Home appliance

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Home appliances are electrical/mechanical appliances which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning.

Traditionally, home appliances are classified into:

Major appliances (or "White goods")
Small appliances (or "Brown goods")

[edit] Types of appliances

Appliances may be divided into categories called "white goods" and "brown goods" in British English.

Brown goods are typically small household electrical entertainment appliances such as:

appliance
CD and DVD players
televisions
camcorders
Still cameras
Video game consoles
HiFi and home cinema
telephones
answering machines

White goods comprise major household appliances and may include:

appliance
air conditioner
dishwasher
clothes dryer
drying cabinet
freezer
refrigerator
cooker, also known as range, stove, oven, cooking plate, or cooktop
water heater
washing machine
trash compactor
microwave oven

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 marketing.

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.

There is usually a problem with microwave ovens, because these sell alongside refrigerators and dishwashers, but microwave ovens contain complex electronic boards (the clock and controller) which white-good servicemen refuse to repair (as they don't have the training or tools required to do so). Some brands send whole boards for replacement, and some have them repaired by such technicians.

[edit] Networking of home appliances

Main article: Home automation

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 machine is on, the oven 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.