Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a house or estate, and the managing of other domestic concerns. A person in charge of the homemaking, who is not employed outside the home, in the US and Canada, is called a homemaker, a term for a housewife or a househusband. Historically the role of homemaker was often assumed by women. The term "homemaker", however, may also refer to a social worker who manages a household during the incapacity of the housewife or househusband. Home health workers assume the role of homemakers when caring for elderly individuals. This includes preparing meals, giving baths, and any duties the person in need cannot perform for themselves.
Domestic technology is the incorporation of applied science into the home. There are multiple aspects of domestic technology. On one level, there are home appliances, home automation and other devices commonly used in the home, such as clothes dryers and washing machines.
A small domestic appliance, also known as a small electric appliance or minor appliance or simply a small appliance, small domestic or small electric, is a portable or semi-portable machine, generally used on table-tops, counter-tops or other platforms, to accomplish a household task. Examples include microwave ovens, toasters, humidifiers, food processors and coffeemakers. They contrast with major appliances, such as the refrigerator and washing machine, which cannot be easily moved and are generally placed on the floor. Small appliances also contrast with consumer electronics which are for leisure and entertainment rather than purely practical tasks.
A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance or simply a large appliance, large domestic, or large electric, is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were traditionally white in colour, although a variety of colours are now available. An appliance is different from a plumbing fixture because it uses electricity or fuel.
Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home, called a smart home or smart house. A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It may also include home security such as access control and alarm systems. When connected with the Internet, home devices are an important constituent of the Internet of Things ("IoT").
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually referred to as black goods due to many products being housed in black or dark casings. This term is used to distinguish them from "white goods" which are meant for housekeeping tasks, such as washing machines and refrigerators, although nowadays, these would be considered black goods, some of these being connected to the Internet. In British English, they are often called brown goods by producers and sellers. In the 2010s, this distinction is absent in large big box consumer electronics stores, which sell entertainment, communication and home office devices, light fixtures and appliances, including the bathroom type.
Haier Group Corporation is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, microwave ovens, mobile phones, computers, and televisions. The home appliances business, namely Haier Smart Home, has seven global brands – Haier, Casarte, Leader, GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Aqua and Candy.
The Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006.
White-Westinghouse is an American home appliance brand currently used under license by trademark owner Westinghouse Licensing Corporation. It was created in 1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's major appliance business. White Consolidated Industries was in turn acquired by Electrolux in 1986.
The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $21 billion, 78,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers globally.
EU Directive 92/75/EC established an energy consumption labelling scheme. The directive was implemented by several other directives thus most white goods, light bulb packaging and cars must have an EU Energy Label clearly displayed when offered for sale or rent. The energy efficiency of the appliance is rated in terms of a set of energy efficiency classes from A to G on the label, A being the most energy efficient, G the least efficient. The labels also give other useful information to the customer as they choose between various models. The information should also be given in catalogues and included by internet retailers on their websites.
Miele is a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment, headquartered in Gütersloh, Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, and has always been a family-owned and family-run company.
Hotpoint is a British brand of domestic appliances. Ownership of the brand is split between American company Whirlpool, which has the rights in Europe, and Chinese company Haier, which has the rights in the Americas through its purchase of GE Appliances in 2016.
Grundig is a German consumer electronics manufacturer owned by the Turkish Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company made domestic appliances and personal-care products.
Arçelik A.Ş. is a Turkish multinational household appliances manufacturer which owns Beko and Grundig.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd is a major appliance manufacturer which is a subsidiary of Chinese multinational home appliance manufacturer Haier. It is a multinational corporation based in East Tāmaki, New Zealand.
Asko Appliances AB was a Swedish company producing household appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines. It was based in Jung in Vara Municipality in Västergötland. Asko Appliances is now owned by Gorenje Group which is a part of Chinese major appliances manufacturer Hisense. The products continue to be sold in Sweden under the brand Cylinda and Asko. In North America, Asko imports only dishwashers and laundry appliances. Asko is upscale and competes against Bosch, Miele, SMEG, Viking Range, Fulgor and Kitchen Aid.
Beko is a Turkish major appliance and consumer electronics brand of Arçelik A.Ş. controlled by Koç Holding.
BSH Hausgeräte GmbH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide. The group stemmed from a joint venture set up in May 1967 between Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart) and Siemens AG (Munich), and it posted annual sales of 15.6 billion euros in the year 2021. BSH is an abbreviation for Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte.
The Salon des arts ménagers was an annual exhibition in Paris of domestic appliances, furniture and home designs. It was first held as the Salon des appareils ménagers in 1923, with 100,000 visitors. By the 1950s each exhibition attracted up to 1.4 million visitors.
