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Comment by mingus88 | Hacker News Reader

It depends. According to the link this lock was supported for over ten years, and the landscape for this type of device was pretty Wild West back then. There are a lot of devices that never even got that much support.

Today, give me any HomeKit supported device and I’m satisfied it will work for as long as I need it to without some dodgy 3rd party app siphoning my data.

And let’s be honest, if you were buying fridges or washing machines based on WiFi features that’s on you. Locks and lights have legitimate uses for remote control and always have.

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> And let’s be honest, if you were buying fridges or washing machines based on WiFi features that’s on you.

I don't understand what you mean by this? My clothes will smell really bad if I leave them in the washer wet. If the appliance has a leak, I need to be nearby to remediate. Thus its not safe for me to start the appliance before I leave for 8+ hours.

If I can remotely start my washing machine, just prior to me arriving home, I can move the clothes to the dryer.

Remote start, and finish notifications, are genuinely useful things.

At the same time, I don't know if they're actually worth the downsides of needing to create an account, having hackable IoT things, installing an app per appliance brand (at least), etc vs, say, a timer and/or delay.

Don't most washers and dryers have timed start like dishwashers do? I always remember mine having pictures like that but maybe that's just not a common thing

Delayed start is common for washers but not for clothes dryers (as you really don't want wet laundry just sitting there in the appliance for hours..)

Pretty common in dryers as well.

They turn over and blow cold air periodically to prevent them getting stinky.

but why???? If i have already gotten off my ass to go throw the clothes in it and so I'm literally standing right next to it, in what universe won't I just press "start" and instead press a bunch of buttons to set up a timer?

If you want to run it overnight, or while you're at work, so it finishes as you arrive and doesn't leave the clean clothes in a clump for hours (or so it runs during cheaper power hours)

>and doesn't leave the clean clothes in a clump for hours

As opposed to having your clothes be in a wet clump for hours? Between the two choices I'd prefer it being dry, because I know at least there will be less microbial activity.

Yep that.

30p/kWh in the day, 12p/kWh at night.

Dry an entire load for less than the cost of a Day Rate kWh, simply by pressing the "delay" button a few times.

They also sell combo units (mostly for small apartments), so you don't actually have to move the clothes to one from the other

In Japan, most regions have cheaper electricity at night, sometimes at up to 50-60% discounts. That might be a factor as well.

It’s not common to have separate units here though. Much easier to setup a wash/dry cycle timer.

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