This news is a few months old, however I was still a bit surprised. In January Whirlpool anounced that that they plan to manufacture 1 million smart grid compatible appliances by end of 2010. This is pending that some of the necessary standards and consumer savings plans are ironed out. This is only the beginning, by the end of 2015 Whirlpool plans to make all the electronic appliances it produces throughout the world smart grid compatible!

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 19, 2010 — Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is presenting a smart
grid-compatible clothes dryer demonstration unit during the International Builders’
Show (IBS) in Las Vegas January 19-22, 2010. The Whirlpool smart dryer demonstration
illustrates how smart grid-compatible dryers will operate in consumers’ homes,
reacting intelligently to peak-demand signals from a smart electrical grid and
automatically modifying energy consumption. The smart dryer demonstration – shown by
Whirlpool Corporation product experts, and accompanied by an interactive smart
appliance simulation – offers a preview of the various smart grid-compatible
appliances Whirlpool Corporation has pledged to manufacture in the near future.
Whirlpool Corporation’s recent commitment to produce 1 million smart appliances by
the end of 2011 is a significant step toward the company’s larger commitment to make
all the electronic appliances it produces, throughout the world, smart
grid-compatible by the end of 2015. This timeline is dependent on the development by
the end of 2010 of an open, global standard and appropriate policies to reward
consumers, manufacturers and utilities. Helping to accelerate the work the company
is doing, Whirlpool Corporation was recently awarded a $19.33 million federal
matching grant by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant
program.
From: Whirlpool PR