Inside Schneider & Samsung's Energy-Efficient Building Plan

The built environment accounts for a huge share of global carbon emissions – 34% at the UNEP's latest reckoning – yet the technology needed to manage it more efficiently has long been held back by incompatible systems and siloed data.

Lighting, heating and security controls from different manufacturers rarely communicate with one another, leaving facility managers unable to monitor or optimise energy performance from a single point of control.

A new partnership between Schneider Electric and Samsung sets out to change that, bringing Schneider's SpaceLogic KNX building automation portfolio into direct compatibility with Samsung's SmartThings and SmartThings Pro platforms.

A unified view of building performance

For facility managers that oversee multiple buildings and sites, the inability to consolidate controls has long led to inefficiency.

Separate dashboards for different systems can make it difficult to identify where energy is being wasted or to act on that information quickly.

By centralising Schneider's SpaceLogic KNX devices within a single SmartThings interface, managers gain real-time visibility into occupancy levels, temperature control and blind status across their operations – all of which have a direct bearing on energy consumption.

"Interoperability has become increasingly important in both residential and commercial environments, where customers expect connected systems to work together seamlessly," says Laurent Roussel, SVP Commercial & Channel at Schneider Electric.

"Integrating SpaceLogic KNX with Samsung SmartThings expands how customers can manage their connected devices, personalise their automation experience and gain greater visibility into energy usage across homes and buildings."

Samsung's certification process allowed Schneider to bring its full portfolio onto the platform swiftly, giving users a single interface through which building emissions can be reduced via automation.

Bringing energy efficiency into the home

The commercial case is clear, but the residential sector stands to benefit too. Smart home technology has historically struggled with adoption, in part because managing devices across multiple apps has made the experience cumbersome rather than convenient.

Integrating SpaceLogic KNX with the SmartThings app means homeowners can now oversee Schneider's solutions alongside their other connected appliances and electronics in one place.

Greater visibility into household energy usage, combined with easier automation, makes sustainable living a more realistic everyday proposition rather than an aspiration.

Low-cost entry points for new users

The Schneider announcement forms part of a broader push by Samsung to extend SmartThings compatibility across third-party products. ]

Last month, the company announced deeper integration with IKEA's smart home range, bringing Matter-over-Thread devices including smart bulbs and plugs into the SmartThings ecosystem.

"By connecting IKEA devices to SmartThings, even first-time smart home users can enjoy a familiar and easy connectivity experience without financial burden," said Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President of SmartThings, AI Platform Centre at Samsung Electronics.

"SmartThings will continue to expand its ecosystem through partnerships, enabling more consumers to enjoy seamless and convenient smart home experience within the SmartThings ecosystem regardless of brand or communication protocol."

Together, these integrations point towards a platform strategy designed to lower the barriers to energy-conscious living – whether in a managed commercial building or a first-time smart home.