When ovens detect that they are being tested Questionable software on home appliances

When ovens realize that they are being tested
Low energy consumption is a key selling point. In addition to purchase price, performance characteristics and design, it is an important decision criterion when buying home appliances. Energy consumption information is provided by the energy label, which identifies almost all electrical appliances. But can one rely on it? Apparently not always. Product testers of the Stuttgart Institute for Product Research GmbH (ipi) found out that cheat software is not only installed in German diesel vehicles, but also in some ovens and televisions. Such devices consumed less kilowatt hours in test mode than normal.
In the course of device testing, for example, the product testers noticed an oven that showed a noticeably different control behavior when operated in the energy-saving program. If the device was preheated as prescribed in the test procedure according to the European standard, then the door was opened and the device was centrally loaded with a certain weight. In the middle of baking, this program lowered the temperature by more than 60 Kelvin for almost half an hour. Instead of heating to 160 ° C, the device only heated to 100 ° C and consumed less power overall than in normal operation and significantly less than other devices. It thus achieved a lower energy efficiency rating on the energy label than other identical devices.

Questionable software in ovens. Image: viperagp - fotolia

The baking result for the cupcakes prepared by the testers in this energy-saving test mode reflected the interrupted heat input and gave a poor baking result. The cakes prepared in this way did less well and showed a compacted consistency when sliced, because in the middle of the baking process the heat input was too low.

Loss of quality as a result of lower energy supply determined the product tester with a TV. If the device had to play the test film, it recognized this test and immediately switched to a kind of energy-saving mode. Brightness, contrast and volume decreased and energy consumption dropped significantly. A feast for the eyes was the reputation of the test film for the tester in this way no more. However, the lower energy consumption also meant that the device was better qualified on the energy label.

The test results, which took place at the end of February 2016 in Hamburg at the annual conference of the Technical Committee for Home Appliances of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hauswirtschaft e. V., caused a furore in the expert panel and sparked a lively discussion about the energy label. Even though these are obviously a few individual providers using cheat software, the household experts responded in horror. The energy label, which should actually reflect the energy consumption and enable the comparison of devices of the same type, would be so ad absurdum, noted a branch representative resigned.

Nevertheless, a solution to avoid such deceptive attempts seems tangible: To assess the energy consumption, the power consumption should be used in the normal program and no longer the lowest consumption from the energy saving program as usual. If it were possible to agree on this in the revision of the energy label, such nonsensical energy-saving programs would be deprived of the breeding ground, it was agreed. Whether this can be enforced, because energy labeling is regulated uniformly throughout Europe, remained open. (Ute Gomm, aid)

Additional Information:
The ipi Institute is one of the largest European product testing institutes. It carries out product tests on behalf of companies and test institutes from more than 20 European countries.