The SmartThings Blog

Do you want to be rewarded for living sustainably? Who wouldn’t? That’s why we partner with environmental pioneers like Leap to offer easy access to smart solutions through the SmartThings app. Leap connects smart energy devices to the grid, helping people and businesses earn money by saving energy while making the grid cleaner and more reliable. Together, we launched Flex Connect within SmartThings Energy, a program that helps users in New York, California, and Texas save energy and earn rewards for supporting the stability of our energy grids. Users can access insights about their consumption in SmartThings Energy, a comprehensive energy management solution in the SmartThings app. In our latest LinkedIn Q&A, we chatted with Leap to discuss our partnership, integration with SmartThings Energy, and more. Browse the highlights below or keep reading for the full conversation.  The Highlights SmartThings: For those who are new to your brand, what is Leap? Leap: Hey SmartThings! It’s great to be here. Leap is a software platform that connects smart energy technologies to grid programs, enabling energy users to contribute to reducing electricity consumption during periods of high demand. Through our innovative partnership with SmartThings, customers in California, New York and Texas can participate in the Samsung Flex Connect program and earn rewards when their qualifying smart devices save energy during energy events, contributing to a cleaner, more reliable energy system.  SmartThings: That’s great! Yes, let’s talk more about Flex Connect! This is a demand response program offered by Samsung that enables users to earn an immediate reward and additional Samsung Rewards for conserving energy when it matters most for the grid.  Available through SmartThings Energy in the app, under the Life tab, users can easily see if their zip code is eligible and sign up for Flex Connect. Once their eligible devices - like smart thermostats and Samsung appliances - are connected in SmartThings and set up for optimization, their devices will automatically participate when peak demand events are called. As a benefit, households typically see lower electricity bills by saving energy during expensive peak periods. Can you share how Flex Connect opens up the opportunity for SmartThings users to get even more insight into their home energy data? Leap: Yes, of course! The integration now allows eligible SmartThings users in New York, California and Texas to see their whole-home electricity usage data in the SmartThings app, enabling them to track their energy patterns throughout the day and week and understand usage spikes that might contribute to higher electricity bills. This empowers users to play a more active role in their home energy management! The Full Conversation SmartThings: Hey Leap! Thank you for joining us for a Q&A today. For those who are new to your brand, what is Leap? Leap: Hey SmartThings! It’s great to be here. Leap is a software platform that connects smart energy technologies to grid programs, enabling energy users to contribute to reducing electricity consumption during periods of high demand. Through our innovative partnership with SmartThings, customers in California, New York and Texas can participate in the Samsung Flex Connect program and earn rewards when their qualifying smart devices save energy during energy events, contributing to a cleaner, more reliable energy system.  SmartThings: That’s great! Yes, let’s talk more about Flex Connect! This is a demand response program offered by Samsung that enables users to earn an immediate reward and additional Samsung Rewards for conserving energy when it matters most for the grid.  Available through SmartThings Energy in the app, under the Life tab, users can easily see if their zip code is eligible and sign up for Flex Connect. Once their eligible devices - like smart thermostats and Samsung appliances - are connected in SmartThings and set up for optimization, their devices will automatically participate when peak demand events are called. As a benefit, households typically see lower electricity bills by saving energy during expensive peak periods. Leap: Yes, Flex Connect works as SmartThings’ very own virtual power plant! It’s good for the grid, good for the climate, and good for customer’s pocketbooks. And thanks to Leap’s seamless enrollment process on the backend, SmartThings users can get enrolled with just a few simple steps. SmartThings: Can you help explain what a peak demand event is? Leap: Sure! “Peak demand” refers to the point of highest electricity demand in a day (or another given period). When peak demand is higher than grid operators have planned for with their base power supply, they traditionally fire up more fossil fuels to make up the difference, but now they can call a peak demand event: this triggers a request to providers like Leap to signal participating devices to adjust their energy usage for a couple of hours in order to lower demand on the grid.  SmartThings: Exactly! So, how does the SmartThings and Leap partnership work during these events? Leap: When peak demand events are called, Leap sends a signal to SmartThings to modestly and automatically adjust their connected devices’ energy usage for participating customers for a couple of hours, without disrupting home comfort. The Flex Connect program is all about giving the customer control: users can adjust which devices participate at any time.  SmartThings: How does this impact the grid? Are there further impacts on the climate, too?  