Creating Innovative "Green" Home Appliances Has Been a Long Tradition at Fisher & Paykel Appliances

Long before the recent push for green products, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was envisioning and creating energy efficient and environmentally beneficial appliances for the home.

Thinking green has always been a way of life around Fisher & Paykel. The company's impressive legacy of innovation stretches back to its founding in New Zealand more than 70 years ago.

Fisher & Paykel has long been recognized in New Zealand as a technology and design leader in the home appliance industry. Similar recognition in the U.S. market has come more slowly mostly through the introduction of its innovative DishDrawer® Dishwasher and EcoSmart™ washer that offers distinctive "European" style design combined with cost-saving environmentally friendly features. Yet the growing interest among U.S. consumers for green and energy efficient home appliances can only bode well for the company's growth prospects.

"Consumers are increasingly demanding energy efficient home appliances that not only cut down on their energy costs, but also are not harmful to the environment," said Laurence Mawhinney, VP Sales & Marketing for Fisher & Paykel Appliances. "This is not a new initiative for us. Protecting the environment has long since been an integral part of our company culture at Fisher & Paykel. We have been at the forefront of providing innovative products that promote green living for many years."

The DishDrawer® Dishwasher and range of autowashers are only the latest examples of Fisher & Paykel's continuing green tradition.

The world's first dishwasher in a drawer, DishDrawer®, is a signature product line for Fisher & Paykel with its unique ergonomic design that doesn't take up a lot space and cost-saving and environmental features that minimizes water, energy and detergent usage. Additionally, the DishDrawer® offers the option of an economical, smaller load using as little as 1.98 gallons of water (2.6 gallons on average for a normal eco cycle). This single unit or half load function needs only half the energy, water and detergent of a conventional dishwasher. Since launching the DishDrawer® in 1997 after years of testing and research, Fisher & Paykel has continued to update and improve upon its dishwasher of the future.

"The DishDrawer® has not only revolutionized the way consumers wash dishes, but we have also reimagined the dishwasher as a modern economical appliance that saves on energy costs, space, while delivering on performance," said Mawhinney.

Fisher & Paykel has also led the way with its energy saving laundry products, including the EcoSmart™, IntuitiveEco™, and AquaSmart™ washers. This impressive lineup of ENERGY STAR® rated washers all have energy and water ratings, which far exceed the minimum standard. The AquaSmart washer earned a MEF (modified energy factor) rating of 2.15, which exceeds the Department of Energy (DOE) 2007 standard of 1.72 by 25 percent. This makes it the most energy efficient top loading washing machine in North America.

With these top rated machines, consumers can save energy, water and time and still protect the environment. As another benefit, these washers are also eligible for utility rebates available throughout North America. That is no small thing these days with ever rising energy costs. In a troubling trend, electricity prices in 2006 made the largest one-year jump since 1981, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Retail prices climbed 9.3 percent to a nationwide average 8.9 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Some additional energy saving facts about Fisher & Paykel's washers and dryers include:

• EcoSmart™ uses 41 percent less energy and 63 percent less water than a conventional washer****. Its 1000-rpm spin cycle saves up to 30 percent of the time and energy needed to dry clothes.
• The AeroSmart™ dryer features moisture sensing technology that detects how long it will take to dry a load of clothes resulting in time and ultimately energy savings.
• The AquaSmart® meets the stringent Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) criteria for Tier 2 efficiency adopted on January 1, 2007. According to the CEE, a non-profit public benefits corporation, machines meeting the new Tier 2 criteria save at least 341 kilowatts of energy per unit annually over a washer meeting the 2007 federal standard*, and saves 7,693 gallons of water per unit annually**. That represents enough energy to drive 325 miles *** and enough water to fill a 10-by 12-foot room.
• AquaSmart® has a water factor of 5.96 which exceeds the DOE 2007 minimum standard of 8.0 by more than 25 percent.
• IntuitiveEco™ and EcoSmart™ also offer the lowest energy Consumption rate of all full-sized top-loading washers with a fullsized agitator "Our experience of combining superior performance with forward thinking energy saving technology sets apart Fisher & Paykel's laundry products from our competitors," said Mawhinney.

To find out more about Fisher & Paykel's products or its DCS by Fisher & Paykel brands, please contact your local Fisher & Paykel dealer. You can also get more information at www.fisherpaykel.com or call us toll free at 888 936-7872.

*When used with an electric water heater and electric dryer
** Assuming a baseline water use of 14,468 gallons/year.
*** Assuming 35 mpg at 1 kWh = 3409.5 BTU and 1 Gallon Gasoline = 125,000 BTU
**** EcoSmart™ figures taken from the Savings Calculator on the ENERGY STAR® web site: www.energystar.gov.

ABOUT FISHER & PAYKEL APPLIANCES

Fisher & Paykel Appliances is a global company best known for its innovative DishDrawer® dishwasher. Fisher & Paykel designs, manufactures and markets a range of innovative household appliances developed with a commitment to technology, design, user friendliness and environmental awareness.

DCS by Fisher & Paykel products are widely regarded to be among the best performing professional cooking equipment in the U.S. market place. The brand has a strong reputation for product innovation and evolution of the high-end cooking market.Fisher & Paykel Appliances has manufacturing sites located in Auckland and Dunedin, New Zealand; Cleveland, Australia; Rayong Province, Thailand; Huntington Beach, California and Clyde, Ohio. USA; and Treviso, Italy. Fisher & Paykel and DCS products are sold, directly or via distributors, to approximately 4,500 dealers in the United States. Further details on Fisher & Paykel Appliances and DCS Appliances are available on their Web sites.