It is all well and good to build a Smart Grid – but if people can’t access the information, it is useless to the consumers.  What is also useless are appliances that can’t talk to the Smart Grid.  Whirlpool is working to have all appliances it makes be able to talk to the Smart Grid by 2015. 

Whirlpool is positioning itself to take advantage of the growing interest in Smart Grid technology with last week’s announcement that all of its electronically controlled appliances will be Smart Grid compatible by 2015.

This could have some interesting effects – the appliance talks to the grid and sees that it is close to full capacity and does not run – blackout or brownout avoided.  That is the main reason.  While some interesting ideas could be proposed. When the appliance does not turn on as expected, people will think that their appliance is not working properly, especially if the appliance maker puts on the H.A.L. 9000′s voice that says, “I’m sorry Dave, I am afraid I can’t do that,”  and when the owner gets mad, the appliance could say,  ”Look Dave, I can see you’re really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over”.  The applaince talks to the power company, and the power company sells the information about what appliances people buy. Or, as some people will point out, it makes it easier for Big Brother to watch and collect information.   

Whatever the reaction, having a Smart Grid, a Smart Meter, smart appliances, and information for the consumer to use, can only help conserve energy.

Mark Viquesney