People at SIF : Secrets of Q9000

(This article has been edited/reposted)

Have you ever seen TED Talks? Respected speakers from various fields talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics. Regardless of the subject, we tend to stay focus during the presentation, because the speakers are passionate. We appreciate passion, because it is genuine, sincere and it resonates dedication. Therefore, having a conversation with passionate person is always a pleasant experience. Meet Jungho Kim, principal engineer and lab leader at Air Conditioner Advanced R&D team of Samsung Electronics Digital Appliances, a fine example of a passionate individual.

At this year’s SIF(Samsung Innovation Forum), Jungho Kim, principal engineer of Q9000 air conditioner was invited to speak on the last day of the event. Q9000 has been the hottest summer item this year, because of its slim look and unorthodox way of air cooling. Luckily, I managed to sneak in behind the stage to get a chance to sit down with him right before his presentation.

Samsung Tomorrow: Hi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim.

Jungho Kim: Hello. It is nice to meet you. Come in. It feels nice in here with the air conditioner on. (It was hot, humid and rainy outside)

ST: Thanks.

Inspiration of Q9000

ST: Q9000 looks so different to prior ACs. It almost looks like a stylish home theater sound system?

Kim: Q9000 is a totally new concept. We wanted to make an air conditioner that is completely different from the conventional style. First, we wanted to make it slim since we found out that consumers want good looking ACs that goes with the super thin TV in their living room. That’s why our design team suggested the AC that has half of the thickness of previous AC. To achieve this, we, R&D team, had to get rid of every conventional component except screws, while delivering a superior ability to cool a space.

Especially, we truly needed to focus on developing the heart of product – Fan. Fan usually takes up a lot of space, but it is a core component that creates wind.

ST: So the fan probably works different to conventional ACs?

Kim: Yes, it produces whirling wind. Conventional AC’s produce wind that travels but in a narrow path. Whirling wind covers a wider area. ACs, unlike fan, are not products that people stay in front of to keep themselves cool. AC is a product that keeps a space cool.

We took the idea of a jet engine for the fan of Q9000. Wind from a jet engine whirls.

Imagine trying to dissolve a powdered lemonade mix in a cup of water. You swirl the spoon because that is the quickest and most effective way to dissolve the powder. With this in mind, we decided to use whirling wind for the Q9000. Straight and narrow wind might reach faster to the certain part of the room, but it’s the whirling wind that can make a large space cooler quickly.

Breaking a Stereotype

ST: It certain way you redefined what air conditioner is. I’m sure a lot of people were thrilled when you presented the idea.

Kim: Actually, redeveloping a familiar product can be a challenge, as people’s initial reaction to breaking a stereotype is ‘doubt’. However, our focus and desire to bring a totally new and efficient AC, the way we want, won people’s trust. The challenge was coming up with the whirling wind, which was something that has never been done before in an AC. When the final version of Q9000 was built, we already have acquired 16 patents, which is exclusively lot for a single product. It was just one way that shows what a fresh concept Q9000 really is compared to conventional ACs.

Quarter Century Veteran

ST: I understand you have been developing ACs for 25 years now.

Kim: Yes, that sounds about right. Currently, I am with the Advanced R&D team.

ST: There must be a lot of difference in the development process or focus between when you first started and now.

Kim: Yes, “difference” might be an understatement. When I first started, the standard AC was a window AC, the one you see in a sliding window. The next era was the wall mounted AC. I remember when we first came up with a remote controller for this model, people were astonished. Everyone was like, “We finally got a remote controller!” We were getting standing ovations everywhere. It is funny looking back on it.

Until recently, people’s only expectation for AC was to keep a space cool. Now people have much higher expectations for an AC.

Nowadays, AC must be everything: humidifier, dehumidifier, air purifier, ionizer and temperature controller surely. Yeah, so it is a lot different to when I started to develop ACs. Even if we wanted to include those things back then, I’m not sure if we could have. We developed technology one by one and step by step and now we are able to create what we have now. History is significant.

Developmental Focus

ST: I never thought about that, but yeah, you are right! We expect AC to a lot more than just “Keeping it cool”. So besides that main function, what is the most important thing in developing AC?

Kim: I believe that AC must do 4 things. Temperature control, or as you say, keeping it cool, purifying air, humidifying and dehumidifying, and circulating air. These are the 4 main functions of AC. AC that performs all 4 functions perfectly is the type of AC that we try to develop. Although there are products that do only one of each 4 functions, but they are limited to that. Of course, Q9000 does all of those functions. For Q9000, we really wanted to emphasize the importance of ‘wind’ or ‘air circulation’.

Air circulation is extremely important. For example, have you even been inside a green house? Inside the green house, there are fans that ‘bring in’ air and ‘let out’ air. Do you know what happens if one does not function? Flowers don’t blossom, because ‘air space’ is created; photosynthesis doesn’t happen. I think this applies to humans as well. Therefore, we think creating air circulation is as important as temperature control.

When do you think we are most vulnerable to viruses?

ST: Umm…during the winter? No, it’s summer… or is it spring?

Kim: Most outbreaks happen during the early winter. Bacteria love the dry environment, because that is when they are most active. On a scale of 100, the ideal humidity level for humans is around 40~60. Below that viruses become active and above that fungus become active. Therefore, out of their comfort range, people can get sick easily. This is why de/humidifier function is important for your health.

These are some of the things that we focus a lot of our attention on. Many people don’t realize this. They might think they get sick because they are tired, but, actually, our living environment has a lot to do with sickness.

Being Healthy and Eco-Friendly

ST: So, obviously health is a very big concern for you guys.

Kim: Of course! For each function in Q9000, we programmed the best settings to control the best air condition for every situation. Health is not only a big concern for us, but also a responsibility. Also, we tried not to take any materials harmful to humans.  To Keep our products in Restriction of Hazardous Substances(ROHS) which is  a very strict standard, so if any of the part is harmful, we can’t use it.

ST: I can definitely relate to that, but people also care a lot about environment as well. To be honest, eco-friendly is not the first word that pops up when we hear AC. How is Q9000 or Samsung AC eco-friendly?

Kim: If you are on the producing side of the world, this is what you must think about. For AC, the first thing people worry about is the use of energy, electricity. Compared to the past, current ACs useless than half the electricity.

In fact, there are products available that can save more energy than that. For example, there are two types of AC: fixed speed and inverter. Electricity costs are much cheaper for inverter ACs compared to fixed speed AC. However, inverter ACs only take up 30% of global market share yet. As time passes, inverter ACs will be dominate the market and we are fully ready with the technology.

25 years of Passion

ST: OK, I think my time is almost up. Last question, what does air conditioner means to you?

Kim: This is my 25^th year in the AC developing business. I am 50 years old. Half of my life has been dedicated to ACs. If you take my childhood off that time, AC has been my life.

Probably the last thing on my mind before I die will be AC as well (laugh).

AC is a very complicated product. If AC was just for cooling air, I probably wouldn’t be here still developing AC for such a long time. It wouldn’t be fun. Doing the unfun same thing for 25 years?  I don’t want to even think about that. I always find something to add and improve. Witnessing the improvement and finding something to improve is fun for me. That’s why I have been able to do this for the past 25 years. I will continue to work as long as I can. Air conditioner is my life.

ST: Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure interviewing you.

Kim: The pleasure was mine. Thank you.

*All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

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