Many of us are becoming used to our “smart phones” and rapidly changing technology of televisions, laptops and other communication devices.  But what about in our homes?  What’s happening now and what’s coming down the pike to help us save money and, hopefully, live in our own homes for as long as possible?

GE is one company making a major investment in “smart home technologies”.  Many of their innovative products are on display at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). These technologies will help consumers reduce health- and energy-related costs and redefine the benchmark for household performance.  

"GE's innovative technology addresses the needs of our rapidly changing lives and does so at a lower cost for consumers," said David McCalpin, general manager, Home Energy Management, GE Appliances & Lighting. "Consumers expect near real-time information to inform household decisions. We provide this at GE. {It is our goal to} enable an energy transformation that will make peoples' lives easier."

Some of the technology displayed at CES by GE that can help people save money and possibly stay in their own homes longer as they grow older include:

GE smart meter technology – GE smart meters enable two-way communication between the electric utility and the customer via smart devices in the home, empowering consumers to manage their energy use and utilities to manage demand.  With smart meters in place, utilities will have the option to charge different rates for electricity throughout the day, with lower prices when energy demand is lowest (off-peak). This will call for new consumer technologies, like GE's Brillion™ suite of home energy solutions, that not only improve overall household efficiency, but also help people manage their electricity use – including the charging of electric vehicles (EVs) – in response to utility price signals.

Solutions from Intel-GE Care Innovations – Innovations in healthcare will empower consumers with tools to remotely manage their health and increase their independence. GE and Intel's new healthcare joint venture, Care Innovations, will develop technologies that support healthy, independent living at home and in senior housing communities. The Intel® Health Guide will provide remote health management, connecting more engaged patients with more informed clinicians. The Intel® Reader will help increase independence by making printed text accessible for anyone who has difficulty reading standard print. GE QuietCare® will transform eldercare by helping improve response times and identify potential problems before they become emergencies.

Nucleus™ energy manager with Brillion™ technology – At the core of the smart, connected home is GE's Nucleus™ energy manager with Brillion™ technology, a communication and data storage device that "talks" to the utility smart meter to provide consumers with secure information about their household electricity use and costs so they can make more informed choices about how and when to use power. Additionally, consumers who have the GE programmable thermostat with Brillion™ technology and GE Profile™ appliances enabled with Brillion™ technology in their homes will also have access to estimated consumption data on their home heating and cooling and major appliances. Future planned software upgrades will further enable Nucleus™ to monitor water, natural gas and renewable energy sources, as well as plug-in electric vehicle charging.

GE energy display with Brillion™ technology – New at CES, the energy display communicates with the utility smart meter to provide consumers with near real-time energy data to help them make smarter energy choices by boiling energy use down to dollars and cents. This intuitive display provides a continuous audit of household energy consumption in kilowatt-hours and in estimated dollars spent.

GE Profile™ appliances enabled with Brillion™ technology – Brillion™-enabled appliances can automatically react to utility price signals from the smart meter and delay or reduce the wattage consumed by the appliance until lower-cost, off-peak periods. GE Profile appliances enabled with Brillion™ technology will include ENERGY STAR®-qualified refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers, and the new GeoSpring™ hybrid water heater, as well as ranges, microwaves and clothes dryers.

GE WattStation™ -- Named a "2011 CES Best of Innovations" by the Consumers Electronics Association®, the GE WattStation is an easy-to-use EV charger that helps consumers reduce EV charging time from 12 to 18 hours to as little as four to eight hours, compared to standard charging.(1) Using smart grid technology, the WattStation also allows utility companies to manage the impact of EVs on the local and regional grids. The development of the WattStation is part of GE's commitment to cleaner technology innovations for a more sustainable future.

Energy Smart® Lighting – New innovations in lighting mean more efficient homes. GE will showcase the latest in high-efficiency lighting technologies, including the new 9-watt GE Energy Smart® LED bulb – producing the same light output as a standard 40-watt incandescent, while reducing energy consumption by 77 percent. The best part: the bulb is rated to last more than 22 years.

Advanced Small Wind Turbine - Debuting at CES, Southwest Windpower's Skystream 600 is the most efficient power grid-connected small wind turbine in its class, producing 74 percent more energy for commercial and residential use than its predecessor.  Depending on the wind resource, siting and energy efficiency, a Skystream 600 could provide up to 80 percent of an average home's energy requirements. Skystream 600 will be the first fully smart grid-enabled wind turbine when available to the public in March 2011, making it easy for consumers to connect their homes or businesses to wind-generated electricity. As the country's leading supplier of large wind turbines, GE invested in Southwest Windpower, the world's largest supplier of small wind systems, in early 2009 through its energy-investing arm, GE Energy Financial Services.