Make your home a smart home Archives | The Cool Down

Two people toast with cans of beer while sitting at a table with a portable power station and a fan in the background.

Tech

Backup battery owners reveal surprising ways they're using their devices to save money

A stack of old television sets in various sizes and models.

Tech

People are using AI to make smart TVs do 'what you paid for'

A person charging an EV.

Tech

EV owner revived a secondhand charger with a hotspot, then hit a dead end

An Octopus Energy van.

Home

In the UK, Octopus Go users say home batteries can qualify without an EV, but switching has a catch

An electrical outlet with exposