The old adage “you pay for what you get” certainly applies to Miele appliances. We were one of the first retailers to stock Miele back in the fifties because we could see how well they were made even then. And the same is true today. Ask any of our fitters and repairmen. They know how good they are because they so very rarely have to repair them.

Here’s a true story. We were recently called out to take a look at a Miele dishwasher that wasn’t cleaning very well.

When we arrived we discovered that the lady had had the machine for over 30 years and that this was the first problem she’d ever had with it.

She asked us if she should get a new one but having quickly repaired her existing Miele we told her “no don’t get a new one, this one looks like it’s got another 30 years left in it“. That’s how reliable they are.

The build quality of all Miele appliances is amazing – every single part in a Miele appliance is made at the Miele factory in Germany where they test them to last for 20 years.

Most other manufactures will source parts from all over the world, mainly to try and keep the price down. And that’s no bad thing. But because Miele make everything themselves – they make sure the quality is as good as it can be.

Miele are also one of the most innovative manufactures. Our teams here have been able to visit to the Miele factory showroom over in Germany. There we were lucky enough to see some of the new products they are working on. It’s not just the big things with Miele but the attention to detail that makes them stand out.

For example, most fridges have a single fixed light. They don’t really light up the whole fridge very well. So Miele have introduced multiple wire free lights that you can put on any shelf, any where in the fridge. Simple and brilliant.

We also saw their new range of freestanding wine coolers.

Here they’ve taken wine storage to a new level.

You’ve got three temperature zones for different types of wine, glass doors with UV filters so your wine is not affected by the sunlight and it’s the first wine cooler where you can decant wine in the cooler itself and prepare it for pouring.There is even a rack for the wine glasses so they are at the right temperature too. It’s an amazing kit for the wine buff.

We also saw dishwashers with infinitely flexible baskets to suit any load (and a 3D cutlery basket!), colour customisable vacuum cleaners and a steam pressure oven that, from the outside looked more like a torpedo launcher. See above.

That’s why we think Miele are one of the best manufacturers around.

Of course they are a bit more expensive but the build quality is second to none and the innovative features and design really make them stand out.

Gerald Giles are very proud to be the only official Miele Centre in East Anglia and we have an extensive range of Miele products in our Gerlad Giles store in central Norwich, that you can actually try before you buy so it’s worth popping to take a look at the amazing appliances that Miele have on offer. Whether its the latest Miele appliances or Miele Repairs and Service you need Gerald Giles Miele Centre is here to help.

On Friday 15th and Saturday 16th March we have something rather special going on in our store in the centre of Norwich. In fact we have two rather special things going on.

Firstly, on both days we’ll be demonstrating the future of TV in the shape of the Bose VideoWave® II.

This home entertainment system combines an HDTV 1080p super vivid flat screen with the phenomenal surround sound that you would expect from Bose.  In previous blogs we’ve talked about how although TVs are becoming thinner and thinner the quality of the sound they produce is not really improving. That’s because the thinness of the TV means that you can’t get a decent speaker system in there.

Well the Bose VideoWave® produces an unbelievable cinematic sound quality with no visible speakers or wires! So if you’re in the market for a new HDTV, sound system or home theatre – then the VideoWave is definitely worth a look.

Come along and see it in action, you can even bring along your favourite DVD or Blu Ray movies and we’ll show how they should look and sound – or bring along your iPod or iPhone and we’ll plug that in too.

Oh and we don’t have any neighbours – so we can turn the VideoWave® up really loud.

Then on the Saturday 16th March, from 10 – 2 we’ve got the Miele chefs in store cooking up a real treat using their fantastic range of cookers, induction hobs and steam ovens to name but a few.

50 years ago we were one of the first retailers in the UK to stock Miele appliances and it is that long relationship that means Miele will come along to our store and put this sort of demonstration on.

And remember this isn’t just a few people from Miele talking about their kitchen appliances, they’ll be rustling up some proper food and you’ll get the chance to do the same.

We’ve held these events before and they are very popular, great fun and there is always some tasty food to see and sample – we’ve even seen the Miele chefs steam bake a chocolate cake (yes steam bake) and it was, to use the that Americanism –  to die for.

So we’ve got a pretty busy and exciting weekend planned this March that you simply should not miss out on.

You could just come into town and wander around aimlessly looking for a new pair of socks, a cushion for the sofa or a nice set of kitchen knives, on the other hand could come along to Gerald Giles, have a cup of tea or coffee while you see and hear the next revolution in home entertainment courtesy of Bose or find out what is possible in the kitchen using Miele’s outstanding range of cooking appliances.

We know what we’d rather be going.

All of you will have seen the energy efficiency labels on just about every electrical appliance you can find in the shops these days. From fridges to freezers, cameras to coffee makers – they are everywhere.

They are supposed to make it easy for all of us to buy appliances that use less energy and help us to keep our utility bills as low as possible. And it’s true they do make it easier to chose which is appliance is more efficient. But there are a few things that are not quite as straight forward.

So here we’re going to try and help by explaining how you can understand these energy efficiency labels but also give you some simple tips on how to save on your energy bills.

The labels typically range from a green (good) through to a red (bad) rating, using an A to G type rating respectively. As appliances have got more and more efficient – they now tend to run from A+++ through to D. Most are specific to the type of appliances, so a washing machine will be rated on a typical wash cycle, tumble dryers on how dry they get the clothes, a dish washer on place settings and so on – so they are pretty useful.

So outside of choosing the most efficient products – what else can we do to reduce our energy bills?

This leads us to a bit of a conundrum. The conundrum is that appliances can have the same energy efficiency rating and yet consume wildly different amounts of electricity. How does that work?

Well it’s all down to size.   An A+ rated fridge with a  a cubic capacity of 287 litres like this Bosch is going to cost you more per year to run that the Liebherr which has the same A+ rating but has a capacity of 154 litres.

The same applies to TVs, freezers, cookers and so on – small is more efficient. So our tip here is to pick the most suitable size for you and your family.

Next up is our old friend – stand by mode. According to the Energy Saving Trust we spend nearly £100 a year simply by leaving appliances in stand by mode. With our ever growing number of electrical appliances – that figure is going to grow. So by turning off, at the plug things like TVs, laptops, routers, DVDs we can easily save ourselves a fair bit of money. You can even buy plugs that will turn, say your TV completely off once it’s been in standby for a minute or so.

Obviously things like fridges and freezers are switched on 24/7 so for these products we’d recommend you get the most energy efficient one you can find. Aim for an A+ rating and remember, as we said – size matters.

Tumble dryers and washing machines burn through electricity so hang your washing on the line or a clothes horse if you can and use a lower temperature when washing.  We have several washing machines with an A+++ rating – which is the most efficient you can get. Like this Panasonic. And many more that are A+ or better. Visit our washing machine pages to find out more.

Finally, although we all love a cup of tea and a nice biscuit, when you consider the average UK home boils up the kettle 1,500 times a year – that’s a lot of tea, a lot of fig rolls and a lot of electricity. Cutting out the odd cuppa here and there would easily cut down on your bills.

So there you have a few simple and effective ways with which you can cut down on your energy bills and that has to be a good thing especially as energy bills seem to be constantly on the up.