Household chips

The high fixed costs of producing a new design of silicon chip and of programming a new application imply that one of the more profitable outlets for microcomputers is the domestic mass market. Few of us are aware that every day we use 30 or more small electric motors in our homes and our cars: in the same casual way we are coming to rely on an increasing number of small computers. These we throw away and replace as required for they have a single hard-wired program, and for that reason are often known as ‘microprocessors’ rather than as computers.

Household appliances such as cookers, washing machines, sewing and knitting machines are equipped with microprocessor control to sharpen their competitive edge. This does not make them ‘intelligent’, however hard advertisers may try to persuade us, but it does make them more effective and helpful – more competent, more smart. Household systems also are improved by microprocessor control. Central heating can be much more flexibly controlled than by a simple time-switch-cum-thermostat. With sensors in every room and remote control over individual radiators, independent heating cycles can be programmed for each part of a house to match its pattern of use, and to conserve energy overall. The room sensors can be more subtle than mere thermometers, measuring the balance between radiated and convected heat, and the movement and humidity of air.