LG's future plans for its THINQ smart appliances include wi-fi access to smartphones and tablet computers, plus a link to a HAN radio in smart meters (probably ZigBee).

Smart meters promise considerable consumers benefits — but it’s a three-part promise:

• Energy usage information feedback, which promotes understanding.
• Dynamic prices, which create savings opportunities and aligns rates with true electricity economics.
• Smart appliances and devices, which provide a convenient way of managing power usage and even simplifying our lives.

This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, LG Electronics unveiled a new suite of smart appliances. This illustrates how important it is for consumers to be able to get energy information from their meters and dynamic pricing choices from their utilities. So be careful to read the fine print (and interpret the diagrams)…

LG THINQ Technology is a broad solution that lets consumers manage their homes better.

For instance, users of LG clothes washers can select a “recommend time” option which instructs the device to operate during the first available off-peak time. (Like other electricity price information, this data must be entered manually during setup of the appliance.)

Alternatively, consumers can opt for the “lowest rate” clothes washer setting, which finds the time when electricity prices are at their lowest. This would be most valuable where residential hourly electric rates are available, such as Illinois. Also, consumers can either select a washing time, or (if they must do the washing during peak hours) the washing machine will recommend the most energy-efficient cycle.

LG ovens offer three cost options: low, middle, and high. These take into account both the duration of the cooking cycle and the varying cost of electricity.

LG refrigerators have a unique algorithm to adjust various functions, such as defrost time control, to offer savings on energy bills at peak times. LG refrigerators even count and display how often the refrigerator door is opened — an important source of energy losses.

An LCD display on LG’s smart appliances shows daily, weekly or monthly reports which detail the appliance’s overall levels of energy consumption and associated costs (using electricity rates that are entered manually).

LG’s new appliances are part, but only part, of the exciting emerging reality of smart meters and smart grids. Already, in places with widespread dynamic pricing — such as Ontario (Toronto Hydro) and Arizona (Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service) — consumers can take advantage of these options immediately.

What’s next: Utility integration

The full vision requires integrating smart meter data applications, and then linking smart appliances to a Home Area Network (HAN) so that utilities can automatically send price data to appliances. This is where eMeter’s integration platform comes into play…

LG’s vision (see figure) includes remote access via wi-fi networks to THINQ appliances. However, so far this access is not available. Also, LG plans to allow THINQ appliances to access data from smart meters, but this probably won’t happen via wi-fi. So far, the only HAN radio being implemented in smart meters is ZigBee — the technology of choice in at least five US states (including California and Texas), as well as in the U.K. (British Gas).

Let’s keep working together to make the vision of fully integrated smart appliances a reality. In the meantime, it’s great that LG has taken this big step forward.