Leap: In short - the cleanest energy is the energy you don’t use! By lowering energy usage across many households in targeted areas, VPPs help boost grid stability and lower emissions.  And that’s especially important during extreme weather events like heat waves, when energy usage spikes and grid operators have traditionally had to fire up inefficient fossil fuel “peaker plants” to ensure there’s enough electricity to go around, making energy more expensive - and dirtier - for everyone.   Through programs like Flex Connect, we’re making the grid more resilient and more flexible, which also makes it easier for the grid to integrate more intermittent renewable resources like solar and wind by helping to solve the mismatch between electricity demand and renewable energy supply. This is the future of connected, sustainable living - where every household can play an active role in supporting grid resilience and lowering emissions.  SmartThings: AND, where every consumer can be made more aware of how their energy devices are operating and how their home is impacting the grid. That’s huge!  Can you share how Flex Connect opens up the opportunity for SmartThings users to get even more insight into their home energy data? Leap: Yes, of course! The integration now allows eligible SmartThings users in New York and California to see their whole-home electricity usage data in the SmartThings app, enabling them to track their energy patterns throughout the day and week and understand usage spikes that might contribute to higher electricity bills. This empowers users to play a more active role in their home energy management! SmartThings: Thanks, Leap, for explaining that. It’s a huge benefit for our customers, and it’s free and easy to access! We are so glad to be partnering with you to provide consumers with innovative data and tools to better their whole home energy management.  SmartThings: That was very informative. Thank you to our partners at Leap for chatting with us today! Want to know more? Learn about Flex Connect on the blog. #DoTheSmartThings Leap: Thank you for having us SmartThings! 

Living a sustainable lifestyle can often be tricky. That’s why we partner with eco-focused innovators like Electricity Maps to provide you with simple solutions right at your fingertips through the SmartThings app. Electricity Maps’ mission is to enable a data-driven decarbonization of electricity. By organizing and mapping real-time and forecasted electricity data, they provide individuals and businesses with the insights they need to make more intelligent decisions about their electricity consumption and reduce their carbon footprint. Users can access insights about their consumption in SmartThings Energy, a comprehensive energy management solution in the SmartThings app. In our latest LinkedIn Q&A, we chatted with Electricity Maps to discuss our partnership, how their solutions work with SmartThings Energy, and more. Browse the highlights below or keep reading for the full conversation.  The Highlights SmartThings: For those who are new to your brand, what is Electricity Maps?  Electricity Maps: Hey, SmartThings! Electricity Maps provides real-time and predictive electricity signals that unlock smarter electricity use for consumers to save carbon and cut energy costs. For example, the carbon footprint of the electricity a consumer receives in their power plug changes a lot during the day, depending on whether there is a lot of wind or solar power available.  Many devices have flexibility in when they consume electricity. Instead of having these devices charge or run at random times, we enable them to optimize their electricity usage to consume when the grid is powered by clean electricity. By sharing these insights with consumers, we help them understand the impact of their electricity use so they can make more sustainable choices.  That’s where the Electricity Maps API integration with SmartThings comes in! SmartThings: That’s right! We partnered with you to empower our SmartThings users with this insightful data in the SmartThings app!  The Electricity Maps API, integrated in 2023, connects seamlessly with SmartThings Energy to deliver real-time data to users on their carbon intensity levels. This allows SmartThings Energy users to make their home devices "carbon-intelligent," meaning their devices can automatically run at optimal times to lower carbon emissions. For example, Samsung devices, like the Jet Bot robot vacuum or the dishwasher, can be set to operate when renewable energy is more abundant on the local grid. Users can see these real-time insights on carbon intensity on a dashboard within the application to understand the impact of their green energy use and learn valuable tips to inform their energy management. SmartThings: Electricity Maps, can you explain how carbon intensity varies during the day? Electricity Maps: With more renewables being added to global electricity grids, there is more volatility in emissions, so much so that the carbon intensity of electricity varies more and more. How clean the electricity is at a given time depends on the availability of renewable energy and is often connected to the weather. Wind turbines can only operate with wind, and solar panels only work when the sun shines. This means that, for example, on a sunny day in California, the emissions of an EV charge can triple depending on when the car is charged. Our full conversation with Electricity Maps SmartThings: Hey, Electricity Maps! Thank you for joining us for a Q&A today. We’re excited to discuss SmartThings Energy, Carbon Intensity Data, and more with you. For those who are new to your brand, what is Electricity Maps? Electricity Maps: Hey, SmartThings! Electricity Maps provides real-time and predictive electricity signals that unlock smarter electricity use for consumers to save carbon and cut energy costs. For example, the carbon footprint of the electricity a consumer receives in their power plug changes a lot during the day, depending on whether there is a lot of wind or solar power available.  