Just as advances in technology are influencing the design of equipment designed to entertain us such as gadgets and video games it is also affecting the day to day appliances we use. The latest household appliances being released by leading electronics manufacturers are often making use of technology that would seem better suited to the latest games consoles. For example, washing machines and dishwasher with digital LED displays are not uncommon.

Also innovative ideas are often being utilised to improve the functionality of existing devices. The humble vacuum cleaner is an example of a product that has arguably been revolutionised by this sort of thinking and bag-less vacuums that use what would have been considered highly unconventional methods to achieve their suction in the past are now commonplace in most UK households. These are just a couple of examples of how developments in technology are affecting the design of items that we use everyday.

There is a great emphasis on reducing power consumption at the moment and this is reflected in the design of household appliances. Power consumption is being cut in items such as fridges and freezers. Older fridges consumed a very large amount of energy, but newer models implement technology that reduces the need for such a high consumption of power.