AHAM's Blog

AHAM Produces Smart Appliance Panel for the 2012 International CES

AHAM is proud to be hosting and moderating a panel discussion on January 11 titled “Window to Tomorrow’s Connected Home” at the 2012 International CES held in Las Vegas, January 10-13. It will be moderated by Kevin Messner, AHAM’s Vice President, Policy and Government Relations, and panelists include business, manufacturing and retail sector leaders.

Panelists will give the audience a peek inside tomorrow’s connected home, and will discuss what consumers can expect in terms of functionality, timing and total home integration.   Panelists include:

• Kris Bowring – Senior Director, Platform Lead, New Business CSG, Best Buy
• Jean-Claude Junqua – Managing Director, Panasonic Silicon Valley Laboratory, Panasonic
• Dave McAlpin – General Manager, Home Energy Management, GE
• Warwick Stirling – Senior Director of Energy and Sustainability, Whirlpool

Click here to register for the 2012 International CES.   See you in Vegas!

AHAM to Educate Utility Community on Smart Appliances at EPRI Conference

On December 1, AHAM’s Kevin Messner, Vice President, Policy & Government Relations, will participate along with several representatives from the utility industry in a panel discussion on the Smart Grid and smart appliances at an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) workshop on demand-response (DR) ready technologies being held at AEP, a major utility, in Columbus, OH.

The goals of the workshop are to:

• Understand diverse stakeholder perspectives
• Define consensus Demand Response-ready attributes
• Envision the roadmap for market availability of Demand Response-ready products

Mr. Messner will discuss how the home appliance industry is developing “smart” technology that will revolutionize the way we think about doing laundry, washing dishes and keeping our food refrigerated, and how manufacturers are working closer with the utility companies to bring these devices into your home.

Pushing for Progress in the Realm of Smart Home Appliances

AHAM VP of Government Relations, Kevin Messner, contributed an article to the June 2011 issue of electroindustry, a monthly magazine published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). The article Pushing for Progress inthe Realm of Smart Home Appliances, found on page 12 of the magazine, discusses how smart grid technology will allow consumers to automatically control energy use and costs with minimal effort and significant savings on electric bills.

The article notes the potential savings for consumers:

If just five percent of all residential energy usage could be shifted to off-peak hours, and if utility companies provide a 40 percent savings for off-peak time-of-use rates, across all households in the U.S. this would amount to a total savings of almost $900 million on residential electric bills.

Read the full article to understand AHAM's perspective on smart appliances, including concerns over consumer privacy and security.  To learn more, visit www.aham.org/smartgrid. 

 

PBS Shares Home Energy Saving Devices from Manufacturers and Students

Watch the video clip below on PBS’s Nightly Business Report/Planet Forward television show on saving energy with home energy management systems. The story features AHAM’s VP Government Relations Kevin Messner mentioning smart appliances (at 2:00).  The story also includes Scott Bittle of Public Agenda stating that “most experts say it is unlikely that efficiency alone is going to enable us to keep up with power demand.”

 

Watch the full episode. See more Nightly Business Report.

WSJ Shares Smart Appliance Innovations from CES

As we previously reported, AHAM sponsored the Connected Home Appliances TechZone at the 2011 CES, where manufacturers showcased their newest designs.  These appliances all use digital technology to connect to a smart grid, which will allow consumers to run them more efficiently.  Watch the video below from Jason Bellini at the Wall Street Journal as he shows off what he saw at the show, and keep an eye out for AHAM's Kevin Messner who was interviewed for the story!

The Need for Balanced Federal Energy Legislation

Congress is spending significant time this year on energy efficiency legislation, with a keen focus on appliance efficiency.  Both houses of Congress have committees developing new provisions relating to the development of appliance efficiency standards while the Department of Energy is struggling to comply with a federal court ordered schedule to complete work on several appliance standards.  This is while the agency is also attempting to adhere to additional new requirements on appliance efficiency included in laws enacted in 2005 and 2007.  AHAM is involved in influencing the outcome of the 2009 energy legislation to ensure an adequately funded federal program that blends national efficiency requirements, and education and incentive programs that encourage manufacturers and consumers to seek even higher efficiency products.

While AHAM is encouraged that the new legislation embraces the potentially game changing application of smart grid technology to home appliances, we are nonetheless concerned that portions of the legislation will do more harm than good to a well thought out national appliance efficiency program.  

Will Climate Change Reach Pennsylvania Avenue?

It is safe to say that the momentum is not behind the enactment of a broad climate change bill this year.  However, the more important question is whether it will happen next year.

For those who are still unsure whether the climate change bill will be completed this year, let me provide a few reasons it is unlikely:

• Chair of the Senate Committee with jurisdiction (Environment & Public Works) hasn’t released legislation yet.
• Midwest Democratic Senators have said they don’t see a bill moving this year.
• Congressman Van Hollen (D-Md.) has suggested a vote might not take place this year.  This is significant because Van Hollen is head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and is responsible for electing more Democrats to the House and ensuring vulnerable Democratic members get re-elected.  This tells me that there is a worry that a climate change bill may not be selling well in swing districts.
• Chairman Waxman is still struggling to find a majority of votes in his committee to pass a bill.

Using a crystal ball to look at the political landscape in 2010 – which is President Obama’s first mid-term election year—I see that politicians will be more risk averse the closer it gets to an election, and this one is just 6 months away.  Also, will politicians feel that the climate change “issue” is better to have at their side during the 2010 campaign rather than trying to campaign on the success of a compromised climate change bill, which no one may be excited about?  And what will the state of our economy be and will it provide fodder for the opponents of climate change legislation who characterize it as an energy tax?

Significance of Specter’s Party Switch

There is no question that Senator Arlen Specter’s recent announcement that he is going to run for reelection as a Democrat is significant.  The question is: how significant?   Politically, it is quite significant and it was not by chance that it occurred on the eve of President Obama’s 100th Day in office.  It gives Democrats a victory in that they can build on a public perception that people, even Senators, continue to switch from the GOP to the Democratic Party.  And, what I want to focus on here, that it essentially provides the Senate Democrats with 60 votes, creating a filibuster proof majority (yes, to get to 60 votes, Al Franken would have to win in Minnesota and the two independents--Sanders and Lieberman--would have to vote with Democrats.)