Leading Global Manufacturers Form Home Connectivity Alliance to Foster Innovation and Provide Consumers With Safe, Interoperable Appliances in Their Connected Home

News Highlights:

• American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, Arçelik, The Electrolux Group, Haier, GE Appliances, Samsung Electronics, and Trane Residential form Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) to enable connected device interoperability across brands.
• HCA will develop guidelines for Cloud-to-Cloud interoperability, taking into consideration long lifecycles, data security and physical safety requirements of devices with a focus on appliances, HVAC systems and TVs.
• Alliance invites other connected device manufacturers to join in the effort to reduce vendor silos in the home and to bring new features and services to consumers globally.   

BEAVERTON, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#HCA–Leading manufacturers in the connected home space American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, Arçelik, The Electrolux Group, Haier, GE Appliances, Samsung, and Trane Residential today announced the launch of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) to provide consumers with safer, simpler and more interoperable options in their connected home.

Device interoperability to expand consumer choice

HCA’s goal is to provide consumers with more choices for their connected home through C2C (Cloud-to-Cloud) interoperability, supporting the compatibility of devices across brands.

Yoon Ho Choi, President, Home Connectivity Alliance and Global Head of Planning & Partnerships, Home IoT Business, Samsung Electronics, said: “A simple and secure connected home has been a long-standing dream for the industry, and it is time to make it a reality. Consumer homes are filled with long-life appliances and systems across multiple manufacturers. Consumers should have the flexibility to purchase and operate multiple brand appliances that work together without locking the user into a single platform. We believe that manufacturers, who truly understand their consumer needs, lead the way for building an interoperable connected home ecosystem.”

Uncompromising safety and data privacy

Along with interoperability, consumer safety and data privacy are key pillars of HCA’s mission. Driven by the exponential growth of big data, consumer privacy and data protection have become top priorities for device manufacturers. New smart features on connected devices (like remote diagnostics, remote start/stop, etc.) provide a new layer of convenience. However, unauthorized access to such features would lead to consumer dissatisfaction and mistrust. Connected device manufacturers hold the responsibility to protect consumers from these risks and to safeguard data generated by these devices.

In addition, complex smart devices with moving and mechanical parts–including those with high voltage electrical components and heating elements–require safety expertise from companies that understand these devices best. Leveraging the collective background, experience and knowledge across its manufacturer membership base, HCA will prioritize consumer safety in the digital landscape.

Katherine Shin, Secretary at Home Connectivity Alliance and Vice President of Customer Experience for the Residential HVAC and Supply business at Trane Technologies, provides the following:

“Forming this alliance allows us to re-envision the power of smart and personalized comfort. Imagine a scenario in which your home appliances and HVAC system recognize your family’s lifestyle patterns and automatically adjust their settings to maximize comfort, reduce energy consumption, and deliver the ideal smart home experience. Not only is this beneficial for the consumer; utility companies can better manage peak demand and manufacturers can provide more energy-efficient products. Together we are building a more sustainable future.

We also recognize that smart products collect a lot of data, which makes this scenario possible, yet must be utilized in a secure environment. HCA aims to be the collective voice for home electronics data privacy, where we will agree upon industry standards to protect our consumers’ data.”

Innovation and thought leadership in the connected home space

HCA members will have the opportunity to innovate, influence industry trends, share expertise across peers and become leaders in expanding the connected home ecosystem.

Through collaboration with other standards organizations and governing entities, HCA will foster fair competition and drive innovation to provide the safest, most feature-rich connected home experience for consumers.

To learn more about the Home Connectivity Alliance, membership benefits and how to join, visit www.homeconnectivityalliance.org.

Member support

“As a technology first business and a trusted lifestyle solutions provider, Arçelik is proud to be a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance, working alongside other leading global brands to create a seamless smart home ecosystem. In an increasingly data-driven and digital world, consumer safety needs to be prioritized. To help tackle these areas and safeguard customer data, we’re excited to support cross platform interoperability with HCA cloud-to-cloud scheme that is set to not only make our users’ lives easier, but also help them feel more secure in their digital homes.”

– Nihat Bayız, Chief Production & Technology Officer at Arçelik

“Electrolux is focused on sustainable consumer experience innovation that can help shape living For the Better. As the number of connected products continues to grow in homes across the world, the need for cross brand interoperability increases to enable great consumer experiences. This is why we are happy to be part of HCA.”

– Ola Nilsson, Group CXO and Executive Vice President, The Electrolux Group

“Delivering continuous innovation has become critical in today’s digitally oriented world. The HCA will focus on the longer lifecycle of durable goods, how they integrate in someone’s home and their everyday life. Flexibility and interoperability will be synonymous with the connected home and the work of the HCA will help enable ongoing innovation for cornerstone appliances and systems within the home.”

– Shawn Stover, Vice President, SmartHome Solutions, GE Appliances

“The home appliances are important for everyday life. They have unique characteristics and requirements in the connected home environment. We’re glad that HCA is going to create a collective voice of the industry. Haier looks forward to contributing its deep expertise on appliance connectivity, data security and physical safety with HCA member companies to provide global customers a better experience.”

– Jerry Liu, Global Chief Digital Officer, Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.

About Home Connectivity Alliance

The Home Connectivity Alliance is a member-driven organization dedicated to the development and promotion of safe and secure interoperability across long-life appliances, HVAC systems and TVs within the connected home ecosystem. For more information, visit www.homeconnectivityalliance.org.

Contacts

Liz Nardozza / Sophia Meyer

Home Connectivity Alliance PR

Telephone: +1 503.313.4309

Email: hca@nereus-worldwide.com