Vision of Kitchen Evolving

The kitchen is spreading its wings to embrace more of our activities, according to a new survey conducted by Electrolux. The appliance maker phoned 1,024 households in the U.S. and found that nine out of 10 respondents are involved in some sort of activity in their kitchen besides cooking, including paying bills, doing homework, reading, playing a game, practicing musical instruments, and working on the computer. In addition, more than two-thirds of adults say they use their kitchen, rather than their living or family rooms, to socialize and entertain guests. In other words, the kitchen has become the new living room.

The survey also found that:
One-third of adults spend three to four hours in their kitchen during a typical day, while nearly 20 percent said they spend five hours or more a day.

More than half of Americans (58 percent) said the kitchen is one of their favorite rooms in their home.

Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69 percent) agreed that they really enjoy spending time in their kitchen.

More than two thirds of Americans (68 percent) would rather have a kitchen where they can socialize and spend quality time than a kitchen that is just used for cooking meals. Nearly half of adults (46 percent) agree dthat the kitchen is the center of activity in the household.

Importantly for appliance makers, half of respondents (47 percent) said they would like a state-of-the-art kitchen, and more than half (57 percent) agreed that their kitchen should be a reflection of their personal styles and tastes.

In recognition of how the kitchen is morphing into a new kind of space, Electrolux created a new conceptual vision of the kitchen, which it dubbed “The Electrolux Live-In Room,” and displayed it at the recent Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, held in Chicago in April.

“People are telling us that all things that used to happen in other parts of the house — like eating in the dining room, entertaining in the living room and napping in the den — are moving into the kitchen,” said Keith McLoughlin, CEO of Electrolux Major Appliances, Americas. “The Electrolux Live-In Room is our interpretation of what the future holds in terms of the kitchen. Tomorrow’s kitchen is moving beyond the bread and butter basics — the room we cook and eat in — to the high functioning heart of the home. It’s the space where we entertain, relax, work and play.”

The Electrolux Live-In Room on display was designed by kitchen designer Florence Perchuk, and included interesting ideas ranging from a baby grand piano to a Japanese tepanyaki grill built into the countertop. Of course, it also contained the latest suite of stylish, stainless-steel Electrolux ICON appliances.

According to Perchuk, creating the ultimate live-in room is really a function of understanding peoples’ lifestyles and how they use their heart of the home space.

For example, in the ultimate live-in room, Perchuk notes that comfortable seating is a must, as is a highly-evolved floor plan that controls chaos and provides separate yet integrated areas or zones for entertaining, working and cooking. She says that stainless-steel appliances are ideal for such a space because they are neutral, clean, and can work with design styles from contemporary to traditional.

Fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, European kitchen designer Johnny Grey, and “Trading Spaces” carpentry guru Carter Oosterhouse were in the Electrolux booth at the event to share their ideas about design, entertaining and the role of the “space formerly known as the kitchen” in the well-lived home.

Oosterhouse emphasized the importance of design and texture when choosing key elements for a room. “The same high-end materials and finishes you are accustomed to seeing in an amazing high-end living or dining room are finding their way into the live-in room. When it comes to remodeling your kitchen space, I encourage people to think about architectural details such as great moldings and salvaged columns, innovative storage and, of course, beautiful built-ins,” Oosterhouse said. “To me, the best live-in rooms boast cabinetry and appliances that blend seamlessly.”

TOSHIBA TO INDIA

Japan’s Toshiba, has entered the Indian home appliances market with a line of refrigerators, clothes washers, and microwave ovens, and plans to add further products such as rice cookers, hot pots, and vacuum cleaners. The products will be marketed through the company’s subsidiary Toshiba India Pvt., Ltd., which already markets computers, consumer electronics, office machines, and medical equipment.

COBRA COMBO

Equator Cobra-Hybrid washer-dryer.

