Samsung Electronics UK has unveiled new technology and partnerships to optimise energy usage throughout homes.
Samsung UK’s SmartThings Energy service is integrating Hive’s thermostats. According to a statement, this means that households can control their home’s temperature directly through the SmartThings app. The integration of Hive thermostats allows consumers to check their home’s current temperature and set new temperature targets as well as setting at home temperatures when customers are on the move, it noted.
In partnership with British Gas, Samsung UK said it is also helping households better manage their energy use and make savings when it comes to their energy bills. The expansion of the collaboration between Samsung and British Gas allows SmartThings Energy users to automate appliances, and other connected products, as part of British Gas PeakSave.
The PeakSave program rewards customers for reducing their electricity usage during peak hours, to times when there is more renewable energy readily available. The statement added that SmartThings Energy users can automate appliances’ operating modes during these times, allowing them to take advantage of periods when electricity is half-price due to there being lots of renewable energy available, and rewards users for shifting their electricity to when there is less demand. British Gas said it has paid over £13m to 650,000 customers taking part in the scheme so far.
Earlier this year at CES, Samsung announced its collaboration with Tesla for SmartThings Energy. The company said that UK users can benefit from this increased connectivity, allowing users to access information relating to users’ energy production, storage and usage via SmartThings Energy.
The statement added that this integration allows for better preparations for power disruptions and outages. SmartThings syncs up with the Tesla app’s Powerwall ‘Storm Watch’ function, it noted, meaning in the case of extreme weather events users can be alerted through SmartThings on their connected Samsung TV’s and mobile.
Deborah Honig, chief customer officer at Samsung UK and Ireland, said: “We know that controlling energy consumption is a top priority for our customers, and as we head into winter this becomes an even bigger priority.
“We are continually evolving our SmartThings energy management features and extending our partnerships with British Gas and Tesla, to make it even easier and more intuitive for customers to manage their home energy usage.
“By providing new automated tech solutions that help our customers save time, money and energy, we are seeing even more people do that ‘little bit extra’ every day to take of their home and the planet.”