Abstract: An appliance monitoring and reporting system, and a data acquisition device for monitoring an appliance. The appliance operates according to a plurality of cycles of operation, each denoted by a classification. The systems includes a data acquisition module configured to sense or receive signals indicative of the operation of the appliance, and a data processing module configured to receive and process information based on the sensed or received signals from the module. The data processing module includes a memory for storing a plurality of classifications and a corresponding plurality of sets of reference data, and a processor configured to compare the received information to the plurality of sets of reference data, identify a match and, upon doing so, determine the classification associated with the matched set of reference data.

Abstract: A data acquisition device for monitoring an appliance, the device being removably attachable to the appliance and including one or more sensors, each sensor being removably attachable to a component of the appliance for sensing a state of that component, an interface configured, when the apparatus is attached to the appliance, to receive, process and transmit data indicative of the operation of the appliance, the interface including: one or more sensor inputs, each configured to receive a signal from a corresponding one of the one or more sensors, a processor configured to process the signals received from the one or more sensors and generate a data packet containing data indicative of the operation of the appliance based on the received signals, and a communications module configured to transmit the data packet generated by the processor to a local gateway or remote server.