Ovens are a lot smarter than they used to be. Technical advances have made meal preparation a lot easier and changed the way we cook. With smart technology, we can now monitor, control, and cook without even being in the kitchen.
What is a Smart Oven?
A smart oven (either part of a range, installed in a wall, or a countertop model) is one that uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to connect it to a companion app on your phone or tablet that allows you to control it remotely. It can also integrate into a connected smart home network if you have one, which may include other smart appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, and dishwashers. Such internet connectivity means your appliances can communicate to each other. For example, if you select a recipe from an LCD screen on your smart fridge, you can send it to your smart oven, which will automatically preheat the oven to the correct temperature in the recipe.
Advantages of Smart Ovens
- Remote control
- The oven can be turned on to preheat while you’re on the way home from the supermarket or work.
- Before you leave the house, you can put a prepared dish in the oven (one that won’t spoil) and start the cooking later so that it’s nearly done or ready when you return.
- The setting or temperature can be adjusted or delayed if you’re running late.
- Voice Commands
- Some smart ovens respond to voice commands through a smart assistant such as Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa. This is a convenient option if you’re busy with the kids, multitasking, or up to your elbows in flour.
- Automated Cooking
- Depending on the brand, some ovens team up with apps such as Yummly that provide recipes along with preparation instructions. The apps also preheat the oven to the correct temperature, cook the food for the recommended time, and then turn the oven off.
- There are ovens that allow you to open an app and scan a barcode or QR code on ready-made frozen foods. The app will send the recommended cooking instructions straight to your oven, which you can then save as a favorite. You also have the option of changing the cooking time and temperature so the meal will be prepared exactly the way your family likes it.
- Some ovens can recognize frequently used settings and will prompt you to save them as a favorite. For example, if you always prepare a casserole on the same night each week, these ovens will recommend this setting for quick and easy access.
- Cooking Alerts
- Built-in sensors in some ovens can tell when food is cooked. Baking or roasting sensors use the oven environment or a physical food probe to determine when the food should be removed. An alert can be sent to your phone if you were out of the room and didn’t hear the timer. This avoids overcooked food, especially when you’re busy and have lost track of the cooking time.
- You can receive alerts when the oven has reached the desired preheated temperature.
- Alerts are also available for status updates on the oven’s performance. If there’s a problem, issues can often be diagnosed by a customer care team and resolved from a distance.
- In-Oven Camera
- In-oven cameras are available in a few smart ovens. The camera allows you to monitor the cooking progress on your phone or tablet remotely. You don’t have to open the oven door and let heat out or try to peer through a tinted window. Better still, you can be spending time with the family or guests in another room while dinner is cooking.
- Multiple Cooking Options
Smart ovens usually have the most advanced features and choice of options, such as:
- The ability to cook 2-3 dishes simultaneously at different temperatures and time settings in the same oven.
- Wide choice of cooking modes for all types of foods, including roasts, pizzas, pies, and bread.
- Dual fuel options on ranges where the cooktop is fueled by gas, and the oven uses electricity.
- Touchscreen door where you choose the cooking mode, temperature, time, and suggested recipes. This is where you also add recipes, watch video recipe guides, and browse the web for selected websites.
- Frozen bake technology that skips preheating and cooks frozen food with pre programmed settings that automatically adjust cooking time to get the food from the oven to the table faster.
How to Make Your Regular Oven Smarter
If you’re not in the market now for a new smart oven, you may be able to make your existing oven smarter with a smart plug that has a corresponding app. This device plugs into an electrical outlet, and the oven plugs into it. Good quality smart plugs provide the following smart technology features when connected to your oven:
- Wi-Fi connectivity that allows it to send alerts to your smartphone and integrate the oven into a smart home network.
- Compatibility with voice control smart assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant.
- Learns your cooking behavior and alerts you when the oven has been on longer than normal.
- Sends alerts when the oven is turned on or off.
- Uses built-in geofencing technology to determine if you’ve left home without turning off the oven. It then sends an alert. Some smart plugs will even turn the oven off. Geofencing is a system that allows you to define a geographic boundary using global positioning (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID). You can set the size of the radius so you can do chores outside the house while the oven is on.
Your major appliances are an important investment. You can rely on C&W Appliance Service to protect that investment. Call us at (855) 358-1496 or contact us online for all your repair and maintenance needs.