Wanting to better understand the barriers that Australians face, in November 2014, LG Australia commissioned independent fieldwork with the agency yellowSquares to survey a pool of 1,012 respondents representative of air conditioner owners across Australia. The survey was a follow up to an earlier survey commissioned by LG in December 2013.

1. AIR CONDITIONERS AND
ENERGY SAVINGS IN THE
AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE
JANUARY 2015

2. ExecutiveSummary
Page 2 | Executive Summary
Challenge
Power bills can be a large stress to consumers. According to a survey by the
consumer advocacy group Choice, there is a growing concern among consumers
about the rise in prices1
. A recent survey by LG of Australian air conditioner
owners reflected this sentiment - a majority of Australians who own air
conditioners said saving money on their electricity bill is either very important or
important to them (see Fig. 1), yet only half of Australian air conditioner owners
said they understood the breakdown of their electricity bill (see Fig. 2)
Opportunity
While saving money on electricity bills is an important issue to most Australians,
many are still confused by the breakdown of their electricity bill and when it
comes to their air conditioners, many simply switch off their air conditioner or
reduce their use as a means to save money and energy rather than using other
options available. Therefore, a large opportunity exists for Australians to take
control of their energy consumption by going beyond just the flip of the “off”
switch and instead actively controlling their energy consumption.
Background
Wanting to better understand the barriers that Australians face, in November
2014, LG Australia commissioned independent fieldwork with the agency
yellowSquares to survey a pool of 1,012 respondents representative of air
conditioner owners across Australia. The survey was a follow up to an earlier
survey commissioned by LG in December 2013.
1
http://www.choice.com.au/media-and-news/consumer-news/news/choice-cost-of-living-report-highlights-tough-times-for-many.aspx

3. Challenge
As seen in Fig. 1, saving money on their electricity bill
is important or very important to many Australian air
conditioner owners. Further to this, the majority of
Australian air conditioners said they never forget to
turn their air conditioner off (see Fig. 3). Yet despite
this being such an important issue, many Australian air
conditioners are confused by the breakdown of their
electricity bill.
39.6 per cent of Australians who own air conditioners
said they did not understand their electricity bill
breakdown (Fig.2). Men seem more confident that they
understand the breakdown, with 57.8% saying they
understood vs. 44.1% of women. Younger generations
are less likely to state that they understand, while older
Australians felt they had a better understanding. (See
Appendix Fig.1)
With Australia’s hot summer temperatures, it is
important to manage energy consumption, yet stay cool
by using available technologies.
So just how exactly do Australians manage to control
their energy consumption in the Aussie heat? The top
three basic methods Australian air conditioner owners
are using to manage their air conditioner’s electricity
usage are:
1. Using it sparingly (1-2 hours per day)
2. Using fans
3. Keeping their AC at a relatively high temperature–
( e.g. 25-28 degrees)
While these methods used by Australian air conditioner
owners to conserve energy can help save money, newer
technologies can offer other, more convenient methods
to manage energy use without switching off the air
conditioner.
Page 3 | Challenge
Fig. 1: From “Not important at all” to “Very important,”
how important would you say saving money on your
electricity bill is?
1.1%
3.5%
16.0%
30.3%
48.6%
0.5%
Fig. 2: Do you feel as though you understand
the breakdown of your energy bill?
39.6%
50.7%
9.7%
No
Yes
Don’t know
2.2%
4.1% 3.6% 3.6%
6.4%
77%
3.3%
Everyday 2-3 times
a week
Once a
week
2-3 times
a month
Once a
month
Never Don’t know
Fig. 3: How often do you forget to turn off
your Air Conditioner on a monthly basis
Not important
at all
Neutral Somewhat
important
Important Very
important
Don’t
know

