MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Lowe's Companies, Inc. today announced the latest addition to its Iris smart home system with the introduction of an affordable water shut off valve that can be controlled over the Internet to protect homes from flooding and potentially costly repairs.

The Smart Valve is the first of its kind to link to water leak detectors and temperature sensors to automatically shut off the water supply if there is a leak detected or the temperature is too low, which may cause a pipe to freeze when homeowners are away.

"Many of our customers have experienced serious flood damage from burst pipes and leaks," said Kevin Meagher , Lowe's vice president and general manager, Smart Home. "The Smart Valve offers a new level of protection for their homes and gives them the peace of mind to know that if anything happens they will be alerted and damage can be minimized."

Water damage and freezing account for 22 percent of all homeowner insurance claims, with the average cost exceeding $7,000 , according to the 2014 Insurance Fact Book from the Insurance Information Institute. Insurance companies, like Liberty Mutual Insurance, are offering discounts to its customers who take the extra step in adopting technologies that keep their home safe.

"Liberty Mutual Insurance is committed to helping customers live safer, more secure lives, and self-monitored, smartphone enabled, water damage mitigation devices help achieve that goal. The ability to immediately detect and automatically take steps to stop water leaks with affordable solutions is an exciting advancement in smart technology," said Michael Robon , Senior Vice President of Liberty Mutual Insurance. "Preventative technologies like the Smart Valve can significantly reduce the risk of water damage to one's home from undetected leaks. This provides greater peace of mind by enabling early detection and minimizing damage. Liberty Mutual Insurance embraces these new technologies and believes customers who use devices like these to proactively protect their homes should be rewarded for this behavior.  This is why we are rolling out Smart Home discounts to many states, including specific discounts for water mitigation devices."

The Smart Valve by Waxman is available in Lowe's stores nationwide and online at Lowes.com for $159 .

Launched in 2012, Iris is Lowe's simple, affordable, and scalable DIY smart home solution. The new Smart Valve joins over 50 existing devices currently available for Iris - including security sensors, smoke detectors, video, water leak detectors and more. Iris offers the ultimate smart home experience with brand name products consumers already know and trust, including General Electric, Kwikset, Schlage, Whirlpool, Orbit Irrigation Products and PetSafe. Iris' open platform also supports dozens of other WiFi, Zigbee and Z-Wave-enabled devices.

For the complete list of products available for Iris, please visit Lowes.com/Iris.

About Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 100 home improvement company serving approximately 15 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2013 sales of $53.4 billion, Lowe's has more than 1,830 home improvement and hardware stores and 260,000 employees. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

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