The Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) has announced a new specification for “better interoperability across connected homes”.

The Home Connectivity Alliance, a member-driven organisation featuring Samsung among its 15 global brands, recently announced HCA Specification 1.0 for Cloud-to-Cloud (C2C) interoperability in smart homes. The goal of the alliance is to develop safe and interoperable standards for smart and connected homes. 

“Through combined industry efforts in HCA, we are working to make the smart home more accessible to consumers via the devices they use every day in the home,” said Chanwoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Service Biz Group of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics, regarding the new specification. 

“We are taking a fresh look at how devices can enhance consumers’ lives and how the appliance industry can work together to create a safer connected home that our customers can trust. Through energy savings and support for legacy household products, we believe that we can contribute to a world where sustainability starts at home.”

But what does the HCA Specification 1.0 entail? It reportedly expands the current industry standards, with the aim of guaranteeing home appliances, TVs and other systems can be operated across brands. 

“With the introduction of the HCA Specification 1.0, this enhanced interoperable experience will soon make the connected home attainable by more consumers than ever,” a press release from Samsung notes. 

Samsung’s smart device venture, SmartThings, is incorporated in this new specification from the Home Connectivity Alliance. New innovations like SmartThings AI Energy Mode allows users to manage their energy usage and spending, while it is thought that the HCA Specification 1.0 will lead to improved energy efficiency for customers by helping them understand what is consuming energy in the household and how much it is costing.