Whirlpool Unveils Revolutionary, Pantry-Inspired Smart Home Refrigerator

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Jan. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Completely and intuitively re-imagined on the inside, the pantry-inspired layout in the Whirlpool® Smart French Door Refrigerator is designed to use space more efficiently with a unique shelving system for families to fit and find all their edible favorites, making it the easiest refrigerator to organize.¹

With pantry shelves that store 30 percent more¹, the refrigerator won top honors with two 2016 CES Innovation Awards in the Smart Home and Home Appliances categories.

"The market has traditionally provided stagnant, similarly spaced interiors, and has not been responding with new designs that account for which items people reach for most often," said Shannon Blakely, brand manager, Whirlpool brand. "Based on global food trends and family observations about how they store food, a team of Whirlpool consumer researchers, designers and product engineers helped design an interior space that moves the least-used, small items out of the way to create easier access to larger items, improves visibility of all items and reduces the need for re-shuffling."

Industry's¹ Easiest to Organize Refrigerator Based On A Radically New Interior Configuration
Whirlpool® designers considered everything from the grocery store produce aisle to the modern kitchen pantry in developing this refrigerator that does more than keep food cold.

Every section, every shelf, every bin in the French Door Refrigerator was re-designed to deliver smart organization with greater access and better visibility to change the way families think about storing food. Key innovations include: 

• Infinity slide shelves line the perimeter of the fridge, so families can move small items to the edges and make room for big, high-use items front and center. The shelves are precisely spaced apart based on common sizes of food packaging so that yogurts, spaghetti jars, 12-pack soda boxes and egg cartons fit perfectly. And, they glide just as far as needed to accommodate taller items like corked wine bottles and pitchers.
• Industry-first "flippers" allow families to adjust the shelves up or down without having to clear the shelves completely.
• With an understanding of what families buy most, the PerfectPlaces™ system has just the right spot reserved for every item, so the refrigerator and freezer spaces no longer become a dumping ground with overflowing bins.
  • Gallon door bins give families the most gallon door bin storage in the industry.[ii]
  • From chocolate to cheese to kid's snacks, a small items bin and treasure™ bin help keep the little items in clear sight.
  • Asymmetrical crispers are designed with dividers to display fresh produce like bell peppers up front, and store bags of apples in the back. The biggest crispers in the market³ were thoughtfully designed to hold common foods and packaging like unwieldy long and wide celery stalks and large plastic lettuce containers.
• A full-width "platter pocket" shelf, which slides out entirely to get to favorite foods easier. It's spaced from the other shelves at a height specifically for wide, flat items so families have a special spot for brownie pans, lasagna dishes and pizza boxes.
• Bright LED undershelf lights in the EasyView™ system boast 40 percent more brightness under the shelf to help illuminate even those far-back corners where half-filled condiment jars have been known to hide for years.
• The StoreRight™ system's dual cooling allows for fresh and frozen foods to be maintained at the perfect temperatures using sensor technology. Dual cooling also measures humidity levels and adjusts the temperature automatically, without the need to manually adjust.
• Always be ready for unexpected guests with the ReadySet™ system with dual icemakers that make more than twice the ice.[iii]

Making Care More Intuitive with Smart Home Technology
The Smart French Door Refrigerator also helps make care more intuitive, with home automation features that offer families peace of mind.

"Whirlpool brand designs products with innovations that fulfill a human need and deliver a real purpose to our consumer, all inspired by the way families care for each other," said Ben Artis, senior manager for connectivity strategy, Whirlpool Corporation. "That is no different from how we approach smart technology. A smart home should work in concert with what families are already doing and adapt to those human behaviors – that's why we designed this new smart refrigerator to include special modes like automatically making more ice for a large dinner party."

The following features help cater to distinct needs[iv]:

• Uses smart notifications to alert families of a power or WiFi outage, and even reminds them to change the air and water filters.
• Showcases customized settings, including Party Mode. By activating Party Mode in the Whirlpool® mobile app, the refrigerator automatically makes ice faster, so hosts have a full bin faster, and also lowers temperatures inside, anticipating loss of coolness when the fridge doors open and close more often as families entertain at home.
• Consumers who are signed up for Nest® Rush Hour Rewards can delay the defrost cycle to off-peak times through the Whirlpool® mobile app.
• Features advanced customer care. Through the Whirlpool® mobile app, the refrigerator displays fault codes and schedules service appointments. The app even allows customers to check on the status of a request and easily call to speak to an actual customer care representative live – the brand's Care Agent promise.

From January 6-9, CES attendees can experience this smart refrigerator and other innovations at Whirlpool brand's booth #74352 in the Family & Technology Marketplace, located at the Sands Expo Center.

For more information, to join the conversation and see the company's care-centric product innovations and conceptual inspirations come to life, visit ces.whirlpool.com and follow #EveryDayCare.

About Whirlpool Brand
For more than one hundred years, Whirlpool brand has been inspired by how people care for their families. Whirlpool brand is designing home appliances that are focused on improving how families give and get the care they need with the latest technologies and innovations – whether that means most flexible refrigerator storage for all types of family needs, induction technology for efficient cooking and easier cleaning, or laundry pairs that sense and adapt to clothes with the latest in connected technologies. Whirlpool brand is part of Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Whirlpool Corporation is also one of Habitat for Humanity's largest corporate partners for over 15 dedicated years, donating a refrigerator and range to every new Habitat for Humanity home built in North America. For more information on Whirlpool, please visit whirlpool.com/everydaycare or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/whirlpoolusa or Twitter at @WhirlpoolUSA.  Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com.

[i] Among leading french door bottom mount refrigerator brands
[ii] Among leading french door bottom mount refrigerator brands
[iii] Compared to all Whirlpool french door refrigerators including WRX988SIB, WRF997SDD, WRF757SDE, and WRF736SDA with In-Door-Ice® system only
[iv] Requires Wifi and account creation.  App features and functionality subject to change. Subject to Terms of Service available at:  www.whirlpool.com/connect. Data rates may apply.

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SOURCE Whirlpool Brand