Architect Peter Pfeiffer walks through the GE Profile appliance package at Green Builder Media's VISION House Austin, from the combo washer-dryer and induction cooktop to the heat pump water heater, and explains how each contributes to the home's efficiency.
00:00:01:23 - 00:00:33:02
Peter Pfeiffer: We are a Green Builder, Media Vision House Austin, and it has been a very successful project to demonstrate sustainability in action. But real sustainability, affordable climate responsive design, sustainability. One of the contributors to this project's success is GE profile Appliances. Let's talk about some of them because it's pretty fascinating. The first one that comes to mind is a combo washer and dryer.
00:00:33:05 - 00:00:53:17
Peter Pfeiffer: Think about this for a minute. The earlier versions were not very successful by other manufacturers, but the homeowners here love this when they can put a load of laundry in this machine, it will wash it and then it will automatically dry it. So in a very reasonable amount of time to wash and dry. So that's kind of neat.
00:00:53:17 - 00:01:19:01
Peter Pfeiffer: You just have one machine in your laundry room. You can have one machine in your walk in closet. You don't have to have to and you don't have to vent it to the outside either. And the combo washer and dryer requires 65% less water and 50% less energy to do what it needs to do, compared to its comparable appliances in the market.
00:01:19:03 - 00:01:43:15
Peter Pfeiffer: Now, another aspect of it, and the other appliances we're going to talk about is the connectivity through Wi-Fi. But what makes it interesting and you think about, well, I don't need that. But yeah, maybe you do where you can control them from your phone. And that actually might be more handy than you think. The ovens are side opening ovens, so you don't have to bend over the door to reach in there.
00:01:43:15 - 00:02:14:08
Peter Pfeiffer: That is wonderful for aging in place. Perspective. The refrigerator has water, a water dispenser, but it's not in the door. It's in a water pitcher inside the door. And the icemaker is down below. And it's not in the door either. The reason why that's important is you get the convenience of chilled water and ice making being made for you without the energy efficiency loss associated with water and ice dispensers in the door.
00:02:14:10 - 00:02:33:09
Peter Pfeiffer: So it's a very efficient machine. I love the cafe style doors they've got, so you can see everything that's in front of you. Then the snack drawer underneath it, you can sit at a colder temperature and just have your snacks in there. So if you want to reach in for a snack, you don't have to open up the whole refrigerator and let all that cool air come out.
00:02:33:09 - 00:03:05:18
Peter Pfeiffer: It's much more efficient because a smaller amount of the refrigerator is being exposed to the outside or the household there. So it's a very convenient refrigerator and freezer and very efficient and very quiet, by the way. And same with the washer dryer. A combination unit, the induction cooktop. One of the very important things about an induction cooktop is you have to remember that the kitchen is the most energy consuming room in a house.
00:03:05:20 - 00:03:25:16
Peter Pfeiffer: It's also energy consuming for people, but it's energy consuming not just for the appliances, but the lighting and the other things we talked about earlier. Well, what I like about the induction cooktop is it doesn't heat up the kitchen. And in our environment where we are trying to air conditioning, so many years, so many months, a year, that's really nice.
00:03:25:18 - 00:03:50:17
Peter Pfeiffer: So it's not only a more efficient way of using energy to heat your food, but it also makes your kitchen more comfortable because it doesn't heat up your kitchen. Another appliance in this house that contributes to its success is the water heater. It's water heater is a heat pump water heater that has features in it such that it can produce.
00:03:50:17 - 00:04:29:25
Peter Pfeiffer: Even though it's only 50 gallons, it can produce extra capacity of heating up to 60%, extra capacity to give you the water heating capacity or capabilities of a much larger water heater, but in a very energy efficient manner because it is a heat pump, water heater. It too is wi-fi-enabled such that it can manage its operations to run more during the times of the night or the times of the day when energy costs are lowest and still store the hot water in such a way that it's available to you when you need it.
00:04:29:28 - 00:04:48:27
Peter Pfeiffer: This, along with the ovens, the cooktop, the refrigerator, and the dishwasher with its energy efficiency and water sipping capacity or capabilities, all are contributors to this being a very successful vision house project by Green Builder Media.