Whirlpool, Tendril To Collaborate on Smart Appliances

Energy management software company Tendril and appliance maker Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) announced a relationship for smart home appliances in the U.S.

Tendril will provide the back-end technology infrastructure to support the commercial deployment of smart appliances, including a range of connectivity-enabled services and applications. Whirlpool Corporation will integrate its smart appliances with the Smart Grid infrastructure by extending Tendril’s open standards-based, scalable and secure technology platform.

The integrated platform will enable communication between appliances, consumers and energy providers–making the connected home and home energy management a reality.

For example, for a refrigerator to actively manage its energy consumption, it must be able to quickly, reliably and seamlessly communicate with the electric utility company. In this case, the refrigerator will automatically move its defrost cycle to a non-peak time without impacting the performance of the appliance.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates that implementing Smart Grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4% annually by 2030. Smart appliances can have an even more profound impact on reducing expensive peak demand as well as supporting renewables (e.g., solar and wind) on the grid.

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

The global household smart appliance market is projected to grow from $3.06 billion to $15.12 billion, from 2011 to 2015.

Whirlpool Corporation previously announced plans to produce one million "smart" clothes dryers by the end of 2011 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant program.

Tendril and Whirlpool Corporation will demo smart-grid enabled appliances at DistribuTECH, Feb. 1-3, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Tendril is venture backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, Good Energies, RRE Ventures, Vista Ventures, GE and Appian Ventures.