Alexa Morgan

Induction cooking may not use fire, but it does use one of the earth’s elemental powers to perform its magic: electromagnetism. An induction burner comprises an electromagnetic coil under a glass plate. The electromagnetic cycle that powers the cooking occurs through contact between the burner and the pot or pan, which itself must be magnetic. The heat occurs when electrons from the cookware align with the magnetic field in the cooktop. Electrical currents are created in the resulting oscillating magnetic field, and heat is rapidly and controllably generated. The process is fast, efficient and safe.

Experiment yourself, or set it up on your store floor for customers to see. You’ll find that a gallon or so of water boils in about four minutes on a typical induction stove, compared with about seven minutes on an electric range and eight minutes cooking with gas.

The arrival of spring means more than just the end of winter. It’s also the season to focus on cleaning up around the house and preparing for the warm months ahead. Home appliances should be part of that focus, and now is the time to look at how smart technology and spring cleaning can come together to save money and energy while improving home comfort and safety at the same time.

For starters, encourage your customers to look for the Energy Star designation to ensure they’re getting appliances that meet the current standards for energy use. The U.S. Department of Energy says Energy Star washing machines use 25% less electricity and 40% less water, and the same kind of performance or even better can be expected from dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and freezers.

There are two price tags for an appliance. The first is what you pay for it upfront. The

Alexa is listening. And responding. And changing the way we work in our kitchen forever. Alexa, of course, is the virtual assistant inside the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot speakers. It comes with considerable capabilities already built in and users can add from a fast-growing selection of “skills” — apps developed by third parties and available for downloading onto the speakers and smartphones. Alexa speakers are popping up everywhere, and the amazing ability to provide real-time information, podcasts and streaming audio on just about any topic imaginable is not restricted to the speakers themselves. Amazon also provides a mobile app for Apple and Android phones that requires the user to simply push a button on the screen to activate Alexa’s listening mode. Otherwise, simply say “Alexa” and the speaker turns on, ready for your command. Amazon announced in January that it had sold

Sleek design and connected functionality are home appliance trends that retailers need to keep in mind as they serve their customers in 2019 and beyond. Millennials are driving much of this, and they can’t be ignored. This generation — people born between 1982 and 2000 — is now the nation’s largest and coming into their own as homeowners and appliance buyers. These are largely digital natives. More than 90% own smartphones and, along with the exploding adoption of Alexa and Google Home smart speakers, this generation and the young Americans behind them expect to be able to do nearly everything with technology.

Appliance makers are responding by building refrigerators that display their contents, washing machines that order detergent on their own, and dishwashers that can be told to turn on and off by users across the room or across the country. There are also ae