Patent ID: 6961642

Claim:
An appliance comprising: at least one component configured to operate in a normal operation mode and a resource savings mode, wherein a resource demand of the at least one component is greater during the normal operation mode than during the resource savings mode; a controller configured to implement an operation cycle of the appliance and operably coupled to the at least one component to control the operation of the at least one component as needed to implement the operation cycle, the controller further configured to receive a curtailment signal representative of an external request to reduce the resources consumed by the appliance and determine if the at least one component should be operated in the resource savings mode in response to the receipt of a curtailment signal; wherein when implementing the operation cycle, the controller operates the at least one component in the normal operation mode if the curtailment signal is not received or if the controller determines the at least one component should not be operated in the resource savings mode, and the controller operates the at least one component in the resource savings mode if the curtailment signal is received and the controller determines that the at least one component should be operated in the resource savings mode.