ABB and Samsung partner on smart buildings

Samsung Electronics on April 5 announced a partnership with global technology company ABB to expand the Samsung SmartThings integration into more homes and buildings.

The ABB-free@home automation platform controls a host of building equipment including access, detection, communications and climate systems for residential and commercial buildings.

Integrating ABB-free@home with the Samsung SmartThings solution will create a one-stop-shop for IoT solutions providing easy access to monitor and control building technologies, solidifying Samsung as a key provider of smart home solutions for real estate developers, builders and management groups, the company contends.

“With SmartThings, Samsung has been able to create an eco-system of smart appliances making homes smarter and more efficient,” said Chanwoo Park, head of IoT Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to build on that by partnering with ABB to expand the SmartThings experience to new customers making it easier for consumers to reduce costs and create positive environmental impact.”

To foster the partnership, Samsung and ABB said they will develop a cloud-to-cloud integration, allowing consumers of both ABB-free@home and Samsung SmartThings broader access and control over the platforms.

 With Samsung’s SmartThings platform, users can now monitor and control ABB’s portfolio of devices, such as cameras, sensors and comfort systems integrated with SmartThings, allowing users to access their smart home features from anywhere via a single application.

As energy efficient buildings reduce unnecessary energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, Samsung and ABB say the firms' integrated energy management systems can now jointly run high-impact energy applications like refrigerators, washers, dryers, HVAC, etc. with more efficient usage models.

From the perspective of developers, Samsung and ABB’s partnership offers a scalable, turnkey smart home solution, with premium Samsung appliances and ABB devices, which can greatly reduce operational costs through created efficiencies and predictive maintenance services.

The partners note that as buildings are estimated to generate nearly 40 percent of annual global CO2 emissions, a smart home integrated with renewable energy equipment - such photovoltaic inverters and chargers from ABB’s product lineup - can fulfill energy consumption needs, while reducing CO2 emissions created from other energy sources.

The partners said they will furnish energy and power meters to provide users with up-to-date data on energy costs, allowing them to strategize appliance usage to reduce overall costs.

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