Are You Smarter Than...a Whirlpool Dryer?

Forget energy-sucking dryers. The next generation of smart appliances are on the way and they should help you reduce your electric bills, thanks to the Whirlpool Corporation's initiative to deliver one million smart dryers to appliance stores across the country by 2011. Whirlpool plans to do this with over $19 million in stimulus funds given to the company as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Smart Grid Investment Grant program.

Smart grids, a highly intelligent and modernized power system that will redefine how and when electricity comes into our homes, are already up and running in parts of Europe, and they are beginning to pop up all over the U.S. as a way to help consumers see how much electricity is being used per day.

But how much smarter can your dryer really get?

Well, a lot smarter. The next generation of dryers will know when it's too expensive to run, thanks to signals from your electric company, and that will result in lower electric bills -- possibly up to $40 annually. Will saving $40 a year stimulate consumers to invest in smart dryers?

Whirlpool seems to think so. In 2006, Whirlpool conducted a smart grid pilot program using 150 Smart Energy dryers in the Pacific Northwest. That experiment led Whirlpool to create key patents for this technology. The pilot's results showed that the dryers were able to automatically shut off their heating elements during peak energy times during the day, which impacted electric bills.

Though Whirlpool won't yet comment on how much more a smart dryer will cost, since things are a bit under wraps, this news is something we'll soon be considering when we replace our aging dryers.