Many devices have flexibility in when they consume electricity. Instead of having these devices charge or run at random times, we enable them to optimize their electricity usage to consume when the grid is powered by clean electricity. By sharing these insights with consumers, we help them understand the impact of their electricity use so they can make more sustainable choices.  That’s where the Electricity Maps API integration with SmartThings comes in! SmartThings: That’s right! We partnered with you to empower our SmartThings users with this insightful data in the SmartThings app!  The Electricity Maps API, integrated in 2023, connects seamlessly with SmartThings Energy to deliver real-time data on the carbon intensity of local grids. This allows SmartThings Energy users to make their home devices "carbon-intelligent," meaning their devices can automatically run at optimal times to lower carbon emissions. For example, Samsung devices, like the Jet Bot robot vacuum or the dishwasher, can be set to operate when renewable energy is more abundant on the local grid. Users can see these real-time insights on carbon intensity on a dashboard within the application to understand the impact of their green energy use and learn valuable tips to inform their energy management. Electricity Maps, can you explain how carbon intensity varies during the day? Electricity Maps: With more renewables being added to global electricity grids, there is more volatility in emissions, so much so that the carbon intensity of electricity varies more and more. How clean the electricity is at a given time depends on the availability of renewable energy and is often connected to the weather. Wind turbines can only operate with wind, and solar panels only work when the sun shines. This means that, for example, on a sunny day in California, the emissions of an EV charge can triple depending on when the car is charged (explore carbon intensity variations in California). Can you explain where users can find Carbon Intensity data in the SmartThings App? SmartThings: Of course! Once a user downloads SmartThings Energy in the app and connects their smart energy devices, they can start seeing a cumulative report of their carbon emissions data. In SmartThings, getting to the carbon emissions aware content is as simple as clicking on the Life tab at the bottom of the main SmartThings app screen and navigating to SmartThings Energy, where users can scroll down to the ‘carbon emissions aware’ card. There, they can access and explore carbon emissions and carbon intensity data. These features can help users save emissions in their daily lives and save on their utility bills, too. Want to help break this down for us, Electricity Maps? Electricity Maps: Yes! Energy consumption in the home is a significant contributor to personal carbon emissions as well as household costs. By using more renewable energy and reducing carbon intensity, consumers can lower their environmental impact and save on energy bills at the same time. This is because renewable energy, which is low in carbon emissions, also tends to be cheaper.  We know SmartThings Energy has lots of cool features to help consumers manage their energy usage and automate their energy management, setting a new, elevated standard in the smart home and IoT space.  Can you tell us more about what SmartThings Energy is and what it can do for users? SmartThings: For sure. With SmartThings Energy, users get detailed data and insights on their home energy usage, analytics reports for daily energy usage patterns, and more, revealing energy savings opportunities. Cool features like AI Energy Mode take energy savings even further, allowing users to automate energy savings by selecting devices to participate in AI Energy Mode. Users can choose at which level the devices participate at and adjust their preferences at any time. Furthermore, users can earn energy stamps to save energy automatically, which can be converted to Samsung Rewards and spent on Samsung products! We’re so excited about this partnership. At SmartThings, we want our users to feel engaged and educated to create meaningful smart home experiences. The features within SmartThings Energy, including the carbon aware page, are another way we’re providing our users with education to better their way of life. Nowadays, SmartThings users can regularly engage with these insights into their carbon emissions.  Can you share what larger impact this can have? Electricity Maps: That’s awesome! Yes, at Electricity Maps, we envision a world where all electrical devices contribute to decarbonization by only consuming low-carbon electricity. SmartThings Energy features powered by this partnership allow users to save emissions each day. The collective impact of millions of SmartThings users optimizing their home devices this way is a great step in decarbonizing global electricity grids. SmartThings: That was very informative. Thank you to our partners at Electricity Maps for chatting with us today!  Electricity Maps: Thank you for having us, SmartThings!

