South Africa: Green Gadgets for Kitchens

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Business Day (Johannesburg)

25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008

Roxzanne Van Eyk
Johannesburg

THE kitchen has long been considered the heart of the home and with so many more hi-tech appliances becoming available; preparing food, cooking meals and cleaning up in the kitchen is easier than ever before.

While there may be a number of products offering fancy features such as refrigerators with LCD screens, when SA was hit with the news that there was a electricity shortage, it nevertheless came with a positive spinoff -- a national focus on energy efficient appliances that are also ecologically friendly.

The buzz word in the property industry is 'going green', which has even extended to the kitchen.

Appliance manufacture, Whirlpool, launched its GreenKitchen concept that entails a prototype kitchen. The concept represents an innovative way to take advantage of the interactions between single elements and appliances within a kitchen using Whirlpool's 6th Sense innovation.

Taking its model from nature and its natural cycle, GreenKitchen integrates appliances, optimising the use of heat and water with processes that increase energy efficiency up to 70%.

Peter Sievers, Whirlpool SA's marketing executive, says the technologically advanced concept kitchen achieves this in a number of ways: "The refrigerator that is used within the kitchen has been completely rebuilt, making use of drawers to limit the loss of temperature when opening and closing compartments with food, ultimately reducing energy consumption. This convertible drawer storage space operates at cellar temperatures to save energy, and optimise the conservation conditions of certain foods."

Another advanced energy consumption tactic by Whirlpool's GreenKitchen pertains to the dishwasher. Before disposing of the water from the wash cycle, the sensors within the dishwasher measure the degree of soiling, and determine if the water can be recycled, diverting it to a storage tank where it can be re-utilised in the dishwasher's cycle.

The GreenKitchen concept ensures that the heat produced by the refrigerator compressor (the only appliance to run 24-hours a day) acts as an element from the geyser for the dishwasher, producing hot water for its cycles. Another innovative idea is that the canopy above the cooking hob is powered by Whirlpool's 6th Sense sensors, and atomically detects cooking activities, regulating air extraction power, and switching on a viewing light when the area around the hob is in darkness.

While pricing for hot new technology in home appliances can be considerably costly, for those who can afford it the convenience and luxury afforded by the products far outweigh the high prices.

Among some of the latest products available include a steam washing machine, which was launched by LG Electronics to the South African market last year -- a first in SA. The machine uses considerably less energy consumption (21%) as well as reduces water usage by 13%.

Another popular product is the Miele oven/cookers, which offer a navitronic dialogue-display that continuously informs the user about the current cooking process. It contains programme information, recommended/current temperature and cooking times. The Miele ovens/cookers also have a cool-front touch in that the triple-glazed doors make for low contact temperatures, such as 60°C in normal operation. Another advantage is the rapid heat-up phase of the ovens, which can heat up to 160°C in five minutes.

Intelligent kitchen systems do not necessarily have to be digital to be efficient, because sometimes a clever design is all it takes. Franke Kitchen Systems claims to offer advanced product development in its systems. The systems transform the sink from a washing-up area to a food preparation area. As an extended product offering from its core business of manufacturing sinks, Franke also offers sinks and sink mixers with custom-made accessories such as chopping boards and waste management products. This includes waste disposers and inset bins.

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