Research: Smart appliance market about to get sexier

Drat, just realized I forgot to run the dishwasher earlier this afternoon. My husband and I don't go through a lot of dishes, since it's just the two of us, so it's something I often forget. Well suppose my dishwasher helped me out by reminding me when it is full, so I'm not embarrassed by unexpected dinner guests?

That's the promise of smart appliances, which could become a very real part of the much-vaunted smart grid. There's a new report out from research company Zpryme (Smart Appliance Report 2010) that attempts to size this market. The entire global market should reach about $15.1 billion in 2015, compared with $3.06 billion currently. Fridges and washers are two big chunks of the total.

Not surprisingly, the biggest single market in 2011 will be the United States, accounting for about $1.43 billion and 46.6 percent of sales, according to Zpryme. But that will decrease to slightly more than 46 percent by 2015. China will be No. 2 in 2011, with about $355 million in sales, which translates into 11.6 percent of the total. By 2015, however, it will claim about 18.2 percent of the market, Zpryme predicts.

So who will buy smart appliances? Clearly, I'm not going to ditch my refrigerator, just because. But I AM in the market for a kitchen remodel next year and "smartness" will be a feature that I consider in what we buy, along with all the requisite design musts.

Maybe, just maybe, as the real estate market starts to recover, this will be an area of investment for those who have decided to stay put. Maybe some of those purchases will be accidental in nature, as smart appliances become commonplace. Worth watching as the great smart grid rollout proceeds.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com