Are Smart Appliances Worth It?
The latest trend in home electronics is the smart internet-connected appliance. Driven by the success of such internet of things (IOT) products as the Nest home thermostat, companies are looking for new ways of adding functionality to your products through an always-on internet connection. It certainly seems like a good reason to be excited for the future of home appliances, but are any of these smart appliances worth the additional money they’ll cost you? And will they make it more or less likely that you’ll need appliance repair in St. Peters, MO?
Smart refrigerator
Smart refrigerators are just beginning to roll onto the market. For the most part the “smart” aspect of the refrigerator is a big touchscreen located on one of the doors. From here your family members can access each other’s Google calendars, check out the inventory of the refrigerator, even keep track of when your food is likely to go bad.
Of all the refrigerator’s features, only the food-freshness tracker offers much practical value. Believe us, the touch screen may seem cool at first, but no one in your family is going to be spending much time in practice really using all of the touch screen’s functionality. Sure, you can surf the net, look at pictures, perhaps even watch video—but who wants to sit and stare at a refrigerator that long?
We can see the smart refrigerator becoming more useful as we all rely more and more on our smartphones. The refrigerator would stay in contact with your phone, updating your shopping list, reminding you when you’re missing important home staples or when the milk is about to go bad. But right now, the “smart” features add a lot of expense without adding much practical functionality.
Smart cookers
Smart cookers, by and large, are not worth the additional expense either. Unless you buy an appliance that offers totally unique functionality—such as a Sous Vide which cooks food sealed in air tight bags in hot water, guaranteeing a perfectly cooked meal every time by making it impossible to overheat or overcook your meal. Smart ovens, stoves and microwaves tend to overcomplicate things, and their most useful solutions—smart cooking times based on meal type and weight—are already available on less smart cookers. Perhaps the only truly great functionality added by the smart cooker is the ability to look at your phone and know for sure you turned the oven off before you left the house!
Smart washer and dryer
You’d be surprised how often people tell us that their old washer and dryer used to work better than their newer, more high-tech washer and dryer. The difference is especially noticeable in washers, as new washers are designed to use the least amount of water possible. The additional functionality you get from a smart washer and dryer—the ability to remotely start a wash or dry cycle from your phone—really doesn’t amount to much, as you still have to load everything by hand.
The only time we can imagine this functionality adding something useful to your life is if you’ve got to run home and change quickly. You can leave your clothes in the dryer, remotely turn the dryer on to remove any wrinkles from your clothing and, when you get home to change, your clothes will still be nice and warm.
Still, this is not worth the additional expense, in our eyes. The main issue with all smart products is that the fact that they are always connected to the internet makes them susceptible to viruses. This also means that your appliance repair person needs an additional skill set to take care of any appliance repair—which can further drive up the cost of ownership for these products.
Find reliable appliance repair in St. Peters, MO
At Crews Appliance Repair, we have over 35 years of experience performing appliance repair in St. Peters, MO. If you are having issues with any kitchen or home laundry appliances, please give us a call today. We specialize in the repairs of washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves, garbage disposals and more. We provide estimates, and every customer receives a free service call with repairs over $49. Crews Appliance Repair provides warranties on all of our appliance repairs for 100 days, so don’t hesitate—call us today!
Categorised in: Appliance Service
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