The Dish on Dishwashers
Go ahead: load the dishwasher right after supper — when electric rates will be high — and hit start. GE’s Smart Grid-enabled dishwasher will delay running until rates go down later that night. When you hit start, a delay light will come on signaling that the dishwasher plans to wait to run the dishes. Need clean dishes fast? Just hit start again. You can still call the shots.
Cost and availability: Not yet.
Smart Dryer
When it comes to your dryer, patience can pay off with Smart Grid and a smart dryer. If you don’t need those dry clothes right away, GE’s Smart Grid-enabled dryer will delay starting the load until rates go down.
In southern California, where voluntary peak and off-peak pricing are in place, consumers can save about $1.40 a load by shifting the dryer’s cycle to off-peak hours.
In Massachusetts, which also has voluntary peak pricing in place, although with less of a price differential, consumers could save about 25 cents a load by delaying the dryer. Need those sheets dry right away? Push an override button (or the start button again depending on the final design), which will bring up the next option – running the dryer at a lower temperature to save money, but taking a little longer. (Compare it to saving gas by driving your car at 45 or 55 mph instead of speeding along at 70).
Can’t slow down? No problem, hit over-ride or start again and get those clothes dried ASAP.
Cost and availability: Not yet.
Manage Your Energy Use
Here’s how to save money and educate yourself on energy costs. With just a quick glance, you can monitor your home’s energy use: how many kilowatts used this month, how much your home is using right now, what appliances are running, what the current rate is, along with indoor and outdoor temperatures. Just program the GE Home Energy Manager to set appliances at their lowest usage available during peak rate periods. Want quick feedback? Turn off those lights in rooms you’re not using and watch kilowatt usage drop as your savings go up. It also lets you check on home usage online.
Note: The product is still in development and the finished version will likely vary from this photo.
Cost and availability: Not yet.
Water Heater on Half the Energy
A water heater with a heat pump? Believe it.
GE’s GeoSpring hybrid electric hot water heater is designed to absorb heat in ambient air –- with a mini-heat pump onboard — and transfer it to the water. For maximum savings, you can set the GeoSpring to eHeat mode and run it on heat pump only. Worried about cold showers when the electric company comes? Use the hybrid mode – with the heat pump as a primary source and the electric elements activating only if a fast recovery time is needed. Or, activate the high demand feature and the system will react faster to recover.
In the winter in cold climates, you might have to switch to standard mode (the system runs like a normal hot water heater) for several months, says Mike Beyerle, innovation manager for GE. But during the summer, the unit’s heat pump will actually help cool your home as it removes heat from the surrounding air. It also has a vacation mode that resets your water temperature on the day you return.
Available: Now at Lowe’s, Sears, and from independent HVAC and plumbing contractors.
Price: $1,600 to $1,700. Check for federal, state and utility-sponsored rebates.
For more information: www.geappliances.com.
Savings on the Range
This double-oven with range will help you make choices about saving energy as you cook, first by letting you know if rates are at their peak and then by suggesting ways you can save money. Options might include using only the smaller oven (cooks almost everything for about a third of the power) or lowering the temperature on the cook top. The oven can also lengthen the preheat time to save money, but if you need it heated faster, you can override that feature. On the range, burners will automatically turn down after a certain amount of time.
Cost and availability: Not yet.
Delay that Defrost
Refrigerator running? Better go catch it. GE is running pilot programs on two Smart Grid-enabled refrigerators putting a new savings spin on this old joke.
You’ll save money (if peak pricing is in effect) because the refrigerator-freezer goes into defrost mode only when rates are low. Savings from timing that defrost mode can add up: an average refrigerator-freezer uses 60 watts in its normal run mode. But when it switches to defrost – for about 20-30 minutes every day and a half – that usage hits 600 watts. You’ll also save because the freezer is programmed to cool to a still chilly 2-4 degrees as opposed to 0 degrees during peak rate periods. One pilot program participant found 20 percent reduction in energy use during peak periods, GE says.
Cost and availability: Not yet
Save Cold Cash by Washing Cold
A Smart Grid-enabled washer will help you save money by prompting you to delay loads until rates are low, and then to wash in cold water as opposed to hot. If you typically put a load in at bedtime to be ready for the dryer in the morning, this will work well for you as the washer will delay its cycle until rates bottom out in the middle of the night. If that doesn’t work, heeding the reminder to consider cold will save you money.
Cost and availability: Not yet.
Smart Thermostat
If you knew that cooling your home to 70 degrees at 7 p.m. would cost extra, would you still crank up the AC? Good news: you don’t have to know as long as your thermostat is in the loop. Honeywell’s Prestige ™ thermostat has a Smart Grid-enabled feature called Time of Use allowing users to automate energy consumption based on their utility’s pricing plan. Just program your utility’s pricing schedule into the thermostat to limit your power consumption during peak demand to further automate your savings.
Estimated savings: up to $200 a year.
Cost: $400 to $700
Available: Now. Contact a local Honeywell contractor.
For more information: www.forwardthinking.honeywell.com.
Smart Grid for Dumb Appliances
Can’t afford to upgrade your appliances to Smart Grid-compatible versions yet? Tendril’s Vision has you covered. It looks like a clock but it also tells you when power prices are high (red), low (green) or about to jump (red highlight on the minute hand). Armed with info, you can choose if you really need to run certain appliances. Not home? No worries. You’ll also have access to Vision via a website and/or iPhone app.
The company is expanding and introducing even more Smart technology that can work with the Vision and your appliances over the internet. Check the website for more information.
Available: In 2011 through utility companies across the country.
Cost: Less than $200 but will vary according to individual utilities
For more information: www.Tendrilinc.com.
Energy Efficient Dryer
Whirlpool’s Smart Grid-compatible dryer will help reduce peak energy demand by offering you the ability to set it so that your utility can turn off the dryer’s heating element for a few minutes at a time. The still-warm drum will continue to turn, getting your clothes drier, albeit more slowly, and preventing wrinkles.
Drying time could be extended five minutes, says Warwick Stirling, Whirlpool’s global director of energy and sustainability.
In a rush for dry clothes? You’ll be able to override this feature, Stirling says. In a rush for the dryer? Hang tight. Pilot programs are continuing through the end of 2011.
Cost and availability: Not yet.