Students Put Load of Creativity into Eco-Appliance Projects

Think about washing your clothes – or your dishes – with no more detergents, or water. Or heating your stove – and house – with a hydrogen fuel cell.

University of Cincinnati students are polishing these and other eco-appliance ideas in an ongoing studio class sponsored by General Electric.

“All of these ideas are no more than 10 to 15 years away. All the technology is in place. We’re just applying materials and technology that already exists in new ways,” explained industrial design senior Dave Collins, who has teamed with a small group of fellow design and marketing students to brainstorm on behalf of GE’s Consumer Products and Industrial Products Division in Louisville.

For instance, Collins and his fellow students are completing design details for a small modular unit that would clean a family’s clothes and their dishes. The stylish unit could be placed anywhere in the home because it won’t be dependent on water in- and out-flow for its cleansing power.

Collins said, “It cleans by means of pressurized, liquid carbon dioxide, and the machine would pretty much have an infinite supply of that. Basically, it works because the liquid carbon dioxide bonds to dirt on clothes or particles on dishes. It then removes them, and the remains of food and dirt fall to the bottom of the machine.”

Such a machine would not only possess greater energy efficiency but would be better for the environment since it would involve no waste water or detergents flowing into water supplies. In addition, it would be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, a clean, renewable power source. “And for consumers, it would provide them the freedom to place the machine anywhere, move it anywhere, anytime. It would not need to be connected to the wall for access to a water source,” added industrial design senior Geoff Baldwin.

Other ideas emerging from the studio class led by Dale Murray, associate professor of design, extend beyond the modular clothes/dish washer. They also include

• A refrigerator with pressure-sensitive shelves that would indicate when certain staples, like milk, were running low

• An intelligent countertop surface that converts to an induction stovetop wherever needed

• A stove – continually fed by high-energy pellets of corn, wheat or other natural fueling source – that would provide heat and energy for the entire house

• High-efficiency, completely recyclable appliances – stove, refrigerator and more – that use a sealed layer of water (around appropriate components) as an insulator

This latter idea would make for appliances (methane powered in this case) that were extremely energy efficient while also making for safely recyclable units. “Current insulation materials used in appliances is what makes them difficult to recycle and dangerous in landfills. The insulators are usually toxic materials. So, we’re exploring using a water chamber as the insulator. Water is a wonderful insulator and would have no environmental downside,” stated Caleb Meyer.

In addition to looking at individual appliances, the students are also examining energy systems in the home. “We may very well be moving toward systems that are very different from what we use now in terms of appliances and the forms of energy that power them,” explained Murray. “We will likely move more toward the use of hydrogen, methane, biomass, solar and wind power. Companies like GE won’t only supply appliances, they’ll supply energy from renewable sources.”

In addition, these companies may lease appliances, as it is already done in Europe. There, appliances like a refrigerator lease for as low as $5 a month, and the company maintains ownership of the appliance. For that fee, the appliance company services, changes parts and repairs the appliance whenever necessary.

The students, from UC’s top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, and from UC’s College of Business, will present all their appliance and systems ideas on GE executives and designers in Louisville on March 10.