"Combining Electric and Gas to Reduce Costs"… LG Electronics Launches 'Hybrid System Air Conditioner'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] LG Electronics announced on the 16th that it has launched the 'Hybrid Heat Pump System Air Conditioner,' which combines the advantages of electric and gas types to reduce heating and cooling costs.

This air conditioner connects LG Electronics' representative electric system air conditioner product, MULTI V, and the gas system air conditioner (GHP) with a single piping system and integrates control with one controller. It is the first in Korea to combine electric and gas systems, and LG Electronics explained that this can lower the maximum power consumption, thereby reducing the basic electricity charge.

Generally, the basic electricity charge for buildings is calculated based on the maximum annual power consumption and charged monthly. Buildings using only electric system air conditioners are charged based on power consumption during summer and winter when electricity usage is high. As a result, even in spring and autumn when air conditioners are used less frequently, high basic electricity charges must be paid. However, appropriate modes tailored to the situation can reduce these charges.

This air conditioner offers four modes: 'Cost Optimization Mode,' which predicts electric and gas charges and prioritizes the relatively cheaper method; 'Automatic Mode,' which prioritizes gas operation during cooling when the unit price is lower and electric operation during heating when efficiency is better to reduce costs; 'GHP Priority Mode,' which prioritizes gas operation to lower the basic electricity charge when peak power control is needed; and 'MULTI V Priority Mode,' which prioritizes electric operation with high efficiency when indoor unit operation rates are low to maximize heating and cooling efficiency.

LG Electronics conducted a self-simulation of heating and cooling costs for a 147 kW system air conditioner in an office building with an area of about 1,000㎡ and found that the hybrid heat pump system air conditioner reduced energy costs by 25% compared to an electric system air conditioner of the same class and lowered the basic electricity charge by 54%.

By using this product, the contract power, which is the maximum power supplied by Korea Electric Power Corporation, can be reduced, thereby lowering the cost of electrical installation work such as installing transformers according to the contract power. Additionally, LG Electronics stated that policy benefits such as government gas cooling subsidies can be received corresponding to the capacity of the gas system air conditioner. Various indoor units such as ceiling type, embedded type, wall-mounted type, and stand type can also be combined with a single piping system.

Lee Jaesung, Vice President of LG Electronics Air Solution Business Division, said, "We will provide differentiated customer value with the new hybrid heat pump system air conditioner that smartly reduces heating and cooling costs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.