Whirlpool Brings New Smart Appliances to the Kitchen

At CES 2015, Whirlpool launched a smart top-load laundry pair to great fanfare. This year, Whirlpool is rounding out its smart appliance offerings with its new Smart Kitchen Suite.

The suite includes the Smart French Door Refrigerator, Smart Front Control Range, and Smart Dishwasher, all of which fall under what Whirlpool is calling the CareSync system. Each appliance offers "Works with Nest" functionality and can be controlled via the Whirlpool app. All of the appliances will even give you fault codes and help call a repairman if something goes wrong.

The Smart French Door Refrigerator offers a Party Mode for entertaining, which drops fridge temperatures to keep foods from getting warm (due to excessive opening and closing), not to mention make ice faster. The fridge will also alert you when the water and air filters need to be changed, and when a power or WiFi outage has occurred.

The Smart Front Control Range offers a "Works with Nest" integration, allowing the Whirlpool app to alert you if your oven is still on when your Nest thermostat enters Away mode. You can, of course, control the oven from the Whirlpool app and receive alerts when preheat and cook times are complete. In terms of control, the app allows you to adjust temperature, cook time, and preheat, as well as start, stop, and pause the oven.

Last but not least, the Smart Dishwasher features an integration with the Amazon Dash Replenishment service, allowing it to automatically order more detergent and Whirlpool's Affresh dishwasher cleaner when it estimates that your supply is low. Whirlpool announced last month that similar functionality is coming to its smart washers. The dishwasher will also alert you when a cycle is done.

{{amazon name="Tide Pods and Powder Dash Button", asin="B00WJ12MQ8", align="right"}} The range and dishwasher also feature quiet and lock modes. The Quiet Mode will prevent the appliances from making any sounds or alerts, while the Lock Mode prevents people (like children) from turning the machines on and off.

The new Smart Kitchen Suite might be the focus of Whirlpool's CES appliance news, but the company has one more tidbit for its smart top-load washer: The "Connect to Care" feature that lets you donate to Habitat for Humanity with every wash is finally being released.

Related Video

{{brightcove '3980641482001'}}