Samsung Electronics (005930) will launch its ‘EHS All-in-One,’ an integrated HVAC system that handles cooling, heating, and hot water with a single outdoor unit, in the South Korean market within the year. The company explains that the product applies ‘heat recovery technology,’ which recycles heat discarded during summer air conditioning to produce hot water, reducing power consumption by roughly 20% compared to using separate cooling and heating systems.<\/p>\n
Shin Moon-sun, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances (DA) Business, formalized the launch plan during a heat pump technology briefing held in Jeju on the 10th, stating, “We are preparing a product for the Korean market identical to the one currently undergoing verification.” The EHS All-in-One was first launched in the European market in April and is currently on sale. In South Korea, a ‘Heat Pump Field Test Lab’ has been established at an occupied residence in Donam-dong, Jeju City, to verify performance and energy efficiency.<\/p>\n
The core of the EHS All-in-One lies in integrating an Air-to-Air (A2A) function, which directly heats or cools air, with an Air-to-Water (A2W) function, which heats water for underfloor heating and hot water supply, into a single outdoor unit. While existing heat pump boilers focus on heating and hot water, the EHS All-in-One bundles the cooling function into one system, considering the high penetration rate of air conditioners in South Korean homes and the limited outdoor unit installation space in apartment complexes.<\/p>\n
“Of South Korea’s 20 million households, 70% are apartments. The EHS All-in-One solves cooling, heating, and hot water with one outdoor unit, saving living space,” emphasized Shin. According to Samsung, South Korea’s air conditioner penetration rate is around 98%. With system air conditioner outdoor units already installed in apartments, adding a separate heat pump outdoor unit for heating electrification inevitably increases the installation footprint. The EHS All-in-One is presented as a solution to reduce these spatial constraints.<\/p>\n
The product’s key competitive advantage, heat recovery technology, recycles heat absorbed from indoors during cooling to heat water instead of discharging it outside. “By exchanging heat generated during the cooling process with water, warm water can be produced without operating a separate boiler,” Shin explained. “This is a technology previously applied to large commercial systems, optimized for residential use.”<\/p>\n
Samsung presented data showing that the heat recovery technology can reduce summer electricity consumption by 20% compared to using an air conditioner and heat pump separately. However, the actual annual energy savings in real households will be confirmed through ongoing field test data.<\/p>\n
At the Donam-dong test site in Jeju, a demonstration showed hot water being produced simultaneously with air conditioner cooling. In this 165\u33a1 (approximately 50 pyeong) house, one outdoor unit was connected to four wall-mounted air conditioners on the first and second floors for cooling, while also linking to a hot water tank in the basement boiler room to supply heating and hot water. Hot water at 50\u2103 was instantly supplied from the kitchen sink.<\/p>\n
Yang Chang-hee (74), who resides in the house, said, “What I liked most was the ability to utilize space cleanly and efficiently without needing separate outdoor units for cooling, heating, and hot water supply.” Previously, the house operated four air conditioners for summer cooling and relied on two kerosene boilers for winter heating and hot water\u2014a dual-system structure.<\/p>\n
Alongside the standalone house verification, Samsung has installed the EHS All-in-One at Samsung C&T’s Residential Performance Research Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, testing its performance in an environment identical to actual apartments. The approach compares operational performance and economic feasibility by installing a conventional boiler and system air conditioner on one floor, and the EHS All-in-One on another.<\/p>\n
Challenges remain for application in multi-unit dwellings. Shin noted, “We are discussing whether to adopt a thermal storage method, where the heat pump runs and stores energy during off-peak hours, or a direct circulation method that circulates hot water without storing it in a tank, for South Korean apartment complexes.” He added, “Conditions vary depending on unit size and the number of occupants, and expanding to apartments requires changes to the amount of transmitted power itself, so relevant government ministries and manufacturers are discussing these issues.”<\/p>\n
Securing price competitiveness is also a prerequisite for market expansion. The specific domestic launch price of the EHS All-in-One has not yet been disclosed, but for heat pump boilers currently being distributed in Jeju, the total project cost is approximately \u20a914 million (approximately $9,898), with the consumer’s out-of-pocket expense around \u20a94 million (approximately $2,828) after a 70% government subsidy. “At the current industrial base, it is difficult to form a market without subsidies,” Shin explained. “A certain level of subsidy policy is needed initially, and as the market grows, the support ratio is expected to decrease. Europe has also lowered subsidies as the market expanded.”<\/p>\n
