ThinkLion (CEO Jung Jung-yong), a manufacturer of industrial power-saving devices, announced that it will make a full-scale entry into the domestic and overseas B2C markets through the mass production of a range of household power-saving products incorporating its own proprietary new power-saving technology, developed jointly with BizModeline (CEO Kim Jae-hyung), the only company in Korea specializing in patent development and investment.
Based on the results of technology development and field applications for household power-saving products aimed at entering the B2C market, the two companies have worked to secure a range of patents. They have now filed 126 new patent applications—including patents for wall-mounted and multi-outlet products to be applied to future smart grids, as well as patents related to power-saving materials, production technologies, and applications—building a patent portfolio to strengthen their market dominance.
The household power-saving products now being mass-produced include power strips with built-in power-saving and harmonic-elimination functions, as well as products designed for two-outlet sockets for home appliances (refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, water purifiers, air purifiers, and kimchi refrigerators) and for installation in distribution boxes. These products have completed verification of improved power-saving rates and reduced electricity bills through more than a year of field testing.
In particular, field test results showed that for a household refrigerator (Grade 2), power savings reached the 7%–8% level and electricity bills were reduced by around 10%, while for a general commercial refrigerator (Grade 3), bills in the 420,000–430,000 won range dropped to the 360,000 won range, delivering an electricity bill reduction of around 15%.
In the case of system air conditioners, results tracked over more than six months showed power savings of 8% and electricity bill savings of more than 10% for cooling, while for winter heating the power-saving rate was 10% and electricity savings ranged from 13% to 15%. For IH rice cookers, cooking ordinary white rice yielded power savings of around 5.6% with a time reduction of about 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and keeping rice warm saved around 2.5% of power.
Households that had installed conventional power-saving devices saved an average of about 4,000–5,600 won per month, but with ThinkLion's household power-saving device, an ordinary household using a drum washing machine, a side-by-side refrigerator, and an air conditioner saw its monthly electricity bill fall from the 70,000 won range to the high 40,000 won range.
ThinkLion CEO Jung Jung-yong said, "With home appliances becoming more diverse and energy efficiency ratings being raised—making Grade 1 products hard to find—while electricity consumption keeps rising, the way we save power to cut electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions must also change from the past." He added, "ThinkLion's products, which offer more than 30% higher power-saving efficiency than existing products and also eliminate the harmonic noise generated by home appliances—thereby even extending appliance lifespans—will draw a strong response from the industry."
In addition, ThinkLion plans to expand its domestic supply through 2020 and to make a full-scale entry into overseas markets starting in 2021.