4. Opportunity
Whilst many Australians may not understand the breakdown of their electricity bill, they can better learn how they use
energy on a daily basis through a few technologies offered by LG, a global manufacturer of residential split-system air
conditioners. These new features place the control back into Australians’ hands when it comes to managing energy
consumption.
Page 4 | Opportunity
Active Energy Control:
The LG Active Energy Control feature offers three levels
of reduced power consumption (80, 60 and 40 per cent
capacity) for individual energy-saving needs. Depending
on how many people are in the room and the level of
activity, Active Energy Control allows the user to cap
the energy consumption of their LG air conditioner
to improve energy efficiency and reduce power
consumption at a reduced cooling output.
On a relaxed evening at home, one can select Energy
Control Level 3, which caps the power consumption of
the unit to 40 per cent, allowing for use of the AC unit at
a reduced cooling output2
. At a 51% cooling capacity, the
unit is 33% more efficient.
Of those Australian air conditioner owners who said they
would find this technology useful (15.7%), the majority
of those respondents said they would find the feature
helpful because it would help them save money or it
would help them save energy.
LG Wi-Fi Smart Control: (LG Premium Series Only)3
:
LG’s new range of split type air conditioners can provide
consumers with control of their air conditioning units
using the LG Wi-Fi Smart Control app on a compatible
smartphone4
. For example, Wi-Fi Smart Control from LG
can help keep running costs down by providing energy
usage information in real time and alerts when electricity
consumption is about to reach a user’s pre-set limit. LG
Wi-Fi Smart Control allows Australians to turn their air
conditioner off remotely when they have forgotten; or to
turn it on when they want to come home to a cool house
without keeping the air conditioner on for the full day.
10.6% of Australian air conditioner owners said they
would find this technology useful mainly because it would
make controlling their AC easier; it would help them save
money and would be useful for when they want to come
home to a cool house.
2
Energy Control Level 3 caps power usage to 40% of the nominal power consumption, providing a system efficiency gain of 33% at a
cooling capacity of 51%.
3
WLAN Module required (Module included with W Series models only. Sold separately for use with P series models)
4
Android ver. 4.04 or iOS 5 or higher.

5. Page 5 | Conclusions
Another online survey conducted by LG in August
2013 of 400 Australian air conditioner owners found
that price range and energy efficiency are the number
one and two consideration factors respectively at both
the origination and purchasing phase of the purchase
decision process5
.
Already an important factor during purchase, there
needs to be information available to the Australian
public on the category’s changing technologies, so
that when looking to update their air conditioners,
concerned Australian consumers are better informed
as to what brands and models suit their needs best
and can help them to manage their energy usage.
Conclusions
LG offers a range of air conditioners for different
consumer needs and room sizes. LG’s Classic (S) air
conditioners include Active Energy Control and Low
Standby Power modes, and the Premium (P& W)
ranges also include Wi-Fi Smart Control, a Micro Dust
Filter powered by 3M Tech and a Plasmaster™ Ioniser.
The Classic (S) series can be purchased at Consumer
Electronics stores, while the Premium (P) Series may be
purchased from specialist dealers. Premium W models,
which include the WLAN Module for Wi-Fi access, can
be purchased exclusively at Harvey Norman. With the P
series, the WLAN module can be purchased separately
from dealers.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.lg.com/au/split-system-air-conditioner
ABOUT LG’S NEW SPLIT SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONERS
LG Electronics Australia is based in Sydney and is a
subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc, a global force and
technology leader in consumer electronics, home
appliances and mobile communications. In Australia,
LG Electronics sells a range of stylish and innovative
home entertainment products, mobile phones, home
appliances, commercial displays, air conditioning systems
and solar energy solutions, all under LG’s “Life’s Good”
marketing theme. For more information, please visit
www.lg.com.au or facebook.com/LGaustralia
ABOUT LG ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA
ABOUT LG AIR CONDITIONING AND
ENERGY SOLUTION COMPANY
LG Electronics Air Conditioning & Energy Solution
Company is a total heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) and energy solutions provider. The
company offers a comprehensive range of customized
HVAC products, including Residential Air Conditioning
(RAC), System Air Conditioning (SAC), Air Quality
and Building Management Systems (BMS). Through
energy efficient technologies, heavy investment in R&D
and effective marketing strategies, LG continues to
consolidate its position as a global leader in the HVAC
and energy sectors. For more information, please visit
www.LG.com
Yes No
Don’t know
25-34
35-44
55-64
18-24
36%
50.4%
13.6%
75+
72.7%
15.2%
12.1%
49.7%
42.1%
8.2%
51.5%
40.5%
8%
45-54
50.3%
38.7%
11%
56.2%
36.3%
7.5%
65-74
53.4%
36.3%
10.3%
Male
57.8%
34.6%
7.6%
Female
44.1%
44.3%
11.6%
Appendix Fig.1: Do you feel as though you understand
the breakdown of your energy bill? (By age and sex)
5
AE Marketing Comms Division.Australia AC Buying Process Survey. August 2013.

6. lg.com.au
1174-15