Whirlpool 2014 Annual Report Download - page 19

Sustainability
Whirlpool 2014AR p 34 / 35
The ReNEWW House project began in April 2014 and will provide the foundation for developing super-efficient, connected appliances of the future.
appliances and showers to provide water for other uses
in the house, like toilet flushing. Net-zero energy means
that energy production equals energy consumption over
the course of a year
.
Throughout the next three years, participants in the
Whirlpool Engineering Rotational Leadership Development
program and who are enrolled in the graduate program
at Purdue University will have the option to live and work
in the house, creating a unique learning experience.
The home also has a
Gladiator brand finished basement
that doubles as a laboratory. Engineers installed an
instrumentation system that monitors key data to help
develop a next-generation, high-efficiency appliance suite
in conjunction with Purdue University.
The goal of the project is to learn more about resource
sustainability, as well as demonstrate how any home
can become resource efficient when the right kind of
modifications are made. After this valuable research is
complete, the results will be shared with homebuilders
and remodelers interested in the benefits of sustainable
building. The project will also provide valuable insights to
Whirlpool Corporation engineers for future product design.
Involvement in the ReNEWW House is a continuation
of the sustainability efforts that take place every day at
Whirlpool Corporation, reflecting the company’s efforts
to conserve water, reduce energy consumption, reduce
carbon intensity and minimize or eliminate waste.
Like our purposeful innovation, we focus on
sustainability initiatives that matter. An energy-
inefficient, late 1920s vintage bungalow in West
Lafayette, Ind., became a living laboratory for
appliance and resource efficiency research, thanks
to a combined effort by Whirlpool Corporation
and Purdue University.
As part of our corporate commitments to sustainability
and advancements in the homebuilding and remodeling
industries, Whirlpool Corporation engineers are working
with Purdue University to be the first to transform an
existing home into a net-zero energy, water and waste
structure. Called the ReNEWW House — for Retrofitted
Net-zero Energy, Water and Waste — the structure is
being renovated to include energy-saving features, solar
panels and a gray water system that reuses water from
The Whirlpool brand HybridCare Heat Pump Duet dryer was awarded an Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) 2014 ENERGY STAR® Emerging Technology award. The award is presented to innovative
technologies that meet performance criteria to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions,
without sacrificing features or functionality.
The
Whirlpool brand HybridCare clothes dryer with Hybrid Heat Pump technology is designed to
regenerate energy during the drying cycle to reduce energy consumption while providing dryer speed
and performance flexibility. Compared to typical dryers that use large amounts of energy in the form
of venting hot, moist air, the
Whirlpool brand HybridCare dryer is a ventless heat pump dryer that uses
a refrigeration system to dry and recycle the same air. The
Whirlpool brand HybridCare dryer exceeds
the Emerging Technology Award’s requirements to save consumers approximately 40 percent in energy
compared to standard dryers.
CREATING A
Sustainable
Future