Equator Advanced Appliances, Houston, has unveiled a combination washer-dryer appliance that unites the efficiency of horizontal-axis technology with the convenience of a top-loading machine. Called the Cobra-Hybrid, the appliance features a LCD touch interface; a one-touch start selection; an intelligent, automatic detergent dispensing system; a load-sensing, adaptive fill; and Internet connectivity for remote diagnostics. The appliance has a lighted, 3.6-cu.-ft. drum and its lid pops open with a touch of a button.

REAL RETRO

Elmira Northstar retro appliances in candy red.

Elmira Stove Works has introduced a line of retro, 50s-style appliances called Northstar. The appliances feature rounded corners, chrome trim, an analog clock, and are available in a range of trendy colors such as candy red, buttercup yellow, robin’s egg blue, flamingo pink, mint green, and quicksilver. While old-fashioned on the outside, the appliances are high-tech on the inside. The 19-cu.-ft. bottom-freezer refrigerators are efficient enough to earn the Energy Star rating and the freestanding range offers a choice of fast-response electric elements or sealed-gas burners as well as the option of a warming drawer at the bottom.

FIBER PHONE

Japanese companies NEC and Unitika, have begun joint development of a corn-based bioplastic reinforced with kenaf fiber that will be used to fabricate housings for mobile phones. The kenaf fiber improves the strength and heat resistance of the bioplastic, which is made from polylactic acid. The idea behind the effort is to reduce dependence on petroleum-based plastics. NTT DoCoMo is already using the new material in the housing for its new FOMA N701iECO mobile phone, which was launched in March.

WOOING DAEWOO

At least 19 different companies, including major appliance manufacturers and investment firms, have made bids for a controlling stake in Korea’s Daewoo Electronics. Creditors of Daewoo Electronics hold 97.6 percent of the company and are planning to sell a stake of 51 percent or more by September, said an official at Woori Bank, which is leading the sale process on behalf of the main shareholder state-run Korea Asset Management, which owns 57.4 percent of Daewoo Electronics.

CLEAN AIR IN THE AIR

Kronos Advanced Technologies will be serving as a member of and an industrial partner in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research. In this capacity, Kronos will provide its real-time decontamination, air filtration, purification technology expertise to evaluate and develop solutions that address and improve cabin air quality. The program, led by FAA, includes senior executives from aerospace equipment manufacturers and leading American universities.

CLEANER WITH CARRIER

The Infinity air purifier, launched recently by Carrier, possesses the ability to both capture and kill airborne allergens, bacteria, molds and viruses. The core technology of this product was originally designed by Lawrence Livermore National Labs to help protect the air in secure government facilities. The device purifies the air in a three-step process. First, precision-point ionization charges particles entering the device. Second, the charged particles are captured on an unique media cartridge. Finally, using ion bombardment and an electric current flow, the media kills captured pathogens such as airborne tuberculosis bacteria, aspergillus and other fungal spores, pneumonia bacteria, and even the virus that causes measles. Since 100 percent of the air passing through the furnace or air-conditioner is treated by the Infinity Air Purifier, most of the air in the home will be treated as often as three to eight times per hour when used as part of a complete Infinity System.

Carrier Infinity air purifier.

APPLIANCE AS ART

Dirt Devil KONE hand-vac.

Royal Appliance has launched a cordless, handheld, vacuum cleaner designed to appear as a contemporary work of art. The 7.2-V rechargeable Dirt Devil KONE was developed in collaboration with New York designer Karim Rashid and is offered in several different colors, including a star white version featuring an illuminated base. The idea behind the product was to solve a common problem with cleaning appliances—where to store them. Masquerading as a work of art, the hand-vac can be left out on a countertop, instead of hidden in a closet. By designing one that masquerades as a work of art, the hand-vac can be left out on a countertop or shelf instead of hiding it.

QUICK-CHARGE BATTERY

Sony Europe has introduced a new line of Walkman digital music players with a quick-charge feature that delivers up to 3 hours of battery life in just 3 minutes. On a full charge, the device’s lithium-ion battery can yield a playback time of up to 28 hours. The flash-memory based units offer capacity levels of 512 MB, 1 GB, and 2 GB. Featuring a “stick” design, the player is available in a range of vibrant colors.

