South Korean firm LG Electronics revealed its vision of a more sustainable way of life with the Net-Zero House at this week’s IFA show in Berlin.

The LG home energy platform handles household energy management, heating and cooling and includes the ESS energy storage system and the Therma V R290 Monobloc air-to-water heat pump (AWHP).

By combining the ESS and Therma V AWHP, the platform offers efficient heating as well as user-friendly energy management from production and storage to usage and conservation.

The Therma V delivers year-round indoor comfort and uses energy more efficiently than a traditional heating and cooling system. Targeting the decarbonisation trend, the Therma V R290 Monobloc helps users lower their household’s carbon footprint while extracting heat from the surrounding air by adopting R290 refrigerant, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of three. It can also produce the same high temperature of water as existing old radiators.

Easily integrated with LG’s AWHP, the ESS can increase the efficiency of a home’s renewable energy use, and serves as a back-up power source in the case of blackouts. Surplus energy can be stored in the ESS battery and diverted to the AWHP’s integrated water tank during the daytime, when solar energy production is at its peak. In the evening, when energy consumption is typically high, the ESS uses the stored energy to provide hot water and to power home appliances, boosting energy efficiency and energy self-reliance.

Should a power outage occur, the ESS can help keep essential elements such as heating, refrigeration and lighting up and running. The energy surplus is stored in the ESS for later use, or sold to a contracted electricity provider.

In addition to the Therma V, the ESS can integrate with a wide range of LG home appliances, including the washer, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher and styler, and even with the electric vehicle (EV) charger.

Visitors to the Net-Zero House saw a wall chart that shows how the system’s stored energy flows to all the installed appliances, reducing the burden on the electricity grid while cutting monthly power expenses.

Moreover, the home energy platform is compatible with LG ThinQ Energy, an intuitive-to-use energy management product, letting users control all their smart appliances, manage the HVAC, and monitor energy storage and consumption, from almost any location with their smartphones. Additionally, appliances with the energy saving mode, which can be accessed via the ThinQ app, further help in using energy efficiently.

“Featuring our innovative energy management, including the home energy platform powered by ThinQ Energy, the Net-Zero House at IFA 2023 highlights LG’s commitment to developing sustainable options over HVAC systems as well as home appliances for a better life,” said Lyu Jae-cheol, president of LG Electronics’ home appliance company (www.lg.com). “We will continue to leverage our industry-leading core technologies to benefit people and the planet.”

• LG Electronics is set to present the first commercial implementation of the Home Connectivity Alliance’s HCA 1.0 specification, enabling cross-brand appliance connectivity through the LG ThinQ smart home platform. By the end of this year, consumers will be able to control appliances from brands such as Samsung and Vestel with the ThinQ app, providing seamless interconnectivity and a smarter, more convenient home.