When synchronized with the local utility company’s home smart-meter, coming into popular use, the HEM acts as the “central nervous system” for monitoring resource usage and controlling energy consumption within the home. The HEM, with the ability to collect data on multiple appliances, provides both real-time and long-term trend information on power and resource consumption and solar generation to the homeowners.

GE’s new Home Energy Manager (HEM) monitors all networked appliances which can include the refrigerator, range, dishwasher, washer and dryer, water heater, and will track all other home energy consumption including microwaves and televisions.

One of the primary goals of U.S. smart grid initiatives is to better use the energy production capacity the country already has. Home energy consumption efficiency can increase significantly when homeowners the option to participate in time-of-use pricing programs, which reward homeowners for lowering their consumption during periods of peak energy demand (usually 2-7 PM).

Simply providing consumers with energy consumption information motivates energy savings. A U.S. Department of Energy study showed that providing real-time pricing information to consumers via a smart meter helped reduce electricity costs 10% on average and 15% during peak periods.

“Knowing what is consuming electricity, and how much electricity that appliances are consuming, can be very empowering,” states Dave McCalpin, general manager of the new HEM business. “People will be able to make smarter choices if they have information. The once-a-month electrical bill provides no insight into your usage habits. We intend to change that.”

HEM’s design is targeted to include:

* Demand Response Integration, supporting communication standards Zigbee SEP 1.0, to enable demand response communication between a utility’s home smart meter and appliances on the home network, enabling real-time load shedding of networked appliances;
* Five-Day Weather Forecasts on Internet-enabled installations (communications supporting Ethernet, Wifi, and Zigbee SEP 1.0 standards);
* Electricity Usage Data Monitoring for the whole home for both short and long terms;
* Power Sub Metering for each GE demand response-enabled appliance;
* Solar Generation Monitoring of inverter output, including short- and long-term data where available;
* Water Usage Monitoring via household-wide data monitoring at 1-gallon resolution;
* Smart Thermostat Interface with full-featured seven-day programmable communicating thermostats that accepts demand response temperature offsets.

Units: About 181,000

Manufacturer: GE Appliances & Lighting, of Louisville, Ky.

Hazard: A wire can break in the machine and make contact with a metal part on the washtub while the machine is operating, posing fire and shock hazards to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: GE is aware of seven incidents in which flames escaped the units and caused minor smoke damage. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves GE front-load washing machines without auxiliary water heating. Model and serial numbers are listed in the chart below. Recalled washing machines were manufactured between December 2006 and February 2010. The model and serial numbers are located on the bottom right side and on the bottom door frame of the washers.

Sold at: Department and various retail stores nationwide from December 2006 through May 2010 for about $700.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled washers, unplug it from the electrical outlet and contact GE for a free repair. Consumers should not operate the washer until it has been repaired.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact GE toll-free at (888) 345-4124 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.geappliances.com

My energy habits are probably similar to many Americans.  If you’re wondering how much energy you’re wasting, or conversely, saving by turning appliances off, check out this energy calculator from GE:

This is a really cool tool that calculates  how much power each appliance consumes in watts or kilowatthours.  Alternatively, you can see how much each appliance costs to use in dollars, and how much it consumes in equivalent gallons of gas.

Some appliances are marked with a blue star indicating that an  EnergyStar model is available or click on the green star to see how much energy (and money) you’ll save with a new appliance.

Pick any 5. Get $500
Pick any 4. Get $300
Pick any 3. Get $200
Pick any 2. Get $100

Check out the GE site for entry and more details.

The Wall Street Journal says unlike the clunkers plan, the program allows each state to pick qualifying models and tailor rebate amounts. Ohio might decide one washing machine qualifies for a $100 rebate, while California picks another for $125.

Manufacturers and retailers said they are reluctant to ramp up production or order new stocks until it is clear what models qualify. The Department of Energy, which designed the program, wants states to focus on just 10 categories of appliances carrying the federal Energy Star seal of approval for efficiency.

But other details are still uncertain. States could ask to include up to 46 other types of products, ranging from light bulbs to computers. While rebates are expected to range between $50 and $200, qualifying models and precise rebate amounts won’t be provided until late this year or early next.

Some of the nation’s biggest appliance makers are lobbying to make the plan rules uniform nationwide. They said the unknowns and the varying rules by state will make the program harder to explain to shoppers, in turn making it tougher to win sales.

The program “will provide consumers a unique opportunity to save money on energy-efficient appliances,” said Dave McCalpin, chief marketing officer for GE Appliances. He said Fairfield, Conn.-based GE is working with state governments to adopt rebate programs that rely on Energy Star ratings.

