If you were surprised with an Echo and Alexa voice assistant from Amazon over the holidays, you may be experimenting with all the information you can quickly gather from your new robotic secretary. It will play music for you, order groceries, look up homework answers on the Internet, along with many other things!
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| Amazon Echo |
But hold on: You haven’t seen the coolest thing yet.
The first generation of connected kitchen appliances are now available, and they will do just about anything except crack the eggs and uncork a bottle of wine for you.
New ovens, for instance, will allow you to send commands from your phone while you are still at work to cook the roast so it is ready 30 minutes after you walk in the door. (But, of course, you still must prepare the roast and put it in the oven before you leave the house.)
Certain dishwashers and clothes washers will count the number of loads you do and automatically order soap supplies from Amazon when you are running low, thus eliminating the last-minute runs to the grocery store for the essentials you buy only irregularly. Plus, why go to a crowded store when Amazon delivers life necessities right to your door?!
Over the past few years, some refrigerators have helped you update the grocery list but they require you to manually update a database every time you empty a bottle of milk or remove a carrot from the vegetable bin.
That is so yesterday.
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| Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator |
New refrigerators have built-in cameras that you can access on your phone while strolling the grocery aisles. Instead of keeping a running list, just take a peek at your refrigerator’s shelves as you shop and make your buying decisions based on what
you see.
To save on energy costs, some models feature software that determines when demand is highest on the energy grid. It will schedule your refrigerator to defrost and the oven to clean itself only during low-use periods when the power company charges lower rates.
If you are refurbishing an existing kitchen or designing one for a new home, it’s worth checking out the features of these connected appliances to determine whether they fit your needs. Of course, they all cost a few hundred dollars more than equipment that just refrigerates and cooks the old-fashioned way, but, think of the money that could be saved with all the handy features that are offered!
Whatever you choose, though, rest assured that you will continue to have the pleasure of using your own hands to prepare a meal – and drink a glass of wine – for at least a few more years.
I will help you research the appliances that best fit your needs and lifestyle. Contact me at Cassandra@Pulosdesigns.com
