NEW YORK — LG Electronics is led smart home conversations at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2018 Conference on Architecture Expo, in New York.

Driving its commitment to future-ready open platforms for smart home innovations, LG announced that nearly all of its indoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC units are now Wi-Fi enabled and compatible with LG's SmartThinQ^® technology.

With literally hundreds of smart appliances and other devices already on the market, LG is offering consumers more ways to control their home and enjoy the benefits of a connected lifestyle. At AIA Expo, the premiere industry event for architects and design professionals, LG highlighted multiple smart solutions for today's modern buildings, supporting new smart products, technologies, and ideas across the entire industry.

"LG's leadership in HVAC smart connectivity on our open platform strategy and broad range of smart-enabled consumer products makes it easier for homeowners to enjoy the convenience of today's connected home," said Kevin McNamara, senior vice president, LG Air Conditioning Technologies. "Expanding Wi-Fi capability even further to include our indoor VRF units, including ducted and duct-free models, further enhances the LG smart home ecosystem for single-phase VRF projects and multi-family residential applications. This increased connectivity gives architects and engineers even more advanced technologies for their modern building projects."

Introducing connected HVAC products is part of LG's "Open Partnership, Open Platform, Open Connectivity" strategy, and "represents another important step in creating a smart home ecosystem with connected products for every room," according to McNamara. Wi-Fi already is built into virtually all of LG's 2018 appliances, and expanding Wi-Fi and app capabilities to LG VRF indoor units makes it easier for consumers to connect and interact with these devices, he explained.

Setup is simple and convenient with the free LG SmartThinQ app, available for Android and iOS. With just one app, users can control the entire lineup of LG smart appliances in their home. Whether it's turning on the air conditioner, preheating the oven on the way home from work, or checking the remaining laundry time while at the gym, LG SmartThinQ brings consumers a new level of convenience.

LG smart appliance owners can also have Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant help them around the house. For example, they can use simple voice commands from anywhere within range of the Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa (or on their smartphone) to adjust thermostat settings on their LG air conditioner, check the time remaining during wash cycles on their washing machine, ask their LG refrigerator to make more ice, turn off their range after cooking, and even check the air quality level in their home using their LG air purifier.

In addition to compatibility with Google and Amazon, LG's open partnership approach will also include other partners to meet the evolving preferences of smart home adopters.

McNamara said LG's industry-leading VRF technology and duct-free solutions have made major inroads in the United States where the demand for high-performance, flexible HVAC technology continues to grow. LG systems are designed to minimize efficiency losses found in conventional HVAC systems, provide sustainable energy savings, and offer some of the lowest lifecycle costs of any system on the market today.

Publication date: 7/11/2018

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