[4] The broad usage allows for nearly any device intended for domestic use to be a home appliance, including consumer electronics as well as stoves,[5] refrigerators, toasters[5] and air conditioners.

This evolution is linked to the decline of full-time domestic servants and desire to reduce household chores, allowing for more leisure time[citation needed].

The development of these appliances is tied to the disappearance of full-time domestic servants and the desire to reduce the time-consuming activities in pursuit of more recreational time.

Throughout this period, companies merged and acquired one another to reduce research and production costs and eliminate competitors, resulting in antitrust legislation.

[8] Major appliances, also known as white goods, comprise major household appliances and may include: air conditioners,[10] dishwashers,[10] clothes dryers, drying cabinets, freezers, refrigerators,[10] kitchen stoves, water heaters,[10] washing machines,[10] trash compactors, microwave ovens, and induction cookers.

In the 1960s the product design for appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, and electric toasters shifted away from Streamline Moderne and embraced technological advances in the fabrication of sheet metal.

In the 2010s, this distinction is absent in large big box consumer electronics stores, which sell both entertainment, communication, and home office devices and kitchen appliances such as refrigerators.

[16] Examples are: home electronics, radio receivers, TV sets,[5] VCRs, CD and DVD players,[5] digital cameras, camcorders, still cameras, clocks, alarm clocks, computers, video game consoles, HiFi and home cinema, telephones and answering machines.

[18] For instance, energy distribution could be managed more evenly so that when a washing machine is on, an oven can go into a delayed start mode, or vice versa.

It involves disassembly, removal of hazardous components and destruction of the equipment to recover materials, generally by shredding, sorting and grading.