a message of sustainability from whirlpool

I attended the Central Texas Water Conservation Symposium this past week and heard a fantastic presentation by Whirlpool's Global Sustainability Director, Ron Voglewede. Ron was full of useful and interesting information as well as exciting info on new and upcoming products.

The big news (at least for me) is that Whirlpool now has a ventless, heat pump dryer (#nerdalert). I cannot tell you how happy I am to hear this (think back to Steve Jobs rolling out the first iPad and how the fanboys peed themselves with excitement. That's me + this dryer.)

Your standard dryer blows. Literally. It pulls massive amounts of air from inside your home and pushes that air to the outside via the dryer vent. This forced venting causes a negative pressure in your house which results in unconditioned air seeping into your home, and Gawd-knows-where that air is coming from (imagine rat nests, spider sacs, and turds the builder hid in your walls). Having a dryer counteracts a major reason for having a properly-sealed house. If you recall (and why would you?), I wrote a ranting post way back in 2011 about dryers called "The appliance from hell: The lowly dryer". This new dryer is a game changer.

Voglewede announced that Whirlpool launched a ventless dryer in the US six months ago that not only doesn't blow but uses 70 percent less energy than a conventional dryer (dryers tend to use twice as much energy as refrigerators). As is often the case with new tech, the machine has gotten mixed reviews at the Whirlpool site (props to Wp for leaving the one-star reviews up). According to the reviews, there appears to be a design flaw in the filters that reveals itself after half a year or so. And new tech tends to cost more (this machine runs about $1,000 retail). Given that we had to shitcan a horribly expensive cutting-edge energy-efficient Whirlpool refrigerator weeks after the one-year warranty wheezed out, we'll prolly wait until they work out the bugs on this unit (or, given the fridge experience, buy someone else's). Nonetheless, this is exciting news!

water storage tank on the back of dishwasher (source)

Modern dishwashers are amazingly efficient. Studies show that the latest dishwashers use 17 times less water than hand washing, about 3 gallons per cycle. On the latest dishwasher tech front, the Europeans get all the cool stuff: Voglewede described units that recycle water, storing it in the walls of the unit (which then act as noise and heat insulation), futher reducing water use. At some point, we'll see these units here in the US (some units here already recycle some of the water, saving the last rinse for the first rinse of the next load).

A surprising set of statistics he shared is that dishwashers are installed in only 25 percent of multifamily units (apartments) and less than 70 percent of single-family homes. Having a dishwasher could save 5,000 gallons per housing unit per year.

Voglewede said that Whirlpool is thinking outside the box by trying to achieve net-zero for their appliances (if not neg-zero). Since the 70s, washing machines use about 80 percent less energy and 73 percent less water. Modern refrigerators use less energy than a single incandescent lightbulb (with newer, more efficient models using the power of a single LED bulb [hopefully they last for more than a year...]). Along those lines, Whirlpool has a test house in Indiana called the ReNEWW House, a bungalow retrofitted to achieve net zero energy, water, and waste. The family living in the house reduced per capita water use from 91 to 34 gallons per day, is net zero on power and water (there's a rainwater system), and is 93 percent waste free. To further decrease waste, Whirlpool has designed an in-home food recycler called ZERA that can even compost bones (serial killers take note).


Being a water guy, my ears perked when Voglewede said that, with population growth, our water bills will exceed our electricity bills by 2025 (I imagine that this is averaged over the entirety of the US). That's a pretty good incentive to save water. In our house, with per capita use less than 30 gallons per day, our water last year cost $202 while our electricity cost $1,070 (up from $713 the year before due in large part, methinks, to having an electric car [oooo: I smell a future post?]).

There were other cool talks at the event (which I will probably write about in a different blog), but this one (literally) brought it home.

[2/10/18: Someone turned me on to this site on ventless dryers]

our fridge fell down the Whirlpool to hell...

We put the Whirlpool fridge to death this past Sunday. It was a sad affair, really. Despite being gorgeous, versatile, and convenient, it suffered from an inconvenient truth: beneath it’s icy cold sheen, it was a dark steaming piece of bovine excrement with less than icy temperatures. While it sucks to have purchased a lemon, it really sucks to have purchased a lemon from a manufacturer that doesn’t care that it sold you a lemon. That's your problem.

On one hand, we should have known better: we bought a fancy new model with new technology. This, as it turns out, was a recipe for disaster. What's worse is that Whirlpool knew it and simply waited out its one-year warranty. If your fridge went out before the one-year warranty, you got a new version with the fatal flaw fixed. If your fridge went out after the one-year warranty, you got patchwork repairs until the the cost of repairs versus cost of replacement became prohibitive (not to mention that the repair was due to earlier botched repairs). Can you say “lack of integrity”? Whirlpool apparently doesn't care about its customers; after all, there are many more fools out there that will buy based on a familiar name. One would think a customer of one of their $3,500 refrigerators would deserve better. But that is not the case.