Some states are considering standards that exceed Energy Star requirements, a move GE opposes. “We believe it is very important that rebate programs are consistent across the country,” Mr. McCalpin said.

The stricter proposals underscore criticisms that the Energy Star program is not tough enough in raising energy efficiency. The Environmental Protection Agency is looking at revising the program’s standards. If it does so after the states set their rules, the rebates could end up subsidizing some appliances that are not as energy efficient as they could be.

Many consumers are looking for smaller digs for a variety of reasons. Some have made a philosophical shift considering a move to a smaller living space less of a down-sizing and more of a right-sizing decision. They choose to use less of the earth’s resources.

Others have made the switch for demographic reasons:

• The 80 million-strong Generation Y, the so-called “millennials,” want to live in exciting urban settings, are interested in value engineering, and consider smaller living spaces acceptable.2 Urban lofts are hits in cities less populated than New York City or San Francisco– including Louisville, Kentucky; Des Moines, Iowa; and Spokane, Washington, to name just a few.
• Aging baby boomers are selling their larger homes and trading them for more convenient patio homes, one or two bedroom homes or condos in communities where shared fees pay for property and landscape maintenance.

“Regardless of why a consumer decides to live in a smaller space, there is no reason to lose upscale features in the furnishings within that space – especially appliances,” noted Marc Hottenroth, Industrial Design Leader for GE Consumer & Industrial.

“Both GE Profile™ and Monogram® lines also offer selections that are perfect for the empty-nester who is moving to a smaller home or condo,” said Hottenroth. Monogram was the first GE product line to introduce undercounter refrigerator modules including wine reserve, double drawer refrigerator, beverage centers, fresh food refrigerator or bar refrigerator with ice maker. In addition Monogram offers a slim 18-inch wide dishwasher with stainless steel door or personalized with customer-supplied cabinet-compatible panel. Both models provide effective, yet quiet cleaning power with a five-level wash system and hidden, integrated electronic. The new Monogram 30-inch chimney hoods with sophisticated bold angles and lines, all hand-finished to seamless perfection, provide powerful venting and a striking focal point that elevates small-scale kitchens into grand statements.

Choose the Profile single double oven wall oven or free-standing range, and, in the same space occupied by a standard free-standing range or wall oven, consumers can have 6.6 cu. ft. of combined oven space. The two ovens can be operated at two different temperatures — up to 450 degrees. That’s twice as much cooking for the same amount of space.

GE is also offering a Grand Prize trip to your choice of Bilbao, Spain, Brussels, Belgium, Los Angeles, CA,
Louisville, KY, New York, NY, or Seattle, WA.

First prize:

A full Kitchen suite of stainless steel appliances, including a refrigerator, range, microwave and dishwasher.

Eighteen Second place prizes of a stainless steel appliance of your choice will also be awarded.

As always with these contests, no purchase is necessary. See HERE for entry.

You might be interested in one for the style it adds to your home even if the added power that comes with the equipment is not something you’ll use.  Professional style ranges, like restaurant stoves,  generate more heat than a standard range – the ovens and the gas burners on top have a higher BTU (British Thermal Unit) output than conventional kitchen ranges, but unlike restaurant stoves, they’re specially insulated.  And, unlike conventional kitchen stoves, you will need a hood for ventilation, just as in a restaurant kitchen.

An advantage of a professional-series range is that the top gas burners burn hotter, allowing you to boil, saute or steam faster, but “you can also actually simmer on a low flame without burning the bottom of your pot,” says James Kita, sales manager for Metro Builders Supply in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Most of the ranges have convection ovens, which use fans to spread heat throughout the oven cavity to provide an even temperature throughout.   You’ll probably use more gas for a pro-style stove than a conventional one, Kita says. But as far as energy-efficiency is concerned, unlike refrigerators, dishwashers or washing machines, “they don’t rate these ranges because it’s not a machine that’s running all the time.”

There are also additional points to consider:  they weigh more conventional ovens, so installation will likkely cost more;they might require additional insulation in the kitchen, and there is the additional expenditure for a hood.

Professional style ranges are available from multiple manufacturers such as Viking, Thermador and even Kenmore and GE.  These companies identify them generally as “Professional Series”.  Prices range from $2,000 to $12,000, depending on the brand and the size of the stove – they vary in width from 30 to 60 inches.

GE is offering their answer to  consumer interest by debuting a freestanding induction range in their Profile series.  GE plans to offer the induction cooking technology exclusively in the Profile Series.

