Michael Ackerman, a Seattle Realtor with Coldwell Banker Bain, blogs about the new smart appliances that are already being manufactured by General Electric and Whirlpool. These new appliances will "talk" to each other, and  will coordinate with the area energy grid to decide when it is best to run their cycles. Eventually consumers will be charged less for their energy consumption if their appliances run when the energy grid is not at its peak use. If you have any questions or comments, please send your email to michaelackerman@cbbain.com or visit www.mackerman.com.