New Sony Walkman.

LG IN INDONESIA

South Korea’s LG Electronics has launched a new refrigerator plant outside Jakarta as part of a long-term strategy to make Indonesia a regional production base. The plant is the second one in the country for LG. Roughly 70 percent of the refrigerators made in those plants are exported.

FLAT FUTURE

While only 17 percent of consumers currently own a flat panel display, 49 percent say their next television purchase will be some type of flat panel technology, according to a study by the Consumer Electronics Association, “Display Opportunities: Present and Future,” which examines both opportunities and challenges for the consumer electronics industry as consumers upgrade from traditional tube sets to FPDs. CEA estimates a total of $22 billion worth of TVs will ship to U.S. dealers in 2006, with shipments rising to nearly $30 billion by the close of the decade, making it the single largest consumer electronics category.

Scanning electron microscope image of artifical compound eye.

BUG EYED

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created a series of artificial compound eyes modeled after the compound eyes of insects such as dragonflies and houseflies. The artificial eyes contain thousands of light-guiding channels, each topped with its own lens. The channels are packed together in the same hexagonal, honeycomb pattern as an insect’s eye. The eyes are made of polydimethylsiloxane, using a low-cost, self-aligning, photo-polymerization technique. By placing photodiodes at the base of each light channel, the engineers hope to create a new generation of wide-angle image sensors that could be used in consumer electronics, medical diagnostic equipment, and surveillance systems.

Cross-section of artifical compound eye showing light channels.

IN THE OZONE

Sanyo Electric, Tokyo, has developed a new washer/dryer appliance name AQUA that uses ozone in two different ways. The first is on the washer’s waterless air-wash cycle, which is intended for clothes that aren’t really dirty, but need to be deodorized or disinfected. Ozone is also used in the appliance’s Aqualoop feature, where rinse water is cleaned, disinfected, and recycled for use on the next load. In both cases, the idea is to reduce the amount of water consumed by the washer. The unit’s 10-W ozone generator creates ozone by running a 4-kV electric arc across two ceramic electrodes. Currently, the appliance is being marketed in Japan.

GAMA MEEETING

The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association honored three industry leaders in Phonenix with 2006 service awards at its 71st annual in April. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to industry and the public interest. The highest honor, the 2006 Distinguished Service Award, was given to to Daniel W. Holmes, Jr., chairman of Morrison Products, Cleveland, Ohio. The award celebrates lifetime achievements in the industries served by GAMA and its members. The 2006 GAMA Technical Service Award was presented to Bruce Maike, vice president of engineering, Armstrong Air Conditioning, Bellevue, Ohio. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in industry technical advancement and standards. Rex Boynton, president of North American Technician Excellence, Arlington, Va., received the 2006 GAMA Public Service Award, recognizing outstanding contributions in advancing the industry’s public interest. Established in 1997, NATE is a nonprofit association that recognizes high-quality HVAC industry technicians through voluntary testing and certification, and promotes excellence in the installation and service of HVAC and refrigeration equipment. GAMA members also installed new officers at the meeting, and elected William S. Rafferty, executive vice president of Mestek, as chairman of the association. The following were also elected as officers for 2006-2007:

• First Vice Chairman: Patrick J. Quilty, vice president, Combustion Controls North America, Honeywell International, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Second Vice Chairman: Halsey Cook, president, North American Residential, Carrier Corporation, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Treasurer: Robert J. McDonough, president and COO, Worldwide Heating & Cooling, Lennox International, Richardson, Texas.
• Director-at-Large: Charles Carroll, president and CEO, Goodman Global Holdings, Houston, Texas.
• Director-at-Large: Bonnie Kern-Koskela, president and CEO, Maxitrol Company, Southfield, Mich.
• Director-at-Large: Simon Parfitt, president, Rheem Water Heater Division, Montgomery, Ala.

The newly elected GAMA officers will serve one-year terms on the GAMA Executive Committee and Board of Directors, along with 2005-2006 GAMA.