3-D Models of Energy Star Qualified Appliances Makes it Easier for Professionals and Homeowners to Visualize Green Products BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (September 19, 2007) – Whirlpool Corporation is raising the bar for energy efficiency and sustainable design with its latest 3-D appliance model offerings in the Google(R) 3D Warehouse Web site. ENERGY STAR(R) qualified and additional water- and energy-efficient appliances from Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air and Gladiator brands are now available as 3-D models in the “Green Appliance Collection” in the Google(R) 3D Warehouse. “Whirlpool Corporation’s goal is to provide builders, architects and designers with as many green options as possible,” said Mark Johnson, FAIA, CKD architect and senior manager of architecture and design marketing at Whirlpool Corporation. “We currently offer more than 600 ENERGY STAR(R) qualified appliances within our Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air and Gladiator brands alone.” Google SketchUp is a powerful, yet easy-to-learn, software developed to provide quick and easy 3-D forms for conceptual stages of design. The Google 3D Warehouse is a repository of 3-D building objects that expedites the design process. Whirlpool Corporation’s appliance models offer designers and their clients the ability to visualize their designs in 3-D, making it easier to determine the configurations that will work best. The SketchUp models can then be converted into all major CAD products without having to draw designs twice. Downloading 3-D appliance models from the Green Appliance Collection makes it easier to visualize products design professionals and clients choose than trying to interpret a floor plan. When using Google SketchUp, the kitchen design can even be experienced as a “virtual walk through.” Free and professional versions of Google Sketchup 3D design software are available at sketchup.com. Additionally, Whirlpool Corporation is working with a company of SketchUp experts named School. School teaches the fundamentals of SketchUp through an interactive DVD, and uses forums and a weekly podcast called "The SketchUp Show" to create an ongoing conversation with tips and tricks for using the software. Whirlpool Corporation sponsored five episodes of video podcast, titled “The SketchUp Show: Whirlpool Corporation Series.” Through the partnership with School, this series is the first podcast series to qualify for continuing education requirements. The series offers tips for designing kitchens, laundry centers, outdoor kitchens and modular workshop/storage systems for the garage in Google SketchUp. “The SketchUp Show: Whirlpool Corporation Series” is available at AECdaily.com, as episodes 20-24 of the “The SketchUp Show” via Apple iTunes and at School’s Web site, go-2-school.com. In addition to the Green Appliance Collection, the Google 3D Warehouse offers a full line of Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air and Gladitor brand products. To view the Green Appliance Collection 3-D models, please visit sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse. Understanding consumers’ growing commitment to the environment, Whirlpool Corporation manufactures more ENERGY STAR(R) qualified home appliances than any other appliance manufacturer. The company’s dedication to energy efficiency has earned it the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence 2007 Award from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This special award is given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding environmental leadership year after year, while sustaining product and marketing excellence. Beginning with this award’s inaugural year in 2006, Whirlpool Corporation has won this unique honor twice, making it the eighth time the company has been honored with an ENERGY STAR Award win. Whirlpool Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $18 billion, more than 73,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Jenn-Air, KitchenAid, Maytag, Whirlpool, Amana, Gladiator, Brastemp, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. For more information on Whirlpool Corporation and its offerings for architects and design professionals, please visit www.insideadvantage.com or call 1-800-253-3977.