The electricity rate system is another issue to resolve. The current Jeju distribution project installs a separate meter for the heat pump, applying a general rate plan instead of the progressive residential rate. Samsung, the government, and related agencies are discussing seasonal and time-of-use rate plans to apply suitable rates for heat pumps without requiring an additional meter in the future.<\/p>\n
Samsung has enabled remote monitoring and control of the EHS All-in-One by linking it with its SmartThings smart home platform. At the Jeju test site, a method is being tested that links with a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to operate the heat pump when surplus power is generated and store the heated water in a tank. Intelligent energy control has also been implemented, using surplus daytime power from 3kW solar panels on the roof to heat water up to 70\u2103 for storage.<\/p>\n
The Jeju field test will continue for about one year, until late June to mid-July next year. Shin explained, “We intend to run it through all four seasons,” checking whether the product operates normally during midwinter snowfall and whether actual energy performance matches calculated levels.<\/p>\n
Heat pumps are a technology that utilizes heat from the air to achieve high energy efficiency and are considered central to ‘heating electrification,’ which shifts fossil fuel-based heating to electricity. Samsung’s heat pump has a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) of 4.9, meaning it can produce up to five times the heating energy relative to the electricity input. This results in approximately a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels. Notably, the EHS All-in-One uses R32 refrigerant, which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) roughly 68% lower than conventional R410A refrigerant, and is fully equipped with refrigerant leak detection and automatic shut-off safety devices for both indoor and outdoor units.<\/p>\n
Samsung’s move is interpreted as a strategy to go beyond replacing heating equipment and preempt the entire residential HVAC sector in the domestic heat pump market, which is beginning to form under government leadership. The South Korean government has set a target to deploy 3.5 million heat pumps by 2035, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector by 5.18 million tons. The support project underway in Jeju this year targets approximately 2,500 households, with nationwide supply planned to expand sequentially to 420,000 units by 2029 and 3.5 million units by 2035.<\/p>\n
Regarding competitor trends, Shin said, “Competitors are now aware that such a product has emerged, so I expect they will prepare similar products soon.” Samsung plans to maximize its first-mover advantage in the integrated HVAC market with the EHS All-in-One.<\/p>\n
In Aewol-eup, Jeju, the first household to have Samsung’s ‘EHS Heat Pump Boiler’ installed through the government’s heating electrification distribution project was also unveiled. The recipient was the family of Kim Eun-ae (54), who had been burdened by the high fuel costs of an LPG boiler. “Winter heating costs were so burdensome that I applied as soon as the project announcement came out,” Kim said. “After deciding to install a heat pump, I looked into several companies, and many evaluations pointed to Samsung having the best technology, so I chose them.” A 300L thermal storage tank was installed here, applying a thermal storage system that stores heat generated by the heat pump for use when needed.<\/p>\n
Samsung noted that this marks its third attempt at the domestic heat pump heating market. In the past, heating performance in low-temperature winter conditions and the progressive electricity rate system were obstacles. This time, low-temperature performance has been verified through field tests in Yangpyeong, Chungju, and Namhae based on cold-climate models, and coupled with the government’s discussions on improving the rate system, the likelihood of market establishment is assessed to have increased.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samsung Electronics (005930) will launch its ‘EHS All-in-One,’ an integrated HVAC system that handles cooling, heating, and hot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[11683,51663,19605,59351,5561,12550,127,276,59350,6988,43739],"class_list":["post-115104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-samsung-electronics","tag-carbon-neutrality","tag-ehs-all-in-one","tag-heat-pump","tag-heat-recovery-technology","tag-heating-electrification","tag-jeju-island","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-electronics","tag-shin-moon-sun","tag-south-korean-government","tag-virtual-power-plant-vpp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}