GE and IFTTT Partner to Allow Home IoT Control

GE’s line of smart appliances, including washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens and water heaters, is now available on app aggregator IFTT, the company announced on May 5. The new channel allows owners to connect their smart appliances to a variety of apps. Owners can create “recipes” – which are strings of automated commands — for their appliances to perform.

For example, they can connect their smart oven to their Phillips Hue Lights app and program it to flash their lights when the food in the oven has finished cooking. Users can also use the oven’s channel to get alerts on their Android wearable or alert their Nest thermostat to turn the fan on whenever the oven is on, or program their fridge to change to colder settings if a power outage is likely.

“Having the full suite available on IFTTT allows consumers to stay on top of their home appliances in new ways that are created just for them and their lifestyle,” said Brett Luckabaugh, connected appliances scrum master at GE Appliances, in the announcement. “With six GE Appliances channels on IFTTT there are endless possibilities for consumers to create new recipes, giving them more control over their smart home.”

Users can also create their own recipes using popular social media apps like Twitter and Facebook, IoT devices like Amazon’s Alexa and various wearables, and over 300 other services and devices.

GE stated that as of now they have over 400 users across their six IFTTT channels running an average of 3,000 commands a week. Not every smart appliance is compatible just yet, so interested consumers are encouraged to check GE’s website for more information.