June 12th, 2012
Three natural and affordable ingredients will keep the house sparkling clean. Before the days of heavy duty vacuum cleaners and turbo charged chemical cleaners the house was just as spick and span as it is today, says my 93 year old Nana. She would know too, having pretty much witnessed the birth of every modern day appliance and cleaner. Without vacuums a bit of extra elbow grease with ... Read more
June 8th, 2012
Are you having trouble breathing easily in your home? Asthma playing up? Air in your kitchen not smelling so great? Your gas cooktop could be the culprit. A recent study from the University of Sheffield has found that homes using gas cooktops can contain three times as much nitrogen dioxide as what's found in the air in city centre hotspot, or in the air from alongside busy highways. Warning: ... Read more
June 4th, 2012
A new USA system called Leafully aims to measure how much energy household appliances are using so that home owners can work out their carbon footprint. Got an energy intensive fridge? Plant more trees! Leafully is a Seattle start up and it has the backing of the US Department of Energy. It is based on an application that measures power use by accessing information from a houshold's energy provider. ... Read more
May 30th, 2012
Two bright sparks from the University of Sydney have come up with a smart plug that keeps track of individual appliances and could offer significant savings on power bills. The MyPower Energy Platform has been designed for the continuous monitoring of home appliances such as washing machines, microwaves, and fridges through the plug, which has an embedded GSM unit. It means households will be able to identify specific appliances ... Read more
May 7th, 2012
A dishwasher that only uses six litres of water has been hailed as a "main innovation" from German manufacturer Bosch. The ActiveWater Eco can clean up to 13 place settings in one cycle, and features the lowest water consumption figures on the market. Showcased at Milan's EuroCucina last month, the latest design uses intelligent technology to save up to 20,700 litres of water annually compared to hand-washing. Bosch engineers ... Read more
April 3rd, 2012
If Earth Hour is more than just a one-night stand, why is it so easy to forget? It's quite impressive, really, that a voluntary movement has inspired well over a billion people to go out of their way on a Saturday night to turn off their lights. The precise number of switches are still being tallied but last year, 1.8 billion turned off the juice in an effort ... Read more
February 1st, 2012
Okay, let’s talk about taps. Not the most inspiring subject, you may say. Terrific source of H2O of course, but not exactly something to gush over. Well, that’s where we want to turn you on to Billi – and their instant filtered water taps. Industry-leaders for over 20 years, they bring new standards of style, convenience and safety to this essential kitchen appliance. Who - or what ... Read more
January 30th, 2012
One in two Australians are switching off appliances in an effort to save on their energy bill. Whether it's an imminent carbon tax and subsequent energy price hikes or caring for the environment, TVs and beer fridges are being given the flick nationwide. Turning off appliances is certainly the most effective way of saving energy, but for those looking for a less dramatic solution, Appliances Online has put together a couple of energy ... Read more
January 27th, 2012
Carbon tax fear sparks the power to save The rising cost of electricity has tested Australians' priorities and it turns out that pennies in pockets and powering the air conditioner have trumped a cold beer. Over half of Australians have been turning off non-essential appliances such as beer fridges, second freezers and TVs, according to a survey released by Canstar Blue. What's more, 20 per cent of Aussies are prepared to cut ... Read more
January 24th, 2012
NASA has recently released data that shows that 2011 was the ninth warmest year since 1880. According to NASA's findings, nine of the ten warmest years in meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. The animation below shows how global temperatures have changed since 1884. Reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average. https://youtu.be/9kFHQpZpgdg (Data ... Read more
January 23rd, 2012
Appliances account for about half of the energy used in a household, according to an ABC report. This includes 9 per cent on fridges and freezers and 15 per cent on electrical appliances such as kettles, irons, and vacuum cleaners. Over 50 per cent of Australian households use dryers, and these are the biggest culprit in the energy guzzling category. The actual running costs of your ... Read more
January 19th, 2012
What if all your household appliances could independently monitor the electrical grid and automatically adjust their settings to operate at the most economically efficient level? GE Appliances and Flint Energy (US) are combining efforts to test such a theory. The pilot programme was revealed this week and will be operate in the south-eastern United State's state of Georgia, where Flint Energy is based. It will involve 10 volunteer households over a ... Read more
December 12th, 2011
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Unfortunately, Fridge Buyback has shut up shop in NSW and their services are no longer available. But don't worry! We still have our remove and recycle services available. Fridge Buyback is a NSW government initiative to remove old second household fridges for free. In certain cases a $35 rebate will be awarded.* Many households around NSW have an old fridge in their garage. However what people ... Read more
September 13th, 2011
Is your fridge about as cool as a collection of Hanson records? Is your washing machine a better dancer than Peter Garrett? If so, it could be time to upgrade. But with greater demand for the new and improved, what happens to the thousands of old appliances that are discarded every week? If you live in Japan, the answer is PETEC (Panasonic Eco Technology Center) – a ... Read more
August 19th, 2011
Water, water everywhere…. But why is it so scarce!? Luckily Rinnai has brought out hot water systems that are energy and water efficient for our environment. Last Friday, Denis, the Territory Manager from Rinnai came into Appliances Online for a training day. It’s always nice to have someone visit the office, bring some yummy food and feed us all the facts on their appliances. An amazing device Rinnai ... Read more