Sammutamme kodinkoneita sitä mukaa kun älymittarin lukema nousee.

Sammutamme is the 1st person plural present tense form of the verb sammuttaa, meaning to turn off, to switch off, or to extinguish depending on context.

So:

• sammuttaa = to switch off / turn off
• sammutamme = we switch off / we are switching off

In Finnish, the subject pronoun me (we) is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action. The ending -mme tells you the subject is we.

So Sammutamme by itself already means we turn off.

Finnish usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Here:

• sammutamme = we switch off

Because the ending -mme already means we, adding me would usually be unnecessary unless you want emphasis.

For example:

• Sammutamme kodinkoneita. = We switch off appliances.
• Me sammutamme kodinkoneita. = We switch off appliances.
  (This sounds more emphatic, like contrasting we with someone else.)

This is a very common Finnish question. Kodinkoneita is the partitive plural of kodinkone (household appliance).

Here it suggests that the action is directed at some appliances / appliances in general, not necessarily all of them as a completed total set.

• kodinkone = appliance
• kodinkoneet = the appliances
• kodinkoneita = appliances / some appliances

In this sentence, the idea is that appliances are being switched off progressively as the meter reading rises. That makes the partitive natural, because the action is not presented as a single completed act affecting a whole definite set all at once.

Compare:

• Sammutamme kodinkoneita. = We switch off appliances / some appliances.
• Sammutamme kodinkoneet. = We switch off the appliances / all the appliances.

So kodinkoneita fits the idea of an ongoing, partial process.

Sitä mukaa kun is a set expression meaning:

• as
• in proportion as
• as soon as and while
• the more/as ... happens

In this sentence, it means something like:

• as the smart meter reading rises
• in step with the smart meter reading going up

It describes two processes happening together:

1. the reading rises
2. we switch off appliances accordingly

So sitä mukaa kun links the two events in a gradual, step-by-step way.

You can use kun by itself in many sentences to mean when. But sitä mukaa kun is more specific.

• kun = when
• sitä mukaa kun = as / in step with / the more that

So the longer phrase emphasizes a gradual parallel change.

Compare:

• Kun lukema nousee, sammutamme kodinkoneita.
  = When the reading rises, we switch off appliances.
  (This can sound more like a general time relationship.)

• Sammutamme kodinkoneita sitä mukaa kun lukema nousee.
  = We switch off appliances as the reading rises.
  (This clearly suggests a progressive response.)

So sitä mukaa kun is used because the sentence is about responding step by step.

Sitä is formally the partitive singular of se (it / that), but in sitä mukaa kun the whole phrase functions as a fixed expression.

So while you can identify sitä grammatically, learners usually do best to remember the whole phrase:

• sitä mukaa kun = as / in proportion as

In other words, this is not a case where you should try too hard to translate sitä word by word. The phrase is idiomatic.

Älymittarin is the genitive singular of älymittari (smart meter).

It is in the genitive because it modifies lukema (reading) and means:

• älymittarin lukema = the smart meter’s reading
• more naturally in English: the reading of the smart meter

This is a very common Finnish structure:

• auton ovi = the car’s door / the door of the car
• kirjan kansi = the book’s cover / the cover of the book
• älymittarin lukema = the smart meter’s reading

So the genitive here shows possession or close association.

Lukema is the subject of the verb nousee.

The clause is:

• älymittarin lukema nousee
  = the smart meter reading rises

Here:

• älymittarin = of the smart meter
• lukema = reading
• nousee = rises

Since lukema is the subject, it appears in the nominative singular.

Because its subject is singular:

• älymittarin lukema = the smart meter reading

The head word of that noun phrase is lukema, which is singular. Therefore the verb is also singular:

• lukema nousee = the reading rises

Even though älymittarin lukema has two words, the subject is still grammatically singular because the main noun is lukema.

This is an important verb pair in Finnish.

• sammuttaa = to turn something off / to extinguish something
  → transitive: it takes an object
• sammua = to go out / turn off by itself
  → intransitive: no direct object

Examples:

• Sammutamme valon. = We turn off the light.
• Valo sammuu. = The light goes out.

In your sentence, sammutamme kodinkoneita means we are actively switching off appliances, so the correct verb is sammuttaa.

Yes. Kodinkone is a compound noun:

• koti = home
• kodin = of the home
• kone = machine

So:

• kodinkone literally = home machine
• natural English = household appliance

This kind of compound formation is extremely common in Finnish.

Other examples:

• pesukone = washing machine
• kahvinkeitin = coffee maker
• älymittari = smart meter

Notice that compounds are normally written as one word in Finnish.

Yes, that is normal. Finnish word order is relatively flexible compared with English.

The sentence starts with Sammutamme because the speaker is presenting the main action first:

• Sammutamme kodinkoneita sitä mukaa kun älymittarin lukema nousee.

This is perfectly natural. Finnish often places the most important or most immediately relevant information early in the sentence.

A different order could also be possible, for example:

• Älymittarin lukeman noustessa sammutamme kodinkoneita.
• Sitä mukaa kun älymittarin lukema nousee, sammutamme kodinkoneita.

These are slightly different in style or emphasis, but the original sentence is completely normal.

Yes, that is the most natural interpretation.

Two things suggest that:

• kodinkoneita is in the partitive plural
• sitä mukaa kun describes a gradual process

So the picture is:

• the smart meter reading goes up
• in response, we switch off appliances one by one, or at least not all at once

If the sentence wanted to emphasize a single completed act of switching off all the appliances, Finnish would probably use a different structure, such as kodinkoneet instead of kodinkoneita.

So the sentence strongly suggests an ongoing, incremental reaction.