Method for Operating a Domestic Appliance, and Domestic Appliance

Abstract

In a method for operating a domestic appliance which can be operated by means of a first energy carrier and by means of a second energy carrier, an optimum energy carrier is determined on the basis of at least one predefinable criterion when a user requests a domestic appliance function.

1 . A method for operating a domestic appliance that can be operated using a first energy carrier in the form of gas and can be operated using a second energy carrier in the form of electricity,
 wherein an optimum energy carrier is determined on the basis of at least one predefinable criterion when a user requests a domestic appliance function, and   wherein the at least one criterion comprises the expected costs arising when carrying out the requested domestic appliance function using the first energy carrier or the second energy carrier.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the requested domestic appliance function is automatically executed using the energy carrier which is determined as being optimum. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the costs produced by the first energy carrier and the second energy carrier when the requested domestic appliance function is implemented are taken into account when calculating the expected costs. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein in order to calculate the expected costs, the requested domestic appliance function is assumed to be executed without a delay. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the start time which is determined for the requested domestic appliance function is one of the kind which leads to a minimum value for the expected costs arising when carrying out the requested domestic appliance function using the first energy carrier or the second energy carrier. 
     
     
         6 . A domestic appliance comprising:
 a domestic appliance functional unit having
 a first heating means which can be operated by means of a first energy carrier in the form of gas, and 
 a second heating means which can be operated by means of a second energy carrier in the form of electricity; and 
   an optimization unit configured to determine an optimum energy carrier on the basis of at least one predefinable criterion when a user requests a domestic appliance function,   wherein the at least one criterion comprises the expected costs arising when carrying out the requested domestic appliance function using the first energy carrier or the second energy carrier.   
     
     
         7 . The domestic appliance according to  claim 6 , wherein the domestic appliance functional unit is an oven. 
     
     
         8 . The domestic appliance according to  claim 6 , wherein the domestic appliance functional unit is a hob. 
     
     
         9 . The domestic appliance according to  claim 8 , wherein the hob comprises electrically operated cooking points and gas-operated cooking points. 
     
     
         10 . A dual-fuel domestic appliance comprising:
 a domestic appliance functional unit configured be complete a cooking function using either a first energy carrier in the form of gas or a second energy carrier in the form of electricity;   a control unit comprising a microprocessor configured to
 receive user input for executing the cooking function using the domestic appliance functional unit, said user input comprising setting a heating level and a duration of the cooking function. 
 request a first energy carrier cost associated with the first energy carrier and a second energy carrier cost associated with the second energy carrier, 
 determining a first energy cost for completing the cooking function using the first energy carrier and a second energy cost for completing the cooking function using the second energy carrier, and 
 executing the cooking function using first energy carrier when the first energy cost is less than the second energy cost. 
   
     
     
         11 . The dual-fuel domestic appliance of  claim 10  wherein the microprocessor is further configured to:
 receive input from the user indicating the start time for executing the cooking function is 
 a) to be executed immediately, 
 b) to be executed at an indicated start time, or 
 c) to be executed at a start time determined by the microprocessor based on cost-effective operation. 
 
     
     
         12 . The dual-fuel domestic appliance of  claim 10  further comprising a display, and wherein the microprocessor is further configured to:
 provide the user with a recommendation to change from the second energy carrier to the first energy carrier, and 
 receive input from the user indicating the first energy carrier is to be used for executing the cooking function. 
 
     
     
         13 . The dual-fuel domestic appliance of  claim 11  further comprising a display, and
 wherein the microprocessor is further configured to provide the user with a recommendation to change from the first energy carrier to the second energy carrier based on a lower second energy cost compared to the first energy carrier based on the microprocessor determining 
 the first energy cost for completing the cooking function using the first energy carrier at the indicated start time, and 
 the second energy cost for completing the cooking function suing the second energy carrier at the indicated start time. 
 
     
     
         14 . The dual-fuel domestic appliance of  claim 11  wherein the domestic appliance functional unit is an oven and the cooking function is a baking function.