Samsung Electronics and Korea Electric Power Corp. will launch a pilot project for a joint business on the Internet of Things, the companies announced Monday.

From next month, Kepco will apply an automatic energy management system to Samsung’s wind-free air conditioner and T9000 refrigerator, which will help cut energy use during peak periods. 

The Samsung air conditioner and refrigerator will use an IoT platform based on the Long Term Evolution network.

The two firms are recruiting participants from 12 residential areas in Seoul, where the advanced metering infrastructure has been installed, and a commercial building in Incheon.

Volunteers will be offered some discounts when they purchase Samsung products, in addition to benefits related to reducing power bills.

The so-called “Energy IoT Pilot Service” will be provided to 100 households in the Seoul metropolitan area for the next one year.

“The joint project is expected to contribute to improving efficiency in energy consumption, helping consumers to save costs and providing them with the benefits of using smart home appliances,” Samsung said in a press release.

Samsung and Kepco will expand the scope of their cooperation in the second half of 2018 to establish an energy-related big data platform. Samsung will also increase its number of home appliances that use IoT technology, it said.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)