Energy management systems and control of washing machine, dryer, and property

Saving money with automation really only works (almost) in commercial properties. At home, it's more about comfort, security, and enjoyment of technology. You just shouldn't expect too much here.

On the other hand, there is of course the general concept of large household appliances. Because every washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher, etc. is automation at its best (pumps running, motors turning) and certainly, for the individual, the primary concern is comfort. But just the time saved by this alone, allowing one to devote oneself to other things, is worth real money. And if the device then also becomes proactive itself, why not.

Automation is relative...
The house knows when the residents are present or absent and when everyone is asleep, and it switches off network/Wi-Fi, standby consumers, and the like on unused floors. The few watts permanently add up given that many people are not at home for 8-10 hours and sleep for another 7-8 hours. Ventilation according to air quality, etc., would then simply be normal house technology and not white goods technology as an example.

With dishwashers and washing machines, one might argue whether it is worth it for <100kWh of the dishwasher; on the other hand, if it doesn't bother you that the dishwasher runs at midday in summer when the sun is shining, that's great. Anyone who knows they come home from work at 4 pm can load the machine the evening before, and the washing machine can run starting at midday and be finished when they get home; they can still use the dryer with the late afternoon sun and load the washing machine again for the next midday. Sometimes a switching channel for 10-x€ is needed, or there is a protocol that can be addressed over the network or protocols, so the only cost is setup (a few minutes by oneself up to technician deployment for a lot of money). Overall, the influences/possibilities (both personal and technical) and resulting decisions are very individual, as is whether one wants to engage with this without the restriction of not being able to wash 5 machines in a row after a vacation.

In summer, preparing hot water at midday can often be realized simply through appropriate blocking times or even shifted into real surplus with more logic. In winter it doesn't really matter "when," since there is simply not enough power from the roof to worry about where it should go.

There are now refrigerators that have a vacation mode and adjust the cooling performance. In most households, it's probably still a case of opening the door, pressing a button, or like parents used to just turning the fridge a few degrees warmer during vacation. If this is smart and automated, as many understand it—not in the sense of an app and the like—this regulation is reasonable or clever; whether it effectively saves money and/or energy is something everyone has to decide for themselves. ;)

Many systems will not pay for themselves, but if they are already present (e.g., photovoltaics and smart home), why not use and combine them fully?