Page 34 - Green Builder July-August 2018 Issue

COURTESY OF RENEWW HOUSE‘WHIRLPOOL CORP.

Better than the original. The ReNEWW House, a joint project of Whirlpool Corp. and Purdue University, demonstrated the feasibility of renovating a
1920s dwelling to meet or exceed new home efficiencies, while maintaining the charm and character of an older home.
Whirlpool Corp.

The home appliance giant has a ‘ReNEWW’ approach to energy savings.

Whirlpool Corp. is the world’s leading global manufacturer of system was added to the roof, to generate as much energy in one
home appliances, with $21 billion of 2017 sales while operating year as is used inside the house.
in nearly every country around the world. Those appliances are In addition, the old, outdated water-using xtures and appliances
designed to be energy ecient and eco-friendly. The company’s were replaced with new, water-e–cient Kohler xtures and Whirlpool
(http://whirlpoolcorp.com/) North American portfolio of brands appliances. Rainwater harvesting and ltration was installed onsite
includes Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Gladiator and for all potable water applications. And, in an e’ort to o’set potable
others. water usage for toilet ˜ushing, a CleanBlu greywater treatment
system was installed on site. After all these improvements, the water
HIRLPOOL CORPORATION, ALONG with Purdue consumption dropped to roughly 21 gallons per person, per day—a
University, has transformed an existing classic home 75 percent reduction in water usage.
near Purdue’s campus into a world-class research ReNEWW House is providing valuable insights for Whirlpool’s
laboratory and sustainable living showcase. That homebuilder collaborators and customers on technologies that enable
W project is known as the ReNEWW House. sustainable living. It also helped accelerate development of the next
Retro tted Net-zero Energy, Water & Waste (ReNEWW) represents generation of ultra-high e–ciency appliances—ones that increase
the aspirational vision for the project: to convert a home, originally core performance while lowering their impact on the environment
built in 1928, to one that has o’set its energy use with solar power, and cost to operate.
rely only on locally available
water sources, and to have waste- “Our sustainability journey
handling systems in place that is centered around one They’re an Eco-Leader because...
prevent any household waste from goal: Improve the quality
going to the land ll. All of this of life for consumers ■ Whirlpool Corporation is one of the largest Fortune 500 consumers
had to be accomplished without of on-site wind energy in the United States. In the U.S., Whirlpool
changing the home’s historic everywhere. We focus on Corporation has installed wind farms at several of its Ohio facilities
to allow use of renewable energy in manufacturing. The company
nature. sustainable innovations has wind farms in operation at Findlay, Ottawa and Marion, and has
Since the ReNEWW House is that ene t our consumers additional projects ongoing at its Greenville manufacturing facility.
in a heating climate with many ■ Collectively, the company expects to generate enough clean energy to
cloudy days, the home underwent and our world.” power more than 2,400 average American homes per year.
a massive energy retrofit to Ron Voglewede, global ■ Whirlpool continues to optimize and innovate to reduce appliance
address energy consumption sustainability director at energy and water consumption, and help consumers reduce their own
and storage. This included new Whirlpool Corp. environmental footprints without compromising performance.
appliances, insulation, HVAC,
■ Since 1998, Whirlpool Corporation has received 38 Energy Star
water heater, lighting, windows, doors, siding and roofing. In Awards for continued commitment to energy- and water-efficient
addition, a drainline heat recovery system was added to recover products. This is more than any other appliance manufacturer in the
waste energy from the shower drain and use it to heat incoming United States and Canada.
cold water. Finally, to get to net-zero energy, a solar thermal (PVT)

32 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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