Last time I looked at the reasons why we’ve chosen Siemens Smart Appliances for the Automated Home 2.0.
Now it’s time to take a look at all the models we’ve installed in our Kitchen, Pantry and Utility.
Left Oven
studioLine iQ700 Built-in oven with steam function (HS858GXB6B)
Our kitchen was designed by Parkes Interiors in Belfast, who are a Siemens studioLine dealer. The kitchen layout is symmetrical with a 3.2m x 1.4m island in front of a bank of cupboards.
This is the first of 3 ovens in the kitchen (the one on the left). While 3 satisfied our requirement for symmetry in the design, it also gives us the ability to use 2 ovens and a microwave simultaneously which is the same as we had at the last house. It feels great to have moved from an oil powered stove to these sleek new appliances that are now all running on a 100% renewable electricity tariff too. All three ovens have 5.7“ TFT touchscreens as well as built-in WiFi for connection to our network.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring & Control
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 0.5w – 2.0w
- Energy Rating – A+
Right Oven
studioLine iQ700 Built-in oven with added steam with microwave (HN878G4B6B)
This is the oven on the right in the photo above and it uses pulse steam. The Home Connect app allows us to control the ovens remotely and lets us know when the food is ready.
The connected features of these ovens includes the ability to send them recipes from the recipeWorld app too.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring & Control
- 5.7“ TFT touchDisplay Plus
- Standby rating – 0.5w – 2.0w
Middle Oven
studioLine iQ700 Built-in compact oven with microwave (CM878G4B6B)
This compact oven sits between the other two and provides microwaving duties in addition to regular baking and cooking.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring & Control
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 0.5w – 2.0w
Warming Drawer
studioLine iQ700 Built-in warming Drawer (BI830CNB1B)
This little appliance is just 14 cm high and placed beneath the compact oven above, giving the same overall height as the two full sized ovens at each side. With 4 temperature settings (30° – 80°C) it can be used for dough proving, thawing, keeping drinks and food warm, pre-warming crockery (up to 12 plates) and even a little slow cooking. No more ‘dinner’s in the dog’ when you are late home.
- Home Connect Features: None
Hob
studioLine iQ700 Induction hob with integrated ventilation (EX877LX67E)
With a vaulted ceiling above our kitchen, a hood was not an option so we needed a hob with an integrated downdraft extractor. With an airtight house we don’t want to be punching holes in the walls for an outlet so we also require a recirculating system. That’s one that filters the air before sending it back into the room.
Just released in summer 2020, with its new fully flush air intake, the EX877LX67E model ticked all the boxes and is perfect for our needs. This is the first time we’ve had a ceramic induction hob and it’s incredibly fast with brilliant control.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring and Control through mobile application
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 2.0w
- Energy Rating – B
Dishwasher
studioLine iQ700 Fully-integrated dishwasher (SN878D26PE)
Despite its anonymous looks behind our white kitchen door, this is a pretty whizzy appliance.
With open plan living the noise level of appliances are particularly important and this dish washer is incredibly quiet.
With an A+++ rating it’s also very efficient which is important for an appliance that is heating water and in daily use.
Cleverly this model does away with the need for a display on the front by projecting information from its bottom edge onto the floor beneath. A glance on the way past shows the time remaining for example. It has cool multicoloured interior ’emotion’ lighting too.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring and Control
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 0.5w
- Energy Rating – A+++
Coffee Machine
EQ.9 plus connect s700 Coffee Machine (TI9573X9RW)
Now here’s some real luxury. The EQ.9 Plus is a fully automatic coffee machine that can make two cups at the same time. And with 2 separate hoppers it can even grind 2 different beans. So we have my decafe in one and my better half’s full strength in the other
This machine looks fab in our little pantry and the coffee ‘playlist’ allows you to queue up drinks for several people from the app and you can access additional coffee drinks options via the app too. We are amazed how much we use the EQ.9 Plus and a quick look at the app shows we’ve had 1,304 cups of coffee out of this marvel since we moved in 6 months ago.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring and Control
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 0.5w – 2.0w
Washing Machine
iQ700 Washing Machine (WM14YH89GB)
Laundry appliances may not be quite as sexy as their cooking counterparts, but they are some of the hardest working in any household.
We were particularly impressed with the i-Dos automatic dosing system in this machine which precisely measures the detergent required for each wash. Just fill up the drawer once a week or so with liquid detergent in the right side and softener in the left and the machine does the rest. Siemens say this also helps to save water too.
We’ve had quite a few questions from our Instagram asking if these machines are screwed down as they are raised. They aren’t and they run quietly and with minimal vibration.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring and Control
- WiFi – Yes
- Standby rating – 0.12w – 1.5w
- Energy Rating – A+++
Dryer
iQ700 Heat Pump Dryer (WT48XEH9GB)
Our last tumble dryer was an evil energy muncher. A dryer is one of the biggest energy guzzlers in any home and so this was one appliance we had earmarked from day one that had to have an A+++ energy rating.
Just like the main Under Floor system in the Automated Home, this machine employs Heat Pump technology to reduce the amount of electricity needed to heat the water.
And as with the hob, we don’t want to compromise our airtightness by making a hole through the building to vent the dryer, so this is also a condensing machine.
The AntiVibration feature keeps things smooth and quiet, which is especially useful with our raised cabinets in our little utility room.
- Home Connect Features: Remote Monitoring and Control
- WiFi – Yes
- TFT clear text display
- Standby rating – 0.1w
- Energy Rating – A+++
Fridge
iQ500 Built-in fridge (KI81RAFE0G)
Our fridge and freezer are both from the iQ500 range. While these are 2 appliances with no smart features, they still feature great design and build quality.
The tall larder fridge is integrated on the right hand side of our kitchen. It features 7 safety glass shelves (6 height adjustable) a bottle rack, 6 door trays and 3 temperature zones. The fridge has an overall capacity of 319 litres and has a special ‘hyperFresh plus’ drawer with adjustable humidity to keep fruit and vegetables fresh for longer.
The door is reversible for left or right hanging and it has a handy audible warning if it has been left open. The internal LED lighting looks great too.
- Home Connect Features: None
- WiFi – No
- Standby rating – na
- Energy Rating – A++
Freezer
iQ500 Built-in Freezer (GI81NAEF0G)
This unit is integrated on the left side of the kitchen and provides us with 211 litres of space.
There’s a digital thermometer, 5 drawers and 2 flap fronted compartments and it’s got the audible door open warning too.
It uses sensors to detect newly added food items automatically and reduce the temperature for a set period of time to quickly freeze them. Importantly it is rated for 22 hours of safe storage in the event of a power failure. The multiAlarm system notifies you visually and acoustically if the temperature goes up.
There’s no internal lighting at all in this machine so that’s something we would suggest for its successor.
- Home Connect Features: None
- WiFi – No
- Standby rating – na
- Energy Rating – A++
We spent a lot of time on our kitchen plans and we knew we needed the right appliances to pull it off. So we are delighted with these Siemens appliances. Beautifully designed and built, with well thought out and genuinely useful features that you can tell are the product of decades of iteration and improvement.
Next Time
Next time we’ll look at some of the smart features in action. Remember to check out our Instagram to follow the project, read the rest of the Automated Home 2.0 blog posts and find the links to all the products we’ve used in our self-build.
