GE Wants to Try a New Refrigerant

GE is asking for federal approval to use, in the U.S., a type of refrigerant that has low global warming potential and is widely used in Europe and Asia.

The company has filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency to allow it to use isobutane, a hydrocarbon, in household refrigerators. Hydrocarbons like propane and butane have been used in fridges elsewhere in the world for years as replacements for HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons).

Although HFCs and HCFCs were originally introduced to replace chemicals that contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, they are thousands of time more powerful than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming. Hydrocarbons have no impact on the ozone layer and have a much smaller impact on global warming than HFCs and HCFCs.

Ben & Jerry’s recently gained permission from the EPA to test up to 2,000 ice cream cases chilled with butane, and Greenpeace, which developed the GreenFreeze technology used in hydrocarbon-based refrigerators, has been pushing companies to bring the fridges to the U.S.

If the EPA approves GE’s request, the company plans to use isobutane in a new GE Monogram refrigerator planned to launch in early 2010. GE also plans to use cyclopentane, another hydrocarbon, as the insulation foam-blowing agent in place of an HFC foam blowing agents. The development team behind the fridge also plans to seek ecomagination certification, GE’s in-house process for evaluating and labeling energy-efficient products. The company has seen success with its ecomagination line, expecting sales of ecomagination products to reach over $17 billion this year.

You can read the whole story here.

Dishwasher Power Wars-Plus a Little Advice

Here’s a fun story straight from the Wall Street Journal:

Marriage counselors say one of the biggest issues that couples fight over is money. But many of us know what’s really the most contentious battleground in the home: the dishwasher.

Except for the family dog, perhaps nothing in the house is louder or wetter, breaks more things, or causes more fights than the dishwasher. It’s just an appliance, but in many families the dishwasher becomes a stainless-steel-and-ceramic metaphor for marital power. Who loads it, how it gets loaded, how often should it be run, and when did it last get emptied – all these questions are like a fuse on a pack of TNT. One spark and there’s a conflagration.

I, of course, know that my method of loading the machine is best: Don’t rinse first, which wastes precious water and time. And silverware goes in tines and blades DOWN, thank you, so you don’t skewer yourself unloading later.

But others disagree. Tines UP, please, and always prewash.

A straw poll around the office reveals that many couples staunchly stick to the method they learned growing up. That means visiting family members who want to “help” in the kitchen can compound the problem. Woe to the well-meaning in-law who puts pot lids on the top instead of the bottom. Or worse, moves things around. Marriages have broken up over less.

One colleague says he always runs the machine immediately once it’s loaded, so no one goes in to rearrange. Another says he divides people into two categories: loaders and emptiers. He’s an emptier.

Dishwasher manufacturer Whirlpool offers some advice on its Web site: “It is not necessary to rinse the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. The wash module removes food particles from the water.” And for silverware: “Mix items in each section of the basket with some pointing up and some down to avoid nesting. … Always load sharp items (knives, skewers, etc.) pointing down.”

But that’s not likely to end the dishwasher wars. Apologies to those of you who wash by hand (maybe you’re happier people!) but readers, do you find you fight over the dishwasher? And if so, how do you reach détente?

International Online Toaster Museum

BoingBoing Gadgets reports:

The International Central Service’s Online Toaster Museum shows in nearly infinite nuanced zoological detail just what happens when a piece of technology reaches evolutionary perfection: innovation switches to design. I could spend hours flicking through this collection, trying to decide upon my appliance-void kitchen’s optimal toaster as a reflection of its own inherent soul.

I’m fessing up my inner geek but I think stuff like this is gorgeous.

SIEMENS SCHUCKERT nickel plated toaster
SIEMENS SCHUCKERT nickel plated toaster

http://www.toastermuseum.com/