Shockingly, most high-end fridges suck (just look at Amazon or Sears reviews). Consumer Reports reviews individual models for this and that feature but not for longevity. Basically, the more expensive the fridge, the lower the reliability. That’s not to say that you can’t have a long-lived high-end icebox, it's just that it’s a game of Russian roulette: will the one you picked out be OK? Bottom freezer versions have lower reliability than side-by-sides and traditional top freezers do better than side-by-sides. In-door icemakers greatly decrease reliability (I suspect, based on online discussions,  our bottom freezer plus in-door in-refrigerator [as opposed to in-freezer] system with multiple compressors was the Achilles heel of our fridge). Our simple top-freezer no-nothing-in-the-gawd-damn-door icebox at our old house was still going strong at 15 years when we sold our old house.

So to replace our Whirlpool, a brand we will never buy again, we bought a $1,000 side-by-side Samsung. We chose the sung of Sam due to its lowest repair record according to ConRep, the availability of smooth white as a finish, its simpler mechanical design (the icemaker is in the freezer), its warranties, and its affordability. Having bought it through Lowes, we also purchased their extended warranty (something we never do). Its not as pretty, and it's still something of a crap shoot, but perhaps the odds are more with us than Whirlpooling against us.

One cool thing about all this is that we could watch it happen via the power draw on the fridge circuit installed by the Pecan Street Project:

This is the long-term record on the fridge. The big spike at the end of November, five months after the warranty gave out, is when the fridge started to give out, one year and five months into its life. The one month flat line was how long we were without a fridge as they tried to figure out how to fix it. They fixed it, but it was drawing about 20 watts more than it was before: not a good sign that they had fully fixed the appliance. In April of this year it added on another 10 watts of power. Starting in August, it started drawing more power and then started acting up again. We showed the tech the graph above, and he was blown away as to what it meant. Said not to worry about the additional draw. After the fridge was fixed again (and we were told the next fix would cost $1,000), the power draw kicked up to about 130 watts, more than twice it was when new. It stabilized for several months after that before the temps started falling to where the freezer stopped freezing. 

This shows exactly when something went wrong, sometime on November 5th. The spike on the 22nd is when a fridge arrived, the spike from having to initially cool things down.

You can also see how this fridge (a) uses power differently (cycling quite a bit more) and (b) uses more that the other one when new (slightly less than twice). Sigh. At least our stuff is frozen and (knock on wood) this fridge will last more than 2.5 years.

we have gas!!!

Hard to believe, but we just, this past weekend, got gas to our cooktop (what the Brits refer to as a "hob"). The hob we bought came from Europe, and they do things differently in Europe than we do, including how they connect their gas appliances. Since we bought the hob and shipped it out of the service area, the manufacturer (Whirlpool) refused to help (fair enough). The local installers were also not able to deal with the hob. So it was up to us.

First, after Googling the Google-space, I tried to contact several European parts providers for help (dealing with different gas fittings is a common problem when U.S. soldiers go to Germany with their gas grills [a common occurrence it seems...]); however, I couldn't get any play out of them.

After searching and searching (and searching...), I finally found Malone Specialty, who sells a variety of fittings, including metric to standard fittings. After researching about different types of fittings and figuring out sizes and whatnot, I ordered the part I thought would work. And it worked except that the metric side was too long resulting in an inadequate seal. For an amazingly reasonable price, Malone machined the part down to the appropriate length. With fingers crossed (and the bride glaring expectantly over a well-used hot plate...) I connected the various bits, and..... Koala! It worked! We have gas! No longer will we have to live like crack addicts in an abandoned flophouse stewing crystal meth on a caramelized hot plate!

So, be aware (beware?) buying non-standard kitchen ware. You might not get great local and manufacturer support. Having said all that, we are pleased as Punch (go look that one up...) with our hob. It's beautiful and works great!

If you look closely you can see the suds to test for leaks.

and we're in!

Sorry for the down time: (1) we haven't had internet and (2) moving is an all-encompassing endeavor. But the good news is that we are in!

The cat wants to be in the first load (along with the liquor)...

First, an update on the items of concern moving in: the floors, the gas, the internet, and the cooktop.

Being Mr. Barefoot, I noticed that the floors seemed rougher than they should with little stalagmites every six inches or so. We mentioned this to the builder ("Are you sure the floors are done?"). We didn't hear anything back until late in the afternoon before the big move-in day (we had already been moving art and liquor in [priorities, you know...]) when the floor folks showed up to refinish the floors (the builder had sent an email earlier in the day, but we hadn't been checking).

That was depressing. That floor stuff totally stinks (like, literally). The previous layer took three days to outgas, and we were moving in the next day. However, it turned out to be a thin refinishing layer and didn't stink nearly as much as the previous layer. Floor problem solved (just in time!).

The gas company turned on the gas late on move-in day and the plumbing sub showed up at 7:00 pm to connect the on-demand water heater. Talk about cutting it close! Fortunately, everything worked and we had (our first) hot shower (or any shower of note) at the house. It was heaven.

