LG Electronics Launches Korea's First "Boiler-Free Apartment" Pilot... Begins Electrification of Heating in Multi-Family Housing in Jeju

MOU Signed with Jeju Province, Jeju Development Corporation, and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology

Heat Pump and P2H Systems Introduced at Sinhyo Apartments in Seogwipo

LG Electronics has become the first company in Korea to implement a heat pump solution in an actual apartment complex inhabited by residents, launching a pilot project to electrify heating in multi-family housing without the need for fossil fuels or gas pipelines.

On the 15th, LG Electronics announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Jeju International Convention Center with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju Development Corporation, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology for the "Pilot Project for Electrification and P2H (Power-to-Heat) in Multi-Family Housing." Key figures in attendance at the signing ceremony included Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon, Kim Dae-hyun, Head of Housing Welfare Projects at Jeju Development Corporation, Kim Taek-soo, Acting President of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and Oh Se-gi, Vice President and Head of the ES Research Center at LG Electronics.

LG Electronics' air source heat pump 'Therma V' outdoor unit. LG Electronics

This pilot project will be carried out at the Sinhyo Apartment complex in Hyodon-dong, Seogwipo City, which consists of 12 households (one basement floor and seven floors above ground) currently occupied by residents. The design will be completed by next month, after which construction will commence, with full-scale operation slated to begin following completion in December 2026. LG Electronics will be responsible for the entire heat pump system design, supply of high-efficiency products, commissioning and maintenance, and performance evaluation based on operational data. Jeju Province will oversee regulatory improvements and policy linkage, Jeju Development Corporation will provide the demonstration building and system operations, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology will handle P2H system design and data analysis.

The core solution of this demonstration project is the combination of a "household-integrated heat pump cooling and heating system" and a "central water heating P2H system." Each apartment unit will be equipped with a high-efficiency heat pump that uses a single outdoor unit to directly control both cooling and floor heating simultaneously, greatly improving space utilization. In the unused pilot space on the first floor, an air source heat pump and a high-capacity hot water tank will be installed to implement a central water heating system that supplies hot water collectively to each household. This technology stores and utilizes heat generated by running the heat pump with surplus renewable energy, such as solar power, with expected benefits of stabilizing the power grid and reducing residents’ heating costs.

Based on HVAC and heating expertise accumulated since 2008, LG Electronics was recently selected as the primary operator in the "2026 Jeju Everyday Life Heat Pump Promotion Project," securing contracts for the largest number of households. Operating cold-climate R&D centers in locations such as Alaska, Oslo, and Harbin, LG Electronics plans to use real-world operational data from the Sinhyo Apartment project to establish a "Korean standard model for multi-family housing electrification" tailored to various residential formats, including public rental housing, existing building renovations, and new developments.

Oh Se-gi, Vice President and Head of the ES Research Center at LG Electronics, stated, "The significance of this demonstration lies in validating a heat pump-based cooling, heating, and hot water electrification model optimized for the characteristics of multi-family housing in a residence actually inhabited by tenants. LG Electronics will continue to spearhead the transition to decarbonized electrification in Korea’s residential environment, leveraging its unrivaled heat pump expertise proven in the global market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.