luxury smart home integration. Cinergy member firms serve on the customer advisory councils of these partners, helping shape how the platforms themselves evolve.
Lutron
Premium lighting and shading control. The category-defining brand for high-end residential lighting.
Find a Lutron dealer →Crestron
Whole-home control and automation. The most widely deployed luxury automation platform in North America.
Find a Crestron dealer →Savant
Luxury home control and energy management. Award-winning platform for high-end residential and energy-aware homes.
Find a Savant dealer →Control4
Networked home automation by Snap One. The most widely deployed professional-installed automation platform.
Find a Control4 dealer →And the rest of the industry.
We partner closely with the platforms our members build on, so members can go deep on each one and elevate the standard. The partner roster is expected to expand over time.
The Standard, appliedFor the trade In context
Go deeper.
The six pillars are the foundation. These pages put the Standard to work — for the professionals who build alongside our firms, and for anyone weighing what a certification is really worth.
Architects, builders & interior designers
How design-build professionals use the Standard to de-risk the technology scope of a luxury home — vetting, early design collaboration, and a budgeting framework the whole project team can stand behind.
For design & build professionals →How the Standard compares
Four questions to ask about any home technology certification — who writes the standard, how it’s earned, whether it can be bought, and how to verify it — and how Cinergy Certified answers each one.
Compare certifications →Find a Certified Firm
Browse the directory.
Every firm in the Cinergy Certified directory has cleared this six-pillar standard. Use the directory to find a vetted home technology professional in your market.
Cinergy Certified status is based on information self-reported and attested to annually by each member firm. Cinergy Professional Development Group does not independently audit, investigate, or verify these attestations, and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to their accuracy or completeness. Cinergy disclaims all liability arising from any reliance on a firm’s Cinergy Certified status. Homeowners are encouraged to conduct their own independent due diligence — including verifying licensing, insurance, and references — before engaging any firm.