“Alongside the jokes, the discovery prompted conversation around the trade-offs between privacy and convenience as our lives become increasingly connected with data and data collection.”
What fucking convenience can come from a smart washer. Three settings and a bell. That’s it. There is nothing an app can do that offsets the complication of having an app and more settings for a washing machine.
Here we go:
Speed
Temperature
Time
Ding
Nothing else. No other setting is necessary or convienient.
How the fuck are people falling for all this dumb shit.
“Oh the fridge texts me when I need milk”. You’re right opening the door was too difficult. Almost as difficult as remembering you finished the fucking milk. Better get a smart fridge.
“I can program and adjust the thermostat from my phone” thermostats have been programable for 30 years and didn’t need the internet and an app to do it. Who adjusts the device so often they have to be able to do it on the fly from anywhere? The entire purpose of a thermostat is to adjust the tempurature AUTOMATICALLY SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO.
“I can turn on the oven before I’m home and read the tempurature from anywhere” was preheating time a major problem before? At least you have another reason to look at your phone while driving home. And by the way, my oven tells me the tempurature too. By beeping when it’s at the tempurature I fucking set it to. I don’t need to have a live feed, because if it’s not exactly where I set it, it’s fucking broken.
“I can control every light in the house from my phone.” You don’t need to control lights in rooms you aren’t in. Just say you’re too fucking lazy and the seven steps to the switch will wind you.
Smart appliances are the dumbest shit and you’re dumb for buying them.
In terms of a smart stove or oven … I’m never going to allow an appliance that might burn down my house to operate on its own without supervision. If I’m turning on the oven to do anything, I’m in the kitchen or at least in the house so I know what its doing, any time it heats up at all.
This is the entire reason why I put smart lights and smart light switches in my entire house except in the kitchen and bathroom.
It’s all about safety. It will be the same reason why I never want to let any range/stove/oven to ever be able to be controlled remotely. It’s not just that I don’t want to enable it, I don’t want it to be possible.
At most, for a “smart” oven, I want to know when it’s on and what temp it is, mostly so that I can create automations to text me when it’s been on for too long to let me know I’m stupid and left the oven on… With the fridge, same deal if I forgot to close the fridge, or if the fridge stops keeping things cold.
That’s the most I would want. Reporting only. But if the “smart” device can control anything about its operation remotely, fuck that.
With a washer/dryer, I would only want end-of-cycle alerts because I’m frequently too far away from it where I normally hang out at home, to hear the bell. Reporting. That’s it.
I can accomplish most of that with an esp32 and a variety of off the shelf sensors, or by tying into existing circuits on the machine to get their status, then send alerts through home assistant. No vendor specific BS required.
Yeah, I agree with you. I have a “dumb” washing machine and dryer. But also wanted to be notified when it finished, because it’s in my outhouse, and there’s no way I can hear when it finishes…
I already have a Zigbee smart network set up based on a Sonoff controller with zigbee2mqtt, so it was trivial to buy some smart sockets that can monitor power utilisation, and setting up an automation on Home-assistant to send a notification when the power utilisation drops.
My washing machine is very basic and simple and I only ever use one specific wash cycle for everything … and the other ones are very similar any way. They all run on average about 30 minutes.
So I just put on a timer on my phone … 30 minutes - and label it ‘washing machine’ … I can go about other things in my house, 30 minute timer goes off, I know my washing is done and I start another load.
I do the same with my dryer … depending on the load and type, the cycle runs about 40 minutes … so I just create a timer for that and that’s it.
If I get to the basement too early and the cycle is still running, I know that I just have to wait a few minutes for it to finish … and usually, I’ll busy myself with other things while I wait anyway.
I used to do that too, but my washing machine often has trouble draining due to the filter being blocked, and it also often stops because the soap apparently foamed too much…
The programs take anywhere from 55 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes depending on choice… So one times isn’t really an option. But the randomness of when the machine decides to make the program longer caused me to seek better solutions.
Oh. That’s a good one. I’m not sure where you got a smart plug that handles the power needs of a dryer… Unless the dryer isn’t an electric dryer… I guess.
But there’s other options. There’s both pre-built and DIY power monitoring solutions that use clamps on the hot wires to measure amperage, so that’s an option.
I was just thinking to tie a sensor wire into the LED that lights up when “cycle finished” is activated. As soon as it pulls high, send a notification.
Your solution also sounds good tho.
Just goes to show that there’s many ways to solve the problem that isn’t spending an extra (however much money) to get a fancy smart appliance.
I was thinking of doing the same idea with the stove, run a wire to each light for “hot surface” on my stove, and when that’s pulled high for more than, say, an hour, send an alert. Also get an oven-temperature-safe thermal probe, and wire that to a sensor line on an esp32 or similar and read the value. I’d need to calibrate the electrical signal to temperature, but after that, it would be able to report the internal temp of the oven with a decent amount of accuracy. Just run that thermal probe into the oven next to the built in one that regulates the temp when the oven is on.
Ideally, I want both energy usage and temp monitored for the stove.
I know this is a first world problem, but I can’t hear the beeps in my house when these things go off.
Sometimes I remember a light is still on when I’m in bed. And that’s more than seven steps and it’s late. So yes, lazy, but also not because I’ll get winded, I just don’t want to get out of bed to walk across the house in the dark after I’ve already settled. If you prefer to get up over trivial tasks, good for you, but you don’t need to judge others for having differing levels of physicality. Maybe someone worked hard physical labor all day and just doesn’t want to move when they get home.
Also, my house uses zigbee and doesn’t even have a way to connect to the Internet. So I agree there. If I am in my home wanting information generated by my home, the information has no reason to leave my home. For privacy and for latency.
Sounds like you don’t need it, but gee you’re awfully aggressive about not wanting other people to have it.
I have a cheap camera pointed at my washer and dryer. Not one that hits the cloud or anything, rtsp and some bridging.
All I want to know is when it’s done. A notification would be cool but not at the expense of feeding the manufacturer’s data set. It’s too far away to hear the beep, doesn’t carry past the top of the basement stairs.
But the main reason is because the countdown timer is a fucking liar. Washer runs way longer and dryer stops way earlier.
Machines with mechanical dials may be less efficient but at least they were predictable.
I have a smart thermostat, lights and sensors everywhere and absolutely love it. They’re all automated (along with things like heaters, fans) to adjust themselves on variables like indoor/outdoor temperature, which door(s) is open, is the sun up or down, etc. It’s actually pretty fantastic (in my opinion).
But I agree that devices like laundry machines maybe don’t need any of these features.
My smart washing machine doesn’t get the wi-fi password. I fill it, pick a setting and press start. Sometimes I pause it to shove an extra item through the sock flap.
“Alongside the jokes, the discovery prompted conversation around the trade-offs between privacy and convenience as our lives become increasingly connected with data and data collection.”
What fucking convenience can come from a smart washer. Three settings and a bell. That’s it. There is nothing an app can do that offsets the complication of having an app and more settings for a washing machine.
Here we go:
Speed
Temperature
Time
Ding
Nothing else. No other setting is necessary or convienient.
How the fuck are people falling for all this dumb shit.
“Oh the fridge texts me when I need milk”. You’re right opening the door was too difficult. Almost as difficult as remembering you finished the fucking milk. Better get a smart fridge.
“I can program and adjust the thermostat from my phone” thermostats have been programable for 30 years and didn’t need the internet and an app to do it. Who adjusts the device so often they have to be able to do it on the fly from anywhere? The entire purpose of a thermostat is to adjust the tempurature AUTOMATICALLY SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO.
“I can turn on the oven before I’m home and read the tempurature from anywhere” was preheating time a major problem before? At least you have another reason to look at your phone while driving home. And by the way, my oven tells me the tempurature too. By beeping when it’s at the tempurature I fucking set it to. I don’t need to have a live feed, because if it’s not exactly where I set it, it’s fucking broken.
“I can control every light in the house from my phone.” You don’t need to control lights in rooms you aren’t in. Just say you’re too fucking lazy and the seven steps to the switch will wind you.
Smart appliances are the dumbest shit and you’re dumb for buying them.
And also dangerous
In terms of a smart stove or oven … I’m never going to allow an appliance that might burn down my house to operate on its own without supervision. If I’m turning on the oven to do anything, I’m in the kitchen or at least in the house so I know what its doing, any time it heats up at all.
A gas powered fire machine shouldn’t be able to lock up because an update was hanging.
You win.
This is the entire reason why I put smart lights and smart light switches in my entire house except in the kitchen and bathroom.
It’s all about safety. It will be the same reason why I never want to let any range/stove/oven to ever be able to be controlled remotely. It’s not just that I don’t want to enable it, I don’t want it to be possible.
At most, for a “smart” oven, I want to know when it’s on and what temp it is, mostly so that I can create automations to text me when it’s been on for too long to let me know I’m stupid and left the oven on… With the fridge, same deal if I forgot to close the fridge, or if the fridge stops keeping things cold.
That’s the most I would want. Reporting only. But if the “smart” device can control anything about its operation remotely, fuck that.
With a washer/dryer, I would only want end-of-cycle alerts because I’m frequently too far away from it where I normally hang out at home, to hear the bell. Reporting. That’s it.
I can accomplish most of that with an esp32 and a variety of off the shelf sensors, or by tying into existing circuits on the machine to get their status, then send alerts through home assistant. No vendor specific BS required.
Yeah, I agree with you. I have a “dumb” washing machine and dryer. But also wanted to be notified when it finished, because it’s in my outhouse, and there’s no way I can hear when it finishes…
I already have a Zigbee smart network set up based on a Sonoff controller with zigbee2mqtt, so it was trivial to buy some smart sockets that can monitor power utilisation, and setting up an automation on Home-assistant to send a notification when the power utilisation drops.
My washing machine is very basic and simple and I only ever use one specific wash cycle for everything … and the other ones are very similar any way. They all run on average about 30 minutes.
So I just put on a timer on my phone … 30 minutes - and label it ‘washing machine’ … I can go about other things in my house, 30 minute timer goes off, I know my washing is done and I start another load.
I do the same with my dryer … depending on the load and type, the cycle runs about 40 minutes … so I just create a timer for that and that’s it.
If I get to the basement too early and the cycle is still running, I know that I just have to wait a few minutes for it to finish … and usually, I’ll busy myself with other things while I wait anyway.
I used to do that too, but my washing machine often has trouble draining due to the filter being blocked, and it also often stops because the soap apparently foamed too much…
The programs take anywhere from 55 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes depending on choice… So one times isn’t really an option. But the randomness of when the machine decides to make the program longer caused me to seek better solutions.
Oh. That’s a good one. I’m not sure where you got a smart plug that handles the power needs of a dryer… Unless the dryer isn’t an electric dryer… I guess.
But there’s other options. There’s both pre-built and DIY power monitoring solutions that use clamps on the hot wires to measure amperage, so that’s an option.
I was just thinking to tie a sensor wire into the LED that lights up when “cycle finished” is activated. As soon as it pulls high, send a notification.
Your solution also sounds good tho.
Just goes to show that there’s many ways to solve the problem that isn’t spending an extra (however much money) to get a fancy smart appliance.
I was thinking of doing the same idea with the stove, run a wire to each light for “hot surface” on my stove, and when that’s pulled high for more than, say, an hour, send an alert. Also get an oven-temperature-safe thermal probe, and wire that to a sensor line on an esp32 or similar and read the value. I’d need to calibrate the electrical signal to temperature, but after that, it would be able to report the internal temp of the oven with a decent amount of accuracy. Just run that thermal probe into the oven next to the built in one that regulates the temp when the oven is on.
Ideally, I want both energy usage and temp monitored for the stove.
I live in the EU, so electricity is 230 Volt.
A regular electric dryer just plugs into a bog standard wall socket. My dryer is a one that utilises a heatpump, and only draws up to 1000 Watts
Ikea sells these, which handle up to 16 Amps, which is 3680 Watts:
https://applink.ikea.com/tY8M9r9M4w--00569836--dk--da
Aqara also makes these, which handles 2300 Watts:
https://www.aqara.com/eu/product/smart-plug-eu/
This doesnt know the joy of homeassistant.
I know this is a first world problem, but I can’t hear the beeps in my house when these things go off.
Sometimes I remember a light is still on when I’m in bed. And that’s more than seven steps and it’s late. So yes, lazy, but also not because I’ll get winded, I just don’t want to get out of bed to walk across the house in the dark after I’ve already settled. If you prefer to get up over trivial tasks, good for you, but you don’t need to judge others for having differing levels of physicality. Maybe someone worked hard physical labor all day and just doesn’t want to move when they get home.
Also, my house uses zigbee and doesn’t even have a way to connect to the Internet. So I agree there. If I am in my home wanting information generated by my home, the information has no reason to leave my home. For privacy and for latency.
Sounds like you don’t need it, but gee you’re awfully aggressive about not wanting other people to have it.
I have a cheap camera pointed at my washer and dryer. Not one that hits the cloud or anything, rtsp and some bridging.
All I want to know is when it’s done. A notification would be cool but not at the expense of feeding the manufacturer’s data set. It’s too far away to hear the beep, doesn’t carry past the top of the basement stairs.
But the main reason is because the countdown timer is a fucking liar. Washer runs way longer and dryer stops way earlier.
Machines with mechanical dials may be less efficient but at least they were predictable.
My washer is also a fucking liar. I consider that a sepparate issue though, which is every appliance sucks shit whether it’s smart or not.
I don’t have a solution for that one yet.
I have a smart thermostat, lights and sensors everywhere and absolutely love it. They’re all automated (along with things like heaters, fans) to adjust themselves on variables like indoor/outdoor temperature, which door(s) is open, is the sun up or down, etc. It’s actually pretty fantastic (in my opinion).
But I agree that devices like laundry machines maybe don’t need any of these features.
My smart washing machine doesn’t get the wi-fi password. I fill it, pick a setting and press start. Sometimes I pause it to shove an extra item through the sock flap.