How can we make your life easier? That's the question driving the smart solutions that SmartThings and our partners, like Tuya, deliver every day. Tuya is a leading cloud platform service provider that works with and for developers to create the devices that make our lives smarter.  Users can control these Tuya-enabled devices seamlessly using the SmartThings app. In our latest LinkedIn Q&A, we chatted with Tuya to discuss our partnership, the future of AI technology, how their solutions work with SmartThings, and more. Browse the highlights below or keep reading for the full conversation.  The Highlights SmartThings: Why is our partnership so significant?  Tuya: Our collaboration stands out for several key reasons: Seamless Interoperability: Together, we're breaking down barriers with Matter protocol integration, offering a seamless smart home experience across Tuya and SmartThings ecosystems.  Expanded Consumer Choice: Customers can gain access to a wider range of smart home solutions, blending the SmartThings app with the versatility of Tuya-enabled devices. Simplified Control:  Customers experience the ultimate convenience with a single app to manage their entire smart home ecosystem.  But the most important aspect is that we both share a vision for a smarter tomorrow, where technology seamlessly enhances our lives. That is what we are working towards as we continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions for a more comfortable, convenient, and sustainable future. SmartThings: That’s very well said! We’re eager to see how our collaboration unfolds. Speaking of progress, congratulations are in order! It is Tuya’s 10th anniversary this year. Reflecting on the past 10 years, what are some of your most significant accomplishments?  Tuya: Reflecting on Tuya's decade of innovation, we've achieved important milestones in three key areas: Firstly, we've upgraded our developer platform, developed Cube AI & AI Energy Saving Dashboard, refreshed Smart Commercial SaaS, and introduced Home & Building Energy Management Systems. These endeavors have bolstered our portfolio and pushed the boundaries of smart technology. Secondly, our thriving developer community and global partnerships have accelerated smart industry growth. Integration with Matter applications, alongside collaborations like SmartThings, has enhanced user convenience and fostered intelligent, eco-friendly experiences. Thirdly, we’ve achieved quarterly profit in Q2 2023 and Non-GAAP profitability in Q1 of this year, which underscores our resilient growth and commitment to sustainable success. Looking ahead, we're integrating generative AI into our offerings to enable global developers, while revolutionizing user interactions. Confident in our leadership, we'll continue delivering value to clients and users. SmartThings: Tell us more about your developer solutions and how they work!  Tuya: We offer a cutting-edge cloud developer platform, with extensive development tools and support for swift, efficient smart device and application creation. Customers can leverage devices as connectivity nodes to create differentiated smart solutions to enhance products, optimize user experiences, and boost commercial success. For device connectivity, we support mainstream protocols across industries (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Matter) and mainstream ecosystem platforms especially Samsung SmartThings, enabling seamless integration. Moreover, we support more than 2,800 device categories, allowing developers to customize products for their business needs. For customers seeking all-in-one integrated solutions, we provide comprehensive support for various vertical application scenarios, facilitating one-stop deployment through software-hardware synergy. For those who prefer private deployment, our Cube Cloud solution caters to enterprise-level Cloud-edge-end privatization, enabling exclusive smart management systems tailored to client requirements.  Our full conversation with Tuya SmartThings: Hey, Tuya! Thank you for joining us for a Q&A today. For those who are new to your brand, what is Tuya?  Tuya: Hey, SmartThings! Thanks for having us. Tuya Inc. (NYSE: TUYA; HKEX: 2391) is a global leading cloud platform service provider with a mission to build a smart solutions developer ecosystem that enables everything to be smart.  Tuya has pioneered a purpose-built cloud developer platform with cloud and generative AI capabilities that delivers a full suite of offerings, including Platform-as-a-Service, or PaaS, Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, and smart solutions for developers of smart device, commercial applications, and industries.  Through its cloud developer platform, Tuya has activated a vibrant global developer community of brands, OEMs, AI Agents, system integrators, and independent software vendors to collectively strive for a smart solutions ecosystem embodying the principles of green and low-carbon, security, high-efficiency, agility, and openness. SmartThings: Why is our partnership so significant?  Tuya: Our collaboration stands out for several key reasons: Seamless Interoperability: Together, we're breaking down barriers with Matter protocol integration, offering a seamless smart home experience across Tuya and SmartThings ecosystems.  Expanded Consumer Choice: Gain access to a wider range of smart home solutions, blending the SmartThings app with the versatility of Tuya-enabled devices. Simplified Control: Experience the ultimate convenience with a single app to manage the entire smart home ecosystem.  