Springboard Engineering, Inc., Newton, Iowa, a provider of engineering services to the consumer appliance, agricultural, medical device and other industries, announced it has been awarded a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history. The grant, one of several awarded from a smart grid funding package under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), solidifies Springboard’s position as a key player in helping the U.S. transition to energy independence.

Jordan Bruntz, president of Springboard Engineering, highlighted the company’s longstanding leadership in energy and water efficiency innovation. “Many major appliance manufacturers, such as Whirlpool and General Electric, have made public commitments to design their appliances to be smart grid-compatible over the next several years. Yet during the same time period, customers will purchase many millions of long-lasting appliances which are incompatible. Springboard Engineering’s goal is to make all existing electronically controlled appliances  – everywhere in the world – capable of receiving and responding to signals from smart grids,” said Bruntz.

Bruntz indicated that the company seeks to bring this about in a way that is both economical and attractive for users who want to share in the energy cost savings and reduction of peak power demand opportunities provided by the evolving smart grid infrastructure.

“The goal of this effort is to develop smart controllers which take advantage of the effective strategies of demand-response (DR) communications from utilities (including time-of-day (TOD) and peak-demand pricing options) and function apart from any need for operational changes to be designed into the non-smart appliances themselves,” said Bruntz.

Springboard Engineering, comprised of former Maytag R&D engineers and scientists, is an engineering services company specializing in design, development, testing, and prototyping.