Tendril and Whirlpool Roll Out Smart Home Appliances

Tendril and Whirlpool have announced that they are going to collaborate on the development of a range of smart home appliances capable of interacting with the Smart Grid, like the LG Electronics THINQ range.  Whirlpool will integrate Tendril’s energy platform into the Whirlpool range of home appliances for the American market.  Both companies are at this year’s DistribuTECH showing prototypes of these products.

Tendril part in the partnership will be to provide the backend technology infrastructure that will facilitate the commercial roll out of these smart appliances. Using Tendril open platform, Whirlpool will extend it for their smart grid ready devices. The integration will then enable the appliances to communicate with utility systems and with each other, thus allowing users to make smart informed decision about how they use their energy.

Whirlpool ultimate aim is to make the connected home and energy management a reality for the everyday users of standard home appliances. As Joseph Lui of Whirlpool stated, “By leveraging Tendril’s highly extensible energy service delivery platform, Whirlpool will be able to provide consumers with a desirable solution to better manage their energy usage and spend.”

Both companies are aware of the savings that can be achieved after the implementation of smart grid aware appliances; as research by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimated that “implementing Smart Grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4 percent annually by 2030.”

According to Tendril’s CEO, Adrian Tuck, “this will forever change how consumers interact with their appliances and how they conserve energy in their homes.  We believe this will help consumers become increasingly energy-wise, and in the process help utilities effectively manage peak loads on the grid.”