What's the Life Expectency Of Your Home's New Technology?

treehugger.com:

How long can you expect new gadgets you bring into your home to last? From appliances to wireless network devices, we should have a better idea of how many years we can expect it to run without problems, so that we can make smart purchasing decisions. But beyond a two-year or five-year warranty, it can be a mystery just how long a dishwasher is expected to keep cleaning efficiently.

Read the whole story: treehugger.com

Comments

[JScott]

02:13 AM on 10/19/2010

Well lessee I've gone thru 3 printers, 2 scanners, 4 digicams.

But I'm still on my original refrigerator. My dishwasher still has the install stickers on it from circa 2005 but it's ready to be replaced. Washer/dryer work fine but look not so good.

Interesting about the cordless lawnmowers-repair guy sez 'c ya in about 2 years' so ya just know they are designed that way to need something expensive done regularly.

[JScott]

02:15 AM on 10/19/2010

And the car is 12 years old but works fine-Toyota's run forever so I've heard even from garage folks.
Perhaps that's because in Japan the inspection requirements are very strict.

[Bogey907]

02:50 PM on 10/19/2010

Eve electroics ca last forever if maitaied properly. I've bee using this TRS-80 sice 1984 ad it's ever had a problem except the "" key ot working ad i%&*(&)_)_)(__)(_0987986 +++ NO CARRIER

[nothingchanges]

11:22 PM on 10/18/2010

I'm trying to cut down on my commenting, but I couldn't let this one lie. I agree with Sheila below, my experiences do not reflect the data presented in this article (or vice versa). I'm currently looking at a $250 paper weight on my desk that used to be a laser printer, killed at 18 months by a simple paper jam.

One of my key frustrations in my old age, is the concept of green technology. While I am all for it in theory, it fails to take into consideration the other major concept in common use today, the concept of planned obsolescence.

Back in the 30's and 40's manufacturers sold, and people bought what they perceived to be the best products made and the best they could buy.

Now it's simply buy the cheapest, because it will be obsolete in a couple of years anyway. What's the point of so much emphases on renewable s when we live in a throw away society?
It's not cost effective to repair anything, just throw it away, and buy new.

Those two philosophies are almost diametrically opposed to each other, but we live with them every day in America.

Maybe the GREENEST idea we could contemplate would be to buy (or manufacture) things that last. Who's to say that there isn't a computer chip in your new whatchamagizmo programmed for failure at a given time just past the warranty period?

[sheila]

12:23 PM on 10/16/2010

these numbers do not correspond to the numbers my friends and i are seeing. if it was built in Germany or America more than 10 years ago, it will probably last 50 years. if it was made in China or in the past 10 years, count on only a few years, no matter what brand. a friend who buys super-expensive appliances was told by the Bosch repair guy to "buy cheap and replace often" because even the best brands are now disposable. the other thing is that the good brands often license their name to the garbage Chinese brands, so there is no quality control, even if you have trusted a brand in the past.

How is it possible they can't make a decent appliance for $1,000? it's such a disaster for our wallets and the environment!