The range comes with a 3700-watt output element and will be available in a variety of colors, finishes and sizes.  This range will be available in Spring 2009.

In the kitchen, General Electric Co. is designing ovens with easier-to-open doors and automatic shut-off burners. A joint venture of Germany’s Bosch and Siemens AG has introduced a glass cook top for its premium Thermador brand designed to prevent boil-overs. Minnesota-based Truth Hardware reports booming sales for its remote-controlled window motors.

“This population is far more demanding and will refocus designers” on individual consumers, says Joe Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab, which studies design and engineering for an aging population.

Among appliance makers, Whirlpool Corp. has long tested products with potential customers who are deaf, blind or arthritic. The testing with arthritis patients helped prod the Benton Harbor, Mich., appliance maker to offer pedestals that raise the height of washing machines and clothes dryers for customers with back problems.

Whirlpool

A pedestal beneath this Whirlpool dryer reduces stooping when removing laundry.

Whirlpool also offers washing machines with large knobs that make louder-than-usual noise when they’re set, for customers with limited vision or arthritis. “It’s not one of those little prissy knobs,” says spokeswoman Audrey Reed-Granger. One model introduced last year plays musical chimes to indicate washing temperature or other features.

At GE’s consumer and industrial headquarters in Louisville, Ky., designers use “empathy sessions” to help develop new refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers. Industrial-design intern Joanie Jochamowitz, 22, wraps her knuckles with athletic tape and wears blue rubber gloves to simulate arthritis. She shoves cotton balls in her ears to simulate hearing loss, dons special glasses to simulate macular degeneration and puts dried corn kernels in her loafers to simulate aches and pains. She grabs a walker. Then she tries to peel potatoes.

“I don’t want to get old,” she says, as she hobbles around the kitchen, fumbling with potato peelers and stove controls, and nearly spilling a pot of boiling water.

GE began the empathy sessions last year so its young designers could better appreciate how consumers use appliances. “When you’ve got designers that are 25 or 30 years old, it’s very hard for them to understand what someone in their 60s or 70s experiences,” says Kim Freeman, a spokeswoman for GE Appliances.

The company also arranges focus groups where consumers cook a meal in a GE model kitchen while staffers watch through cameras and one-way mirrors. And GE videotapes appliance users in their homes. The summaries from these tapes are used in brainstorming sessions about design changes.

“We note what they are doing. We see if those behaviors happen more than once and why,” says Marc Hottenroth, industrial design leader for GE’s Consumer and Industrial unit.

These efforts have prompted several changes in GE product designs, including brighter LED lighting that improves visibility inside new models, such as one with a French-door refrigerator atop a bottom freezer. This year, GE introduced a single-wall oven with two cooking spaces that can operate at different temperatures. Its research shows boomers cook and entertain more frequently and like the two-ovens-in-one concept. Some models can be raised off the ground for easier access. “You don’t have to reach in as far,” says Ms. Freeman. She says it prevents people from stooping awkwardly, losing their balance and burning themselves on the hot stove.

GE has new dishwashers and washing machines that allow users to put in an entire bottle of detergent a few times a year rather than a smaller amount for every load. The machines are designed to reduce confusion and make housework less of a chore, particularly for older consumers.

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GE

At an ‘empathy session,’ members of a GE product-development team tape their knuckles to simulate impaired dexterity.

Appliance manufacturers hope these design changes will buoy revenue. Sales and profits in the U.S. appliance industry are down this year because of the housing bust, the stock-market slide and the economic slowdown.  But for the long term, the appliance industry expects big returns because of baby boomers and hopes of a housing rebound.

As we have been following the story here at appliance.net, GE  put its appliance sector up for sale last May.  There have been rumors of purchase offers, including one from Chinese manufacturer Haier who retreated in November as the US economy stumbled.  Now GE has announced its plans to hold off on any sale or spin off, citing the deepening recession.

Company spokeswoman Kim Freeman said GE executives “still feel the strategy is the correct strategy. It is just the wrong time.”

“The challenging economic environment makes a spin or a sale now extremely difficult,” the GE statement said. “Remaining part of GE and staying totally focused on operating the business effectively is the best move for the business as we prepare for what is shaping up to be another very tough year in 2009.”

The company offered no indication of when it might pursue breaking off the division. A statement on the decision said GE would “aggressively align our business with the current market.”

Last week, GE began laying off salaried workers at the division as part of a 5 percent reduction in Consumer & Industrial’s global work force of about 45,000.

GE also said it plans to continue paying a dividend in 2009, offering investors 31 cents per share each quarter.