Appliance Design - December 2008 - (Page 12)

NEwS watch nience, address healthy lifestyles, and enhance the everyday-at-home experience are the ones that tend to garner consumer attention, resulting in sustainable sales growth, according to a new report from The NPD Group. In the 12 months ending August 2008, the categories with the largest percentage growth in unit sales were jar openers, electric kettles, popcorn makers, and tea makers. The biggest unit declines were chocolate fountains, electric rotisseries, pizza ovens, and roaster ovens. lower overall energy costs. Applied to industrial and commercial boilers, the Transport Membrane Condenser can help increase in fuel-to-steam efficiency of as much as 10 percent to 15 percent (up to 95 percent fuel-to-steam efficiency), and up to 20 percent fresh water savings. The technology is a key element in the Super Boiler technology and GTI is working to expand the use of the TMC technology, including applications for industrial food drying, and as a home furnace heat recovery and humidification system. achieving the industry’s top environmental performance. The plan also calls for the reduction of CO2 emissions by 10 percent, or more than 6,000 tons, by March 2010. REtaILER GOES chaPtER 11. cLEaN wOOD hEatERS. Manufacturers are gearing up to produce cleaner wood-burning heaters. Under the second phase of a voluntary partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several manufacturers of outdoor wood-fired heaters have pledged to market units that are more efficient, and which will emit about 90 percent less air pollution than unqualified units. Some manufacturers already have units available that meet the new emission levels. The voluntary EPA program was launched in 2007, providing criteria for units to be 70 percent cleaner than unqualified models. The program has evolved to Phase 2, and EPA-qualified units will be up to 90 percent cleaner than older unqualified units. To date, the program has reduced nearly 1,200 tons of fine particle emissions released annually. Under Phase 2, new models must emit no more than 0.32 lbs. of particle pollution per million BTUs of heat output. The models must be tested by an EPA-accredited third-party laboratory to verify that they meet these levels. automower Solar Hybrid. SOLaR MOwER. Husqvarna, Louisville, Ky., has launched the Automower Solar Hybrid. The fully robotic, 22 lb. electric lawn mower is partly powered by the sun and uses no fuel or oil. By obtaining power from both the sun and its recharging station, the Automower is designed to handle lawns of up to a half-acre. To navigate, a small wire is staked to the ground below the grass level, or buried just beneath it, around the perimeter of the lawn to be mowed. An on-board navigation system monitors its position relative to the wire keeping it in the area to be mowed. Circuit City Stores has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond. The company plans to continue operating the business without interruption as management focuses on developing and executing a comprehensive corporate restructuring plan. Circuit City’s Canadian operations also will be seeking protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada. The company is seeking customary authority from the Bankruptcy Court that will enable it to continue operating its business and serving its customers in the ordinary course. The requested approvals include requests for the authority to make wage and salary payments and continue various benefits for employees as well as honor customer programs such as returns, exchanges and gift cards. The week prior to the filing, Circuit City announced plans to close 155 domestic segment stores. In addition, the company reduced its corporate, regional and district support workforce by about 700 positions. The store closings and support workforce reductions will result in a combined domestic workforce and store base reduction of approximately 20 percent. EcO taRGEtS. caPtURING hEat. GTI, an independent research and development laboratory, has been awarded a Chicago Innovation Award for its Transport Membrane Condenser (TMC) advanced heat recovery technology. The technology allows the capture of waste heat and water vapor from exhaust/flue gas for reuse, which can increase operating efficiency and 12 applianceDESIGN December 2008 Panasonic Europe, a subsidiary of Japan-based Panasonic, has set environmental targets, which it calls the “eco ideas” initiative. The initiative focuses on producing energy-efficient products, reducing CO2 emissions at all manufacturing sites, and encouraging the spread of environmental activities for employees and customers. The company has pledged to develop 20 Superior Green Products by the end of their fiscal year 2010. Panasonic defines the Superior Green Products as those LOwE’S RaNKS hIGh. Lowe’s ranks highest in customer satisfaction among major appliance retailers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Appliance Retailer Study. The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction with the largest appliance retailers based on performance in six factors: sales staff, installation service, delivery service, store facility, merchandise, and price. Lowe’s achieved a score of 804 on a 1,000-point www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - December 2008

Appliance Design - December 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch New Products Design Marts Meetings Directory of Appliance Industry Associations EID Call for Entries Design, Engineering, and Prototyping Electrical and Electronic Components Fastening and Joining Fluid, Gas, and Refrigeration Materials, Forms, and Fabrication Mechanical Components Software and Computers Testing and Certification Supplier Locator Product and Services Locator Index Association Report: CEA Advertiser’s Index

Appliance Design - December 2008

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