On December 1, AHAM’s Kevin Messner, Vice President, Policy & Government Relations, will participate along with several representatives from the utility industry in a panel discussion on the Smart Grid and smart appliances at an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) workshop on demand-response (DR) ready technologies being held at AEP, a major utility, in Columbus, OH.

The goals of the workshop are to:

• Understand diverse stakeholder perspectives
• Define consensus Demand Response-ready attributes
• Envision the roadmap for market availability of Demand Response-ready products

Mr. Messner will discuss how the home appliance industry is developing “smart?? technology that will revolutionize the way we think about doing laundry, washing dishes and keeping our food refrigerated, and how manufacturers are working closer with the utility companies to bring these devices into your home.

Thanksgiving dinner is the most anticipated meal of the year for Americans and an ideal opportunity for cooks to show off their culinary expertise. However, Thanksgiving is also considered the peak day for preventable cooking fires.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), cooking fires are the top cause of home fires and are three times as likely to occur on Thanksgiving Day compared to any other day of the year. Americans will roast, bake, brine, grill and even deep fry more than 45 million turkeys on November 24.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) offer these simple cooking safety tips to help keep you safe in the kitchen, regardless of your cooking style!

• Stay in the kitchen while food is cooking.  Most fires in the kitchen occur because food is left unattended. If you must leave the kitchen briefly, carry an oven mitt with you as a reminder that something is cooking.

• Do not try to hold your child in one arm while cooking with the other. Holding a child while cooking is an invitation for a burn. Keep the cooking area clear of clutter and keep your child out of the kitchen while you’re cooking.

• Keep your range top free of clutter. Don’t overload a range top with too many pots and pans. Trying to cook all dishes at once could cause grease to accidentally spill onto a range top and cause a fire. Only cook with as many pots and pans as there are burners.  Also, never use the oven cavity for storage.

• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen in case of emergency and know how to use it. Make sure the fire extinguisher is rated for grease fires and electrical fires and read the directions carefully. The acronym P.A.S.S. can help make sure you use it properly.
  • Pull the pin; Aim the spray nozzle low at the base of the fire; Squeeze the nozzle to spray the contents; Sweep back and forth as you spray the base of the fire.

• Keep smoke alarms connected while cooking. It can be tempting to disable smoke detectors, especially if they are triggered easily. However, smoke alarms can save lives. Make sure smoke alarms are installed and working.

• Never put a glass casserole or lid on the stove or over a burner. If the glass gets hot and explodes, it will send shards of glass in all directions, which can result in severe injury.

• Be extremely cautious if using a turkey fryer. Turkey fryers are not safety-certify because they pose a number of distinct safety concerns, including burn and fire hazards. If you do decide to use a turkey fryer this Thanksgiving, be extremely cautious and read all the safety tips on www.ul.com/consumers.

Visit the CPSC’s Twitter page for more tips on holiday safety at http://twitter.com/OnSafety

As the weather cools, many families turn to portable heaters to warm their bedrooms and living rooms. When used properly, these heaters do a great job at providing warmth.  However, each year a number of unnecessary fires occur because the heater’s instructions were not properly followed.  For example, according to this recent news story, the Phoenix Fire Department responds to up to 40 house fires each winter caused by portable heaters.

To keep you safe and warm, AHAM recommends the following safety tips:

• Read the manufacturer’s instructions and warning labels before using your portable electric heater.
• DO NOT leave operating heater unattended and always unplug heater when not in use.
• DO NOT use your heater with a power strip or extension cord. Overheating of a power strip or extension cord could result in a fire.
• String out cords on top of area rugs or carpeting. Placing anything, including furniture, on top of the cord may damage it.
• Keep combustible materials, such as furniture, pillows, bedding, papers, clothes and curtains at least three feet from the front of the heater and away from the sides and rear. DO NOT block heater’s air intake or exhaust source.

To view more safety tips, visit AHAM’s Heater Safety website. Additionally, you may order copies of AHAM’s Portable Electric Heater Safety brochure by clicking here. Copies are available in both English and Spanish. AHAM also has a variety of other fire safety brochures, including clothes dryer safety and Recipe for Safe Cooking. There is no shipping charge for orders of 250 or less. A nominal shipping fee is charged for larger orders.