Solar-powered washing machine ‘knows’ when the sun is shining

Power distributor Enexis launched the world’s first solarpowered washing machine that makes the most of the sunshine with a smart grid.

The system is being trialled in the Dutch city of Breda, where 300 new houses have been built using this new technology.

Creators hope that testing it in this way will not only help to develop the technology, but also help them to understand how people use it. The pilot is initiated by grid operator Enexis, in cooperation with power company Greenchoice and development corporation HEJA. Using special devices, residents of two neighbourhoods in Breda are able to select the most favourable time for using energy, which can be the cheapest or the most sustainable. A special website informs them about this. The test lasts for two years and will show if people are prepared to use these options or not. The project involves 246 apartments with woodstoves and solar panels and 57 houses with heat pumps and solar panels, to be completed in 2012. In each home, smart devices like a smart electricity meter or a smart washing machine will be installed, connected to a smart energy computer.

Besides giving residents information about the energy they use and produce, it collects their preferences and controls all devices as efficiently as possible.