Samsung and LG Electronics to Help Save Energy with Smart Home Platforms

Seoul City and KEPCO Participate in 'Resident DR Service' Pilot Project

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are joining hands with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to explore energy-saving measures using smart home platforms.

On the 15th, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics announced that they will participate in a pilot project for regional Demand Response (DR) services aimed at improving energy efficiency in Seoul apartments, in collaboration with KEPCO, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Herit.

The resident DR service is a program that recommends reducing electricity usage during specific peak hours based on energy data per household, and provides incentives when individual households reduce their electricity consumption. Participating households receive an incentive of 1,000 KRW per successful reduction if they cut their average power usage by more than 10% during the requested times once or twice a week.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government selects apartments to participate in the regional DR service and provides incentives, while KEPCO is responsible for establishing a real-time energy data collection infrastructure and building a data linkage system for the selected apartments.

Samsung Electronics is participating in a pilot project for the 'Resident DR Service,' which promotes energy-saving solutions in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and others. On the 15th at 10 a.m., a signing ceremony was held at the new Seoul City Hall, where Kim Geon-woo, Executive Director of LG Electronics; Song Ho-seung, Director of Korea Electric Power Corporation; Han Mi-sook, CEO of HERIT; Lee In-geun, Director of Seoul Metropolitan Government's Climate and Environment Headquarters; and Park Chan-woo, Vice President of Samsung Electronics (from left), posed for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

Samsung and LG plan to use their respective smart home platforms to make it easy to manage energy consumption.

Samsung Electronics offers energy-related services within its integrated home appliance management platform, SmartThings. It provides an 'AI Saving Mode' that automatically reduces power consumption before reaching the progressive rate threshold, without requiring users to manually control devices. The AI Saving Mode can be linked with Samsung refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and dishwashers through SmartThings, reducing power consumption by up to 60% depending on the device.

Park Chan-woo, Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Home Appliance Business Division, expressed expectations that "amid rising electricity prices increasing household burdens, this pilot project will allow Seoul citizens to feel the effect of reduced burdens."

LG Electronics provides an Auto-DR service that automatically controls home appliances linked with regional DR information through the LG ThinQ app. When the recommended power reduction time arrives, the LG ThinQ server automatically adjusts the air conditioner’s set temperature and changes operating conditions to reduce energy consumption.

Additionally, LG Electronics plans to expand the 'Our Home Energy Monitoring' service of the LG ThinQ app?which provides energy usage, electricity bills, and advance notifications of progressive rate tiers?to apartments participating in the regional DR pilot project in the second half of this year. Sequentially, LG will also implement an energy-saving service linked with home appliance platforms connected to the LG ThinQ app, allowing users to check real-time energy-saving targets and reductions through the app, and receive incentives when electricity usage is reduced compared to the target.

Jung Ki-hyun, Vice President and Head of LG Electronics’ Platform Business Center, stated, "Along with participating in the regional DR pilot project, LG Electronics will provide differentiated customer value by offering energy monitoring and energy-saving guides through the LG ThinQ app."