Take the DirectDrive-motor washing machines, for example. Never mind the belts and pulleys of old-style washers: these use an electromagnetic motor that not only spins the front-loading drum, but produces electricity at the same time.
"It's so environmentally efficient that if I unplug this unit and simply rotate the drum by hand, it generates its own electricity," says Frank Lee, manager of public affairs for LG Canada. He demonstrates, and sure enough, the LED panel lights up as if the machine was plugged into the mains.
These machines also make doing the laundry foolproof: Load them with clothes and soap, and they extract the right amount of soap needed for that load.
New this year is the introduction of steam into the clothes dryer, raising the drum temperature to sanitize the laundry and remove odours.
"There's no source of water," Lee notes. "Heat is the special ingredient."
Steam technology is also being used in LG dishwashers.
They also use a special lower-pressure cycle for delicate items such as stemware.
Sticking to the kitchen, Lee demonstrates a microwave door that opens out and up, much like the rear door on a minivan, allowing door access with a minimum of clearance.
"We learned from the car industry," he says. "In Asia, there's a real demarcation of public and private space. In western Europe and North America, that demarcation isn't as clear -- people do end up coming into the kitchen, so (designs have to take into account that) you can have two to three people standing in front of the appliance who are not actually using the appliance."
For ranges, LG now offers a ceramic top with customizable elements, including a "bridge" connecting two elements that's ideal for evenly heating a skillet, plus a warming zone. You can also look for warming drawers for dishes under the oven, dedicated heating coils for fans in convection ovens and sealed elements on oven bottoms to make cleaning easier.
"Great design doesn't have to be locked up in a lot of technology," Lee notes, demonstrating a fridge with two French (swing-out) doors for the fridge portion and a bottom drawer for the freezer. "Make sure it's a sealed bottom, otherwise you're always losing ice chips and peas down there," he says.
The fridge puts the icemaker in the door to save space, and adds vertical vents and sensors in the centre back of the fridge: If the sensor reads a sudden warmth (such as leftovers being placed in the fridge), it sends extra cool air to that section.
Lee also notes that while most North American kitchen fridges are 32 or 36 inches wide, LG has designed a 30-inch fridge specially for the Canadian market that will fit in almost any kitchen, no matter how tight the space.
Another space saver is the European-inspired laundry unit that both washes and dries your clothes. Running on 110-volt power rather than 220, it's ideal for cottages, boats and rental units.
Still in the design stage is the four-door fridge, but it's not far off: think two french doors for the fridge and two bottom drawers for the freezer.
It's all too cool.
For more information, check lg.ca. The appliances are sold widely, at home furnishing, appliance and electronics stores across Canada.
--Canwest News Service
