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. An appliance is differentiated from a plumbing fixture because it uses an energy input for its operation other than water, generally using electricity or natural gas/propane. An object run by a watermill would also be considered an appliance. The term white goods or whiteware is also used for these items, primarily where British English is spoken, although definitions for the term "white goods" can differ. In the United States, the term white goods more commonly refers to linens rather than appliances.

Major appliances have become more technically complex from the control side recently with the introduction of the various Energy Labelling rules across the world. This has meant that the appliances have been forced to become more and more efficient leading to more accurate controllers in order to meet the regulations.

Major appliances are differentiated from small appliances because they are large, difficult to move, and generally fixed in place to some extent. They are often considered fixtures and part of real estate and as such they are often supplied to tenants as part of otherwise unfurnished rental properties. Another frequent characteristic of major appliances is that they may have substantial electricity requirements that necessitate special electrical wiring to supply higher current and/or voltage than standard electrical outlets can deliver. This limits where they can be placed in a home.

Contents

• 1: Brands
• 2: Types
• 3: Efficiency

Brands

In the early days of electrification, many major consumer appliances were made by the same companies that made the generation and distribution equipment. While some of these brand names persist to the present day, even if only as licensed use of old popular brand names, today many major appliances are manufactured by companies or divisions of companies that specialize in particular appliances.

Types

Major appliances may be roughly divided as follows:

• Refrigeration equipment
• Freezer
• Refrigerator
• Water cooler
• Ice maker
• Cooking
• Kitchen stove, also known as a range, cooker, oven, cooking plate, or cooktop
• Wall oven
• Steamer oven
• Microwave oven
• Washing and drying equipment
• Washing machine
• Clothes dryer
• Drying cabinet
• Dishwasher
• Heating and cooling
• Air conditioner
• Water heater
• Whole house ventilator
• Mechanical Air Ventilator

Efficiency

Modern appliances, such as, freezers, ovens, stoves, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, use significantly less energy than older appliances. Installing a clothesline will significantly reduce one's energy consumption as their dryer will be used less. Current energy-efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent less energy than conventional models did in 2001. Following this, if all households in Europe changed their more than ten-year-old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing CO₂ emissions by almost 18 billion kg. In the US, the corresponding figures would be 17 billion kWh of electricity and 27,000,000,000 lb (1.2×10¹⁰ kg) CO₂. According to a 2009 study from McKinsey & Company the replacement of old appliances is one of the most efficient global measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Modern power management systems also reduce energy usage by idle appliances by turning them off or putting them into a low-energy mode after a certain time. Many countries identify energy-efficient appliances using energy input labeling.

The impact of energy efficiency on peak demand depends on when the appliance is used. For example, an air conditioner uses more energy during the afternoon when it is hot. Therefore, an energy-efficient air conditioner will have a larger impact on peak demand than off-peak demand. An energy-efficient dishwasher, on the other hand, uses more energy during the late evening when people do their dishes. This appliance may have little to no impact on peak demand.