Samsung and LG Turn to Localized Heat Pump Production, Residential Demonstrations

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are pursuing production and demonstration in parallel to promote residential heat pumps in South Korea. According to industry announcements on the 16th, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics unveiled residential heat pumps at BEXCO in Busan during the "2026 Climate Industry International Expo."

A heat pump is a heating, cooling, and hot water system that transfers external heat, such as heat from the air. It is an electric heating method that transfers external heat, as opposed to boilers that directly burn fossil fuels.

Samsung has set up a domestic production line and is conducting installation training. Samsung Electronics referred to its high-efficiency heat pump solution, "EHS All-in-One." It has also established a heat pump boiler line capable of producing more than 100,000 units a year and has started training installation personnel.

LG Electronics is promoting a demonstration project to switch heating, cooling, and hot water systems to heat pumps in apartment complexes where residents actually live. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have begun domestic heat pump production and residential demonstrations.

Samsung Electronics highlighted "EHS All-in-One" as a front-and-center exhibit. "EHS All-in-One" is a residential heat pump that provides cooling, heating, and hot water with a single outdoor unit. The product is used for seasonal cooling, heating, and hot water, and users can check operating status and control it through the SmartThings app. Samsung Electronics also introduced the "EHS Heat Pump Boiler" among the products on display. The "EHS Heat Pump Boiler" supplies heating and hot water using air heat and electricity.

Samsung Electronics is supplying the "EHS Heat Pump Boiler" in South Korea in line with the government's heating electrification support program. In connection with this, a dedicated production line measuring 2,132 square meters has been established at the second campus of the Gwangju plant in the integrated special city of Gwangju, Jeonnam.

This dedicated production line began trial production in August. It is scheduled to enter full-scale mass production at the end of this month. The line's annual production capacity is more than 100,000 units.

Samsung Electronics is also expanding installation training alongside production. A dedicated EHS heat pump training center has been set up at the Suwon CS Academy. Training targets include B2B partners and installation engineers. The curriculum covers water piping work, product installation, test operation, and inspection.

At the Climate Industry International Expo, which opened on the 16th at BEXCO in Busan, LG Electronics showcased the "LG Therma V Heat Pump Boiler" and also displayed related home appliance and residential technologies. LG Electronics unveiled the "LG Therma V Heat Pump Boiler" at this expo.

The "LG Therma V Heat Pump Boiler" is an integrated product that applies an air-source heat pump. The company said the product delivers about 4 to 5 times as much thermal energy as the electricity input and can reduce energy costs by about 40% to 60% compared with conventional fossil-fuel boilers.

The exhibition hall featured system air conditioners and ventilation systems. Laundry and drying appliances using heat pump technology were also on display.

LG Electronics also exhibited the modular home "LG Smart Cottage." At "LG Smart Cottage," it demonstrated how AI home appliances and IoT devices are linked and how the home's electricity use is managed.

Separately, LG Electronics on the 15th signed a memorandum of understanding with Jeju Province, the Jeju Development Corporation, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology to carry out a demonstration project for electrifying heating, cooling, and hot water systems in apartment complexes. The demonstration project covers 12 households in Shinhyo Apartment in Seogwipo, Jeju, where actual residents live, and LG will verify the heating, cooling, and hot water system at the apartment complex.

For the domestic spread of heat pumps, installation conditions, in addition to product efficiency, also act as a variable. Depending on the housing type, the space required for outdoor units, water piping, and hot water equipment differs, and the way systems are linked to existing heating equipment also varies.

To respond to these installation-condition variables, Samsung Electronics is conducting installation training alongside domestic mass production. Samsung Electronics has set up a training center configured to resemble actual installation sites, and the center is equipped with a water tank, a hot water control kit, a floor-heating manifold, and water piping equipment.

Samsung Electronics conducted training in Jeju in April for about 200 installation engineers. The training reflected local residential conditions.

LG Electronics is applying a method that separates cooling and heating equipment from hot water equipment in apartment complexes. In LG Electronics' approach, individual-unit heat pumps handle cooling and heating, while hot water is provided by a shared central facility consisting of a central heat pump and a large-capacity tank in the building's common area.

LG Electronics plans to secure operating data in an actual resident-occupied environment to verify equipment configuration and operating conditions for apartment-complex applications. The schedule calls for design completion in October and completion in December, and the company plans to secure operating data after completion.

Source: IT DAILY · Kim Byung-ju
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241653

References

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