GE aims to enable consumers to cut home power use

NISKAYUNA, New York (Reuters) - General Electric Co said Tuesday it will combine energy efficient lighting and appliances with energy management systems and renewable power generators in packages for new homes to slash consumers' electricity consumption.

Called "Net Zero Energy Home," the systems will feature photovoltaic and thin-film solar cells and advanced energy storage products to save energy.

Mark Little, GE's director of global research, said in a release the company was working with utility and government partners to help improve the power grid, which has not changed much since the days of Thomas Edison, in ways that would not require consumers to compromise their lifestyles.

GE said its home energy manager, which will inform consumers about real time pricing of their electricity use so they may decide whether to run power-hungry appliances like washers and driers at times when prices are low, would be available as early as next year.

The company will also introduce smart thermostats that should help consumers save on power bills. The company did not immediately reveal details about costs or how many homes it hoped would adopt the systems.

Home energy management systems, which are being made by several companies, are one end of the much-touted and developing "smart grid," which energy experts hope will make the transmission system more efficient by enabling power generators to communicate better with consumers.

Improvements in transmission lines are also considered part of the smart grid, which could also eventually enable widespread use of electric vehicles.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $3.9 billion in smart grid funding late last month aimed at making the power transmission system allocate electricity more efficiently. The money will aim to improve transmission lines and allow batteries in hybrid and fully electric cars to feed back into the grid when needed.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by John Picinich)