SmartHQ™ Provides More Smart Home Options for HVAC and Plumbing

The market for smart-home devices is booming, with no signs of a slowdown over the next several years. A recent industry report estimated that the global smart-home market will nearly quadruple from $99 billion in 2020 to an astounding $380 billion by 2028.

What is driving this unprecedented growth in smart-home technology? Smart appliances are increasingly becoming the industry norm. In fact, many experts project that smart appliances will reach a worldwide market volume of at least $76 billion by 2026.

In an increasingly digital world, GE Appliances Air & Water Solutions is committed to keeping up with the industry trends and consumer expectations and exceeding them.

This is why we created GE Appliances’ SmartHQ Pro™, the first end-to-end smart solution to give property managers, servicers and contractors who want to remotely monitor the appliances they install and oversee total control by providing a simple way to manage and service appliances from one centralized location.

Here’s what that means for your HVAC or plumbing business.

SmartHQ Pro: A One-Stop Appliance Monitoring Application

SmartHQ Pro gives customers a single interface to monitor, control and receive product alerts and notifications GE Appliances smart appliances.

Working across a portfolio of over 650 embedded WiFi and over 1,000 connectable products, SmartHQ Pro allows property managers, servicers and contractors to keep track of appliance operating conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — all in one central place, their headquarters.

The newest addition to the SmartHQ Pro appliance portfolio? GE Appliances’ line of hundreds of innovative air and water products, all designed to serve professionals in the HVAC and plumbing industries.

Providing Property Managers With Connectivity and Versatility

GE Appliances is the only manufacturer to offer a smart, cloud-based open appliance platform that can connect over 1000+ different products in a single application.

But SmartHQ Pro is not just another dashboard. The technology is unique in the appliance industry for three key reasons:

1. It is the only appliance solution that offers both remote monitoring and a smart diagnostic tool that can communicate with an appliance at the point of inspection
2. Users can connect directly via the SmartHQ Pro app (on a smartphone, tablet or computer browser) or integrate the technology directly into a third-party property management system via open application programming interface (API) integration.
3. GE Appliances’ platform sends notifications and alerts that can help avoid service calls or inadvertently result in repeat visits to an owners/tenant's home

These features provide consumers with the ultimate flexibility to choose how they use SmartHQ Pro for appliance management and service.

SmartHQ Pro Offers Unparalleled Management and Service Capabilities

SmartHQ Pro was designed with the needs of multi-unit owners and property managers in mind.

As part of SmartHQ Pro’s enterprise-level solution, SmartHQ Management and SmartHQ Service offer proactive maintenance of appliances across multiple properties remotely, with precision diagnostics to simplify service on-site.

SmartHQ Management

SmartHQ Management is a single, simple and scalable appliance management solution that can help:

• Decrease energy costs by enabling remote controls for adjusting temperature settings and setting limits
• Keep appliances running smoothly to improve guest, resident and tenant satisfaction
• Streamline on-site operations through a robust task management and routing system
• Protect properties from unexpected damages by providing 24/7 appliance monitoring (e.g., detecting water leaks)
• Ensure the safety of customer data (SmartHQ received UL’s IoT Gold security rating, the same security standards defined by financial services for encryption and security.)

SmartHQ Service

SmartHQ Service provides several unique benefits for property owners and service technicians:

• Allows users to communicate directly with appliances for real-time diagnostics to quickly isolate and test product components.
• Using the Firmware Update feature, property owners can easily update their appliances to resolve software-related issues and ensure they are operating at peak performance.  
• Captures and stores diagnostic data during troubleshooting sessions in the cloud, which facilitates access to historical data of previously repaired appliances. Property owners and service technicians can then use this data to better understand and identify appliance performance issues.
• Houses various product documentation materials (such as service manuals and product bulletins) to help technicians resolve issues quickly and effectively during the first repair visit. This saves both time and money and increases customer satisfaction.

SmartHQ Pro in Action: Smart Air and Water Products

Our team is committed to providing real-life solutions to our customers on the front line.

Many of us are familiar with smart features on kitchen and laundry appliances — turning on the oven before you get home, for instance — but GE Appliances has incorporated smart technology into many innovative air and water products as well, setting a new standard in the appliance industry.

For example:

• Many of our commercial air conditioners are equipped with SmartHQ Wi-Fi capability. The SmartHQ Pro module gives property managers and HVAC technicians the ability to monitor multiple units remotely, which often significantly improves the experience of residents or guests.
  
• Our smart water heaters have built-in Wi-Fi, which allows temperatures to be easily adjusted and vacation schedules to be set. Property managers, plumbers or homeowners can also receive notifications should an issue arise, such as abnormal temperatures or dangerous vapors detected by the water heater’s SmartShield™ Safety System. For plumbers, this is a great way to help grow their business and retain customers with easy touchpoints.
• Our smart water filtration system is Wi-Fi enabled so water can be shut off from anywhere, and customers connected to SmartHQ will receive alerts on a potential water leak or if it detects a faucet was left running.

Learn more about GE Appliance’s innovative air and water products.

Ready to get started? Schedule a demo today or contact your local area sales manager for assistance with onboarding and training.