But the most important aspect is that we both share a vision for a smarter tomorrow, where technology seamlessly enhances our lives. That is what we are working towards as we continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions for a more comfortable, convenient, and sustainable future. SmartThings: That’s very well said! We’re eager to see how our collaboration unfolds. Speaking of progress, congratulations are in order! It is Tuya’s 10th anniversary this year. Reflecting on the past 10 years, what are some of the most significant accomplishments?  Tuya: Reflecting on Tuya's decade of innovation, we've achieved important milestones in three key areas: Firstly, we've upgraded our developer platform, developed Cube AI & AI Energy Saving Dashboard, refreshed Smart Commercial SaaS, and introduced Home & Building Energy Management Systems. These endeavors have bolstered our portfolio and pushed the boundaries of smart technology. Secondly, our thriving developer community and global partnerships have accelerated smart industry growth. Integration with Matter applications, alongside collaborations like SmartThings, have enhanced user convenience and fostered intelligent, eco-friendly experiences. Thirdly, we’ve achieved quarterly profit in Q2 2023 and Non-GAAP profitability in Q1 of this year, which underscores our resilient growth and commitment to sustainable success. Looking ahead, we're integrating generative AI into our offerings to enable global developers, while revolutionizing user interactions. Confident in our leadership, we'll continue delivering value to clients and users. SmartThings: Tell us more about your developer solutions and Tuya-enabled devices and how they work!  Tuya: We offer a cutting-edge cloud developer platform, with extensive development tools and support for swift, efficient smart device and application creation. Customers can leverage devices as connectivity nodes to create differentiated smart solutions to enhance products, optimize user experiences, and boost commercial success. For device connectivity, we support mainstream protocols across industries (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Matter) and mainstream ecosystem platforms especially Samsung SmartThings, enabling seamless integration. Moreover, we support more than 2,800 device categories, allowing developers to customize products for their business needs. For customers seeking all-in-one integrated solutions, we provide comprehensive support for various vertical application scenarios, facilitating one-stop deployment through software-hardware synergy. For those who prefer private deployment, our Cube Cloud solution caters to enterprise-level Cloud-edge-end privatization, enabling exclusive smart management systems tailored to client requirements.  Given this, why are developers so important for the IoT market?  SmartThings: Developers are essential to building and launching user-friendly IoT products that make life more enjoyable, productive, and sustainable for consumers and businesses. Helping developers build these products and bring them to market is very important, and we applaud the work Tuya has done for their IoT Developer community.   At SmartThings, we also work very closely with our developer community, as their partnership and feedback are vital to how SmartThings functions and how integrations work now and in the future.  Additionally, we’ve heavily invested in our Developer Center to help our diverse device partners succeed, integrate with SmartThings, and reach users worldwide. Our Developer Center offers a range of tools, including: A Getting Started Wizard, Documentation, and Code Samples.   A no-code Edge Driver builder and SmartThings Command Line Interface for development. A Certification Console featuring a new Test Suite and product management tools so developers can quickly submit their devices to integrate with SmartThings, such as Certification by Similarity and Product Cloning.  New post-certification analytics to track product usage and options for users to buy products directly from our partners. We are here to support our developers every step of the way and are grateful for our partnerships. SmartThings: How does/will AI play a role in the future? Tuya: AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future by enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, improving decision-making, addressing global challenges, and transforming industries like healthcare, transportation, and education. For instance, in energy-saving scenarios, our Cube AI analyzes real-time consumption to generate optimal strategies, offering cutting-edge AI technology and product value. Its application potential spans diverse smart scenarios, addressing issues like energy conservation and management in industrial, commercial, and household settings. Additionally, we create AI development tools for global developers, including the AI Developer Kit integrating large language models and platforms for efficient development, operation, and commercialization. AI Analyst, a practical solution for brand customers, also provides valuable insights and assistance.  Looking ahead, we will continue to embrace AI and implement AI in different scenarios, expanding our offerings to cover safety, plant breeding, environmental management, healthcare, pet companionship, and more. SmartThings: That was very informative! Thank you to our partners at Tuya for chatting with us today! Want to know more? #DoTheSmartThings and drop a note in the comments.  Tuya: Thank you for having us, SmartThings!