Home appliances are electrical/mechanical
machinesA machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
which accomplish some
householdThe household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
functions, such as
cookingCooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
or
cleaningCleanliness is both the abstract state of being clean and free from dirt, and the process of achieving and maintaining that state.Cleanliness may be endowed with a moral quality, as indicated by the aphorism "cleanliness is next to godliness," and may be regarded as contributing to other ideals...
. Home appliances can be classified into:
- Major appliance
A major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, or food preservation, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting...
s, or White goods
- Small appliance
Small appliance refers to a class of home appliances that are portable or semi-portable or which are used on tabletops, countertops, or other platforms in the United States of America...
s, or Brown goods
This division is also noticeable in the service area of these kinds of products. Brown goods usually require high technical knowledge and skills (which get more complex with time, such as going from a soldering iron to a hot-air soldering station), while white goods need more practical skills and "brute force" to manipulate the devices and heavy tools required to repair them.
Major appliances
White goods/major appliances comprise major household appliances and may include: air conditioner,
dishwasherA dishwasher is a mechanical device for cleaning dishes and eating utensils. Dishwashers can be found in restaurants and private homes.Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies largely on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between ...
,
clothes dryerA clothes dryer or tumble dryer is a household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing and other textiles, generally shortly after they are cleaned in a washing machine....
,
drying cabinetA drying cabinet is an electronic machine designed to expedite the drying of items - usually clothing - that are unsuitable for a traditional clothes dryer...
, freezer,
refrigeratorA refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
,
kitchen stoveA kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove, or cooker is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open...
, water heater,
washing machineA washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
, trash compactor,
microwave ovenA microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
s and induction cookers.
Small appliances
Brown goods/small appliances are typically small household electrical entertainment appliances such as: TV sets, CD and
DVD playerA DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
s,
camcorderA camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
s,
still cameraA still camera is a type of camera used to take photographs. Traditional cameras capture light onto photographic film. Digital cameras use electronics, usually a charge coupled device to store digital images in computer memory inside the camera...
s,
clockA clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
s,
alarm clockAn alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...
s, video game consoles, HiFi and
home cinemaHome cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
,
telephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s and
answering machineThe answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
s. Some types of brown goods were traditionally finished with or looked like wood or
bakelite. This is now rather rare, but the name has stuck, even for goods that are unlikely ever to have been provided in a wooden case (e.g. camcorders). White goods were typically painted or enamelled white, and many of them still are. The addition of new items to these categories shows that the categories still serve a purpose in
marketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
.
Microwave ovens contain complex electronic boards (the clock and controller) but aren't repaired very often. Some brands send whole boards for replacement, and some have them repaired by such technicians.
Networking of home appliances
There is an increasing trend to network home appliances together, and combine their controls and key functions. For instance, energy distribution can be managed more evenly so that when the
washing machineA washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
is on, the
ovenAn oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
can go into a delayed start mode, or vice versa. Or, a washing machine and dryer may share information about load characteristics (gentle/normal, light/full), and synchronize their finish times so the wet laundry does not have to wait before being put in the dryer.
See also
- Domotics
- Domestic technology
Domestic technology is the incorporation of applied science into the home. There are many aspects of domestic technology. On one level, there are home appliances, home automation and other devices commonly used in the home, such as clothes dryers and washing machines. These things are itemized...
- Domestic robots
- Home automation
Home automation is the residential extension of "building automation". It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC , appliances, and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and...
- User reengineering
User reengineering is the redesign of a product, not for resale, but by a consumer or user. Historically, concept and craft were often more significant components of products as they were intended to last indefinitely...
- Smart Personal Objects Technology
Smart Personal Object Technology was developed by Microsoft to personalize household electronics and other everyday devices, through "smart" software and hardware that would make their uses more versatile....
- Universal Plug and Play
Universal Plug and Play is a set of networking protocols for primarily residential networks without enterprise class devices that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence...