The HCA is an organisation founded by manufacturers of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)  systems, home appliances and TVs. The HCA was created with the goal to develop safe, interoperable standards for connected home ecosystems.

As a founding member of the Alliance, Samsung Electronics continues to pursue innovation, including the SmartThings platform, to aid the HCA’s mission to develop standards that promote interconnectivity.

“Through combined industry efforts in HCA, we are working to make the smart home more accessible to consumers via the devices they use every day in the home,” said Chanwoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Service Biz Group of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are taking a fresh look at how devices can enhance consumers’ lives and how the appliance industry can work together to create a safer connected home that our customers can trust. Through energy savings and support for legacy household products, we believe that we can contribute to a world where sustainability starts at home.”

Interoperability to Promote Compatibility

The HCA Specification 1.0 expands on existing industry standards to clearly define interoperability standards that ensure long-lasting devices like appliances, HVAC systems and TVs operate seamlessly across brands, including legacy appliances already operating in consumers’ homes.

As a pioneer in the smart home industry, the SmartThings platform has paved the way for interoperability within the connected home. SmartThings supports Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices from a range of manufacturers, as well as first-party smart home appliances, providing consumers with more convenience and options within their connected home.

With the introduction of the HCA Specification 1.0, this enhanced interoperable experience will soon make the connected home attainable by more consumers than ever.

Bringing Sustainability Into the Heart of the Connected Home

The release of the HCA Specification 1.0 paves the way for energy efficiency throughout a consumer’s entire connected home through holistic data insights. Customers can raise their Energy IQ by identifying the appliances and devices in their homes that consume the most energy and adjusting usage accordingly.

Furthermore, innovations like SmartThings AI Energy Mode helps consumers to automatically manage their energy usage and costs using intelligent, real-time insights via a single app on their phone.[1] The HCA Specification 1.0 enables member brands to provide consumers with sustainability-focused, actionable insights for better energy efficiency and real-world savings.

Competitors Working Together for Our Consumers’ Connected Future

The introduction of the HCA Specification 1.0 for interoperability is just the first step in the HCA’s standards journey. The HCA is already working in parallel with energy industry leaders to provide even more energy-efficient solutions across the household.

HCA currently includes 15 global brands, including Samsung, AEG, American Standards, Arcelik, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Haier, LG, Resideo, Trane, Vestel and others. Membership provides the opportunity to collaboratively innovate and share expertise with peers to further develop the connected home ecosystem and bring more convenience and options to consumers.

With almost 250 million registered users across over 108 million connected devices worldwide, Samsung is leveraging its leadership within the smart home industry and working hand in hand with fellow HCA members to develop and launch new solutions within the connected home landscape.

The HCA C2C interoperability demonstration is open to the public at CES 2023 as part of the Smart Home exhibition – Venetian Expo Center Booth #52739 – taking place from January 5 to 8 in Las Vegas. This technical demonstration features HCA member company solutions that leverage C2C connectivity to enable multiple apps to control multiple brands of appliances, HVAC systems and TVs for optimised interoperability.

[1] Available on specific models from May 2023 through a Wi-Fi update. Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required. Results may vary depending on the usage conditions and patterns.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., will participate as a Board Chair in the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) conference at IFA 2022 which will be held from September 2^nd to 6^th. Samsung will demonstrate its leadership in device interconnectivity through the company’s integrated home appliance solution: SmartThings. It will allow users to control home appliances from 13 leading brands from around the world.

The common goal of HCA – an organisation founded by large appliance manufacturers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), home appliances, and TVs that include Arçelik A.Ş., The Electrolux Group, Haier, GE Appliances, Samsung Electronics, Trane Technologies and others – is to provide safe, secure and interoperable products that use innovatively connected features and services to ensure users enjoy a holistic experience of their home appliance ecosystems.

As one of the founding members of the HCA and a Board Chair of the Alliance, Samsung takes its leadership position within the project seriously. Yoon Ho Choi of Product Planning at IoT Biz Group, Samsung Electronics, is currently serving as the HCA President and Board Chair. Proud of its status as a founding HCA member, Samsung has endeavored since the beginning of the partnership to utilise SmartThings – its dynamic appliance and device integration system – in helping to achieve the Alliance’s ambitions for interconnectivity in the home.

“We are especially happy to see the speed of progress within the HCA. Within just nine months of launch, the HCA has been able to provide a live demo of the Cloud-to-Cloud interoperability of appliances, TVs and HVAC systems across member brands,” said Chanwoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of IoT Biz Group at the Digital Appliances Business of Samsung Electronics. “This is a truly unique and momentous accomplishment that could only be accomplished through dedication and close collaboration between manufacturers that know and understand the connected home ecosystem.”

SmartThings: A Central Component of the HCA Mission for Samsung

SmartThings turns the home into an interconnected ecosystem. It is a system that continues to help Samsung technologies, third-party apps and devices from other HCA members work in harmony for a holistic experience of the home. During this year’s IFA, HCA will host a demonstration attended by HCA-participating companies from September 2^nd to 5^th, that will display how home appliances from multiple companies can be controlled with one system. These devices include Samsung Electronics’ Bespoke Cube Air Purifier, Bespoke Jet Bot AI+, Bespoke Refrigerator, and Neo QLED, all of which are applied to SmartThings with HCA Standard[1].

With the SmartThings app, users can control more than 40 functions in 15 product categories from 13 brands including Samsung Electronics. Conversely, smart home apps from 13 brands can also control various Samsung products. For example, even if the oven, induction and hood in the kitchen are of different brands, it is possible to cook and control it with a single SmartThings app. The 15 product groups consist of air conditioners, air purifiers, Eco Heating System, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, hoods, inductions, ovens, refrigerators, robot vacuum cleaners, TVs, washing machines, and more[2].

Considering the expandability of the existing SmartThings system, it is possible to build a convenient smart home environment by connecting an additional 300 brands of third-party devices, along with the products from the 13 HCA brands to SmartThings.

Updates That Keep the Legacy Devices Working

SmartThings and HCA plan to bring the new interoperable features to global markets within the first half of 2023. In addition, models equipped with Wi-Fi among existing home appliances of HCA member companies can be controlled with a single app, regardless of the brand, through a software update on the app. This is especially important considering the long lifecycles of these large appliances that are part of the home infrastructure. SmartThings updates are simple, easy to access, and happen regularly to help ensure the latest security and feature updates are accessible to global users.

An Alliance for a Better Future

With more than 235 million registered users globally across over 105 million connected devices, SmartThings continues to lead the smart home field. Samsung – along with its fellow HCA members – is helping to realise the vision to innovate and develop new consumer solutions in the IoT landscape by leveraging the power of the SmartThings platform. . The company is committed to continuing to refine its own technologies while also ensuring interoperability is possible across the appliances and devices from other HCA members.

[1] Product availability varies across regions. Please visit Samsung.com.au for further information.

[2] Product availability varies across regions. Please visit Samsung.com.au for further information.