Smart home appliances with enhanced energy

Underpinned by the evolving Smart ThinQ™ technology, the new smart appliances are equipped with innovative device-to-device connectivity features and the home energy management system (HeMS). With such technological advances, LG is opening up a new era in user convenient and efficient home management with savings in energy and electricity bills.

“LG’s leadership in smart appliance development has been in pursuing technological advancements that will make customers’ lives more convenient and ultimately upgrade their quality of life,” said executive vice president and CEO of LG Electronics Home Appliance Company Moon-bum Shin.

“Device-to-device connectivity with smartphones and between LG appliances is a new and exciting way for us to realise this goal. By doing so, LG can help customers handle their housework in a smarter manner by saving time, money and energy,” he asserted.
LG has differentiated its smart appliances with LG’s advanced and highly complementary technologies.

LG’s four core technologies – the Linear Compressor, the Inverter Direct Drive™, the Infrared Grill™ technology and the KOMPRESSOR® technology – enable superior performance, while Smart ThinQ™ technologies – Smart Manager, Smart Diagnosis™, Smart Access, Smart Adapt and Smart Grid – bring smart savings and enhanced convenience to consumers.

Technology enthusiasts will notice that LG’s Smart ThinQ™ technologies have evolved a great deal since their introduction at CES 2011. Furthermore, LG’s smart refrigerators and smart washing machines are now connected to smart TVs, which enable convenient monitoring of the operational status of the two appliances.

The Smart Refrigerator Gets Smarter with the Enhanced Smart Manager
Underpinned by the company’s signature linear compressor, which comes with a 10-year warranty, LG’s showpiece smart French-door refrigerator is equipped with a full range of Smart ThinQ™ technologies. Key among them is Smart Manager, which transforms the refrigerator into a complete food management system.

Customers can use the refrigerator’s LCD panel or their smartphones to check the food items stored inside, as well as their location and expiration date. Using the Smart Manager's freshness tracker, customers can also enter various food items, such as eggs, milk and vegetables, and check their suggested expiration dates. Additionally, the refrigerator recommends dishes that can be cooked using the ingredients available in the refrigerator.

Smart Shopping is another new feature for Smart Manager, which offers online grocery shopping directly from the refrigerator’s LCD panel or from a smartphone. A shopping list is created by selecting food items from the inventory, which will be loaded onto Smart Shopping by pressing the “Go Shopping” button.

Customers can purchase these food items from the refrigerator’s LCD panel or through smartphone, while items not on the list can be searched for and selected manually by the customer. These features eliminate the hassle of having to write down grocery shopping lists the old-fashioned way, or the need to visit the grocery store, saving time and increasing convenience.

This year, the Smart Manager includes LG’s unique Health Manager feature, which recommends recipes based on personal profiles. The customer’s age, sex, weight and height information is used to determine the BMI Index, which is then used to select menus suitable to the customers’ physical condition.

The Health Manager even recommends daily or weekly family meal plans based on the personal profile, while also providing recipes for each dish. The Smart Access feature lets customers check the status of their LG appliances from smartphones, regardless of their geographic location.

A Smart Washing Machine with the World’s First Wi-Fi Smart Diagnosis™
Another highlight at CES 2012 is LG’s smart washing machine, which incorporates Smart Diagnosis™, Smart Access, Smart Adapt and Smart Grid-ready features. Smart Diagnosis™ has undergone an impressive upgrade for the smart washing machine, an effort which resulted this year in the washing machine’s Wi-Fi Certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

This addition enables LG’s washer to self-diagnose its problems via Wi-Fi connection. Also, a downloadable smartphone application alerts customers about less significant problems, such as when the door is left open.

Like the refrigerator, the washing machine uses Smart Access to keep owners connected, regardless of their location. Customers no longer need to worry when leaving the house with the washer running as Smart Access makes it possible to monitor the operational status of the washer and the dryer while on the go.

Certain functions, such as changing the pre-programmed wash time or adding fabric softener, can be adjusted remotely and pop-up messages on the smartphone signal when the wash cycle is finished. Customers can also check the status of their wash from their living rooms through a smart TV.

Meanwhile, Smart Adapt lets customers download new washing cycle programmes - such as Super Rinse and Baby Sanitize - through smartphones or the washing machine’s LCD panel.
A Smarter Oven for Smarter Cooking

LG’s smart oven comes equipped with Smart Access, Smart Adapt and Smart Diagnosis™, which open up a whole new array of smarter cooking possibilities. Smart Access enables customers to monitor cooking settings, such as time and temperature, via their mobile devices.

With Smart Adapt, customers can send cooking time information by smartphone directly to the oven to make sumptuous dishes via the oven’s auto-cooking function. Smart Diagnosis™ enables consumers to diagnose simple problems, using a smartphone application or through direct contact with the customer service centre for a quick and efficient diagnosis and troubleshooting.

The smart oven is equipped with LG’s unique Infrared Grill™ technology, a unique technology that cooks food more naturally and evenly throughout, while saving time and energy. The Infrared Grill™ is a new, tastier and healthier way to perform convenient, gourmet cooking.

The freestanding electric single oven is the largest oven in the industry at 6.2 cubic feet, allowing consumers to cook large dishes without the need to cut up key ingredients. With the large-capacity oven, customers can enjoy dishes cooked as a whole, like an entire holiday turkey.

Extending Smart Concept from Connectivity to Total Home Management
LG’s home energy management system (HeMS) is an ultra-intelligent companion to the Smart Grid technology that manages smart appliances, lighting and HVAC in a power-efficient manner.

Through a smart meter, HeMS collects energy usage data throughout a home. Customers can monitor the electricity usage of each smart appliance by the hour, day, month or year. The overall energy consumption in a home and the resulting costs can be monitored as well.

The collected data can be viewed anytime, anywhere through PCs and smartphones, enhancing convenience for customers. HeMS even suggests ways through which overall energy consumption can be reduced, empowering customers with ways to save on their electricity bills, while doing their part in helping the environment.