Energy management of clothes washer appliance

A clothes washer control method, comprising:

• a) determining a state for an associated energy supplying utility, the utility state being indicative of at least a peak demand period or an off-peak demand period;
• b) operating the clothes washer in a normal mode during the off-peak demand period;
• c) operating the clothes washer in an energy savings mode during the peak demand period;
• d) scheduling, delaying, adjusting and/or selectively deactivating any number of one or more power consuming features/functions of the clothes washer to reduce power consumption of the clothes washer in the energy savings mode;
• and,
• e) returning to the normal mode after the peak demand period is over, or
• f) remaining in the energy savings mode until a cycle is complete.

A clothes washer comprising:

• a tub for receiving washing liquid;
• a perforated basket disposed within the tub for receiving items to be washed;
• a drive system for driving the basket;
• and,
• a controller configured to control energization of the drive system to selectively implement a plurality of power consuming cycles, and to receive and process an energy signal, the signal having a first state indicative of a utility peak demand period and a second state indicative of a utility off-peak demand period, the controller operating the clothes washer in one of an energy savings mode and a normal operating mode based on the received signal being in the first and second states respectively, the controller being configured to at least one of selectively delay or alter one or more of the power consuming cycles to reduce power consumption of the clothes washer in the energy savings mode.