Whirlpool said it will receive stimulus funds as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant program.
The grant of US$19.3 million over a two year period - which Whirlpool will match with its own investments - will help the company accelerate its work to deliver to consumers smart appliances that can connect with the smart grid, it said.
In addition, Whirlpool said that the funds will complement the company's commitment that by 2015 all of the electronically controlled appliances it produces will be capable of receiving and responding to signals from the smart grid. Whirlpool said this commitment is dependent on two important public-private partnerships: the development by the end of 2010 of an open, global standard for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from a home appliance; and appropriate policies that reward consumers, manufacturers and utilities for using and adding these new peak demand reduction capabilities.
