At CES 2022, Samsung announced the formation of HCA (Home Connectivity Alliance). It is an alliance of consumer electronics and home appliance brands to improve the interoperability of smart home devices. Now, Samsung and other HCA brands have announced that they've reached an important milestone by introducing HCA Specifications 1.0 for C2C (Cloud-to-Cloud) interoperability for connected homes.
HCA Specifications 1.0 set various interoperability standards so that connected features of devices like ACs, appliances, and TVs operate seamlessly across brands. These include legacy devices that consumers already have in their homes. The new standards also pave a way for improved energy efficiency for compatible products through data insights.
Consumers can reduce their energy bills by identifying the devices in their homes that consume the most energy and adjusting their usage accordingly. Features like SmartThings AI Energy, available on some of the latest appliances, automatically reduce energy consumption by acting on real-time data via a single app on a consumer's home.
Samsung says that this is just the start, and HCA is already working with the stalwarts in the energy segment to provide even more energy-efficient devices and solutions for smart homes in the future. HCA currently has 15 brands, including AEG, American Standards, Arcelik, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Haier, LG, Resideo, Samsung Electronics, Trane, and Vestel. All these brands are working together to bring improved and sustainable home appliances and connected devices.
HCA's C2C interoperability is currently being displayed to the public at the Venetian Expo Center Booth #52739 at CES 2023 in Las Vegas.
Chanwoo Park, Executive VP at Samsung Electronics, said, “Through combined industry efforts in HCA, we are working to make the smart home more accessible to consumers via the devices they use every day in the home. We are taking a fresh look at how devices can enhance consumers’ lives and how the appliance industry can work together to create a safer connected home that our customers can trust. Through energy savings and support for legacy household products, we believe that we can contribute to a world where sustainability starts at home.”
