Residential Systems Magazine has an article that talks about the value of a 'connected appliance' such as a refrigerator, wine cooler, stove, oven, etc.  These appliances are connected to the home's wireless automation network via Zigbee and accessed via Control4 systems.  Apparently the communications capability of some of these appliances is not new.  It has been around for a little while, but exclusively used by appliance repair people to diagnose problems.  It is now used to transmit information about the appliance to be used as another input into a home control system.  

“We’re not actually controlling the appliance
itself,” Williams assured me. “So if there’s a fear
that we’re going to turn the oven on in the middle
of the night and cause some harm–we can’t do that.
The appliances are merely providing information
for us to utilize within the home control system
to enable other actions or other types of lifestyle
enhancements. What we’re offering is an open
palette of capability, and from there the homeowner
can work with their integrator to decide what’s best
for their lifestyle and what’s best for how they want
to interact with those products in the home.”

The information that the appliance shares can be used for alerts and notifications, such as a refrigerator door open, efficient energy management, and trouble-shooting.