The internet turned out to not be as bad as I had feared. The installer arrived on Wednesday and, as expected, wanted to aerially drop the line to the house. After saying "Nope, that ain't gonna happen." and describing what we wanted, he said he wasn't prepared to bury the line and that it would be another week before the line-burying folks could be there. "Can't you just leave it on top of the mulch for now?" Turned out the answer was yes (They are concerned about lawn mowers, but since we have no lawn to speak of, he was amenable). An hour later, we had internet. Yay! A few days later a burier came and (no joke) simply "buried" (covered, really...) the line under the mulch, just above the weed barrier.

The cooktop is still not connected, and we are on the hunt for another regulator. Looks like I'm going to have to figure this out and finish the installation...

Gots no gas to the cooktop...

How's the house, you ask? We're totally loving it! It's a little weird, after all this time, finally moving in.  It's also rather swank (in a good way) for a couple of low-renters. After living in (and enjoying) a compact setting at the apartment, I wondered if we'd miss that intimacy. However, the house works well at keeping that intimacy (everything is close to the kitchen heart of the floorplan) and yet providing an ample amount of space for us to do our thing. As the bride points out, our house (2,300 square feets) is considered small by many, but it is ample space.

Since the gate is not yet finished, one of the first things we did was occlude the skeleton so folks would be less tempted to walk into the back yard (there are lots of lookie-loos at the house...). I was going to put up a sign that said "Unless you want to see middle-aged people naked, we advise you turn around." but then realized that there are folks out there that want to see middle-aged people naked. Since we don't want to meet these people, we instead "wrapped" the gate in wrapping plastic. It's actually kinda cool, truth be told...

To add some sanity to the insanity of moving, we worked hard to get the kitchen, dining, living, and master bedroom in working order as soon as possible.

The cat lays claim to the bed on our first night in the house.

Dining room (plan to get better end chairs; thinking Eames...)

Living room with the Eileen Gray Flor rug and the neoplastic coffee table. Plan on replacing the settee in the foreground with a Corbusier/Perrand love seat.

Another view of the coffee table...

Still working on the bookcases...

The Eileen Gray table.

The kitchen (where the minimalism stops, my friends...). In the forefront are the semi-custom Barbara stools from local furniture maker RAD. They were kind enough to work with us to replace their standard walnut with cypress. 

If our kitchen has a decorating theme, it's a fusion of the beauty of food with the sciency feel of a laboratory (because what is cooking but gastronomical chemistry?) The open shelves are there in part to showcase ingredients.

Just like Portlanders, we kinda dig the birds. Here are some shots of a couple birds we placed in the living room. The hanging black bird is a raven we bought in Iceland several years back. The raven has special meaning to Icelanders because legend has it that the first horn-headed settlers avoided starving to death by following a raven to the island. We also have a rocking bird picked up on sale at West Elm. 

The raven casts the coolest shadows in the house as it chases the morning sun.

That bird totally rocks.

Got the office somewhat set up last night (hence this present hen pecking). 

"They say people in glass houses can't throw stones. People in glass houses can't walk around naked either!" says the bride. After moving in, it quickly became apparent that we needed window coverings of some sort. Because of the immediate need for coverings, we were inspired by our friends Mr. B. and Ms. M. who have adorned their windows in their modern loft thusly:

Very nice. There's poetry in how the tape is placed and the paper just stops short of filling the entire window.

And here is our interpretation:

We used green tape instead of blue so our friends wouldn't think we had totally stolen the idea from them. We also used part of a Container Store advertisement as part of the "curtain".

We also did some half-assed curtains with pushrods by quickly chopping pre-made curtains from a big box store to "fit". We'll need to upgrade at some point (soon...), but for now, they work!

We made our first meal on the fourth: peppers roasted in the oven and duck and guinea hen baked in the horno.

We then walked down the street to watch a neighbor's electronically controlled Fourth of July display in his front yard. Awesome!

With the cooktop out of commission, we pulled the gas grill out of storage and bought a cast iron skillet (not sure why we haven't had one of these before...) and roasted up some peppers and onions and eggs for breakfast last Sunday:

And we had our first guests over on Sunday evening, the swell folks from the Green House around the corner. We drank pink wine enjoyed with tomato and fig tortes.

And here's dinner last night. Yep, the kitchen is working great!

We've had a few minor surprises. The ovens were too small for the hole (better than too big...):

Note gaps on sides.

 The cabinet lady made it out with her carpenter to fill the gaps:

Mucho better.

Not sure what happened here, but I have a vague recollection of wanting to leave the cabinets at a standard width to allow more standard width ovens to fit in the future.

The other surprise was that the in-wall plug for the television was dead:

That plug hanging down from the telly shouldn't need to be there...

 We will need to talk to the builder about that.

Whelp, there you have it! Pretty much moved in! We've gotten some requests to keep blogging as we get settled in and decorate and whatnot. Plus, we still have solar and rainwater to install (as well as more of the landscaping). We'll also continue to check out architecture during our travels, another reason to keep posting.

We'll keep posting if you keep reading!