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, food preservation, or cleaning, 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. An object run by a watermill would also be considered an appliance.
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 than standard electrical outlets can deliver. This limits where they can be placed in a home.
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 may be roughly divided into refrigeration equipment, stoves, washing equipment, and miscellaneous.
Major Appliances and Small Appliances
The category of small appliances typically includes household electrical entertainment appliances.
| Small Appliances |
| CD and DVD players |
| televisions |
| camcorders |
| still cameras |
| video game consoles |
| HiFi and home cinema |
| telephones |
| answering machines |
Larger, heavier appliances are included in the category of major household appliances.
| Major Appliances |
| air conditioner |
| dishwasher |
| clothes dryer |
| microwave |
| freezer |
| refrigerator |
| range, stove, oven |
| water heater |
| washing machine |
| trash compactor |
|
This division is noticeable in the service area of these kinds of products. Small appliances 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 major appliances require more practical skills, brute force to manipulate the devices, and heavy tools to repair them.
There is usually a problem with categorizing microwave ovens, because these sell alongside refrigerators and dishwashers, but microwave ovens contain complex electronic boards (the clock and controller) which major appliance 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.
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