How MyEnergi Lifestyle works
MyEnergi Lifestyle shows how a typical American family can significantly reduce their electricity bills and CO2 footprint by integrating today’s plug-in vehicle technology, smart home appliances and solar energy. MyEnergi Lifestyle works by leveraging technology so key energy-consuming devices in a home use less energy, while also shifting energy usage to less expensive periods. At night, for example, when energy costs are lower, a smart refrigerator can perform high-energy tasks like ice making or defrosting – just as Ford’s plug-in vehicles do with recharging.
If every home in the United States were to implement the energy-saving technologies MyEnergi Lifestyle incorporates, it would be the equivalent of taking all the homes in California, New York and Texas – 32 million homes – off the power grid.
Along with the contest launch, during a special Mother’s Day show Friday, May 10, “Katie” also surprised a member of its studio audience with her own MyEnergi Lifestyle home retrofit. Susan Berry, a substitute teacher from Ventura, Calif., was the lucky winner. “Oh man, this is fantastic,” said Berry. “Now we can give our 15-year-old Ford pickup to my son, my husband can take my Ford Escape and I’ll have the C-MAX Energi!” Check out Berry’s reaction to the surprise here: http://www.katiecouric.com/videos/katies-biggest-giveaway-ever/.
Write this way to a retrofit
To enter the MyEnergi Lifestyle retrofit contest, applicants will need to submit an essay of 400 words or less explaining how adding solar power and switching to smart, energy-efficient appliances and a plug-in hybrid vehicle could benefit their family.
Representatives of the MyEnergi Lifestyle initiative will serve as judges for the essays, and their determination of a family most deserving of the grand prize will help decide the winner.
For more information on the contest, including eligibility rules and to enter for a chance to win, click here for the “Katie” website: http://www.katiecouric.com/features/win-ford-hybrid-car-whirlpool-smart-appliances/.
The grand prize package includes:
- 2013 Ford C-MAX Energi; with a starting price of $29,995, C-MAX Energi is America’s most affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle
- Eaton solar inverter, solar-ready load center with home surge protection
- Eaton electric vehicle supply equipment and generator
- Five-kilowatt high-efficiency SunPower system that can produce about 8,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually
- Nest learning thermostat
- Powerhouse dynamic eMonitor for energy monitoring
- Whirlpool brand smart dishwasher, smart washer and dryer combination, smart refrigerator, hybrid heat pump water heater and more
Building on the trend of sustainable living and the next generation of net-zero home design, Ford also recently announced MyEnergi Lifestyle products will be featured in KB Home’s ZeroHouse 2.0 in San Marcos, Calif., and in other markets where this energy-efficient home is sold. The agreement between these two innovative leaders further showcases a growing trend where the typical American family can save money while reducing their impact on the environment by combining mainstream home appliance technology with an affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle and a renewable energy power source.
For a chance to win this great prize package, check out the website here and good luck!
