How Samsung, SMA and ABB are realizing an ambitious vision for convenience and sustainability in the home – Samsung Global Newsroom

Samsung Electronics’ Net Zero Home project aims to help customers save costs, reduce CO2 emissions and easily monitor household power consumption through a single app, in homes that generate and manage their own energy. To help make the home of the future a reality, Samsung has partnered with several global technology companies specializing in eco-friendly home solutions, including a German solar, storage and charging technology company. SMA solar technology and Swedish-Swiss electronics company and smart home innovator ABB.

Samsung’s partnership with SMA allows users to access SMA’s various Home Energy products and solutions with SmartThings Energy. Samsung heat pumps can now also communicate with SMA solutions. Through the ABB partnership, users can take advantage of ABB’s various home automation solutions with SmartThings. Samsung’s various connected products will also be available for ABB Smart Buildings.

With SMA’s Jan Van Laethem and ABB’s Lucy Han both attending IFA as spokespersons for the Net Zero Home project, Samsung sat down with them to discuss their work on the project, respective partnerships about their ventures with Samsung and their vision for the future of sustainable smart home. solutions.

Q. Could you please briefly introduce yourself and your work?

Jan Van Laethem: As Executive Vice President of Home Solutions Segment, I am responsible for all global residential solutions, systems and devices. SMA is the leading specialist in photovoltaic (PV) technology and storage systems and we strive to set the standards for tomorrow’s renewable energy supply. Our portfolio ranges from efficient photovoltaic and battery inverters to holistic system solutions for photovoltaic, battery storage, electric vehicle charging and HVAC systems of all power classes. With over 40 years of experience – which started in our center in Germany — SMA teams are working to chart the path to a climate-friendly future.

Lucie Han: I’m executive vice president for building and home automation solutions at ABB. Our ABB smart buildings improve people’s quality of life by equipping the buildings of the future with products, solutions and services that promote energy efficiency and sustainability. We harness innovation and digital technologies to enable safe, reliable energy distribution and smarter, more sustainable buildings. Whether new or existing single-family homes, multi-unit buildings, or commercial and industrial buildings, we are driven by a spirit of partnership and collaboration, supported by a reputation for open, scalable digital solutions and smart technologies.

▲ Jan Van Laethem from SMA and Lucy Han from ABB pose at the Samsung Electronics stand at IFA 2023

Q. Why did you choose to partner with Samsung for the Net Zero Home project? How does the partnership align with your business goals?

Van Laethem: SMA and Samsung share the same mission: putting people at the center of our business objectives. SMA wants to empower its customers to create a sustainable future in their own lives, and partnerships with companies like Samsung are key to achieving this, as device compatibility is key to achieving this.

Han: Teaming up with a leading technology innovator like Samsung Electronics reinforces ABB’s mission to connect entire buildings with open and adaptable solutions. Partnerships like this also provide information on total energy consumption, including in areas such as electric vehicle (EV) charging.

Homeowners want smart home solutions that connect all the devices in the home, whether they’re from Samsung, ABB or other brands. Above all, they also want to be able to access it through a single user interface. The Net Zero Home project is an important milestone as it demonstrates this user-friendly approach in action. Our work with Samsung helps make concepts like home automation and energy optimization more tangible for customers by showing them working seamlessly in familiar environments. Once fully realized, these concepts will be an important step towards a more sustainable world.

Q. How would you describe the Net Zero Home project for customers? Does this allow them to participate in energy management themselves?

Han: Imagine homes where devices and appliances are all connected through a centralized system, one that saves you money, time and energy. By connecting the Samsung SmartThings app to ABB home automation solutions, for example, you can monitor and control everything — from washing machines to energy and security systems — using a single app on your devices. With the energy they save and the carbon emissions they reduce, smarter homes are a win-win for you and the planet.

Van Laethem: The Net Zero Home project can take care of energy management for customers for them, but it also allows them to customize the system to meet their individual needs. The project offers different solutions for different people, from solar beginners to advanced users who want to participate more directly in managing their energy.

▲ At IFA 2023, Samsung invited attendees to explore its Net Zero Home project at Tiny House, just outside City Cube Berlin. The exhibition showed how, with the SmartThings Energy service at its heart, Samsung is developing this new holistic, efficient and intelligent home energy experience.

Q. What are your hopes and expectations for Net Zero home use around the world? What are the factors contributing to its wider adoption?

Van Laethem: SMA’s goal is to supply as many homes as possible with clean energy and thus reduce CO2 emissions around the world, and the Net Zero Home project is an excellent opportunity to make our energy solutions more widely available.

Across the world, energy costs are rising. Customers are beginning to realize the value of independence from fossil fuel imports and want to reduce their personal CO2 emissions. These factors lay the foundation for wider adoption of Net Zero Home, and its success would mean more energy security, more freedom, and a healthier planet.

Han: Adopting Global Net Zero Home would mean more homes that don’t harm the planet. This is the very essence of this project. Net Zero homes are like climate superheroes, fighting carbon and climate change day in and day out. My personal vision for Net Zero Homes is for them to make a real difference to tackling the climate crisis.

Our overarching goal is to lead the way with today’s technologies to solve tomorrow’s problems. However, for net zero homes to be successful, we also need to keep things simple. This means open communication protocols, interoperable devices and creating a common language for the home ecosystem.

Q. How does the Net Zero Home project address the current state of home energy?

Han: When it comes to the future of connected living and urban planning, the pandemic has condensed decades of social and behavioral change into just a few months.

Now we’re looking at a whole new landscape. Concepts such as “smart cities” are evolving towards an approach focused on “smart communities”. We used to think of smart technology in terms of individual homes, but today its adoption in apartment building, villa and tower developments is also accelerating.

To accelerate the transition to Net Zero, we need to consider issues such as industrial standardization and regulatory certainty, technology accessibility, innovation, financing and industrial skills. These are all areas that efforts like the Net Zero Home Project are helping to flesh out in real time.

▲Jan Van Laethem of SMA and Lucy Han of ABB at the Samsung Electronics press conference at IFA 2023. Samsung is working with various partners, including SMA and ABB, to help make the home of the future a reality

Q. What future for the collaboration between SMA and ABB with Samsung?

Van Laethem: SMA and Samsung continue to work together on comprehensive solutions bringing together the worlds of smart home and home energy management. We look forward to sharing more plans and projects in the future.

Han: ABB and Samsung are currently working on the next iteration of products and solutions to meet modern energy demands. Able to integrate with third-party companies and home appliances, this solution will harmonize smart home systems, energy management processes and electric vehicle charging controls. Integrated into our existing smart home ecosystem, it interacts with heat pumps, rooftop solar PV systems and electric vehicles.

This type of visualized intelligence at users’ fingertips has until now been reserved for commercial buildings. Our new solutions not only allow homeowners to better manage their immediate energy bills, but they will also help them optimize their consumption habits in the long term. We are proud of our achievements alongside Samsung in the Net Zero Home project, and I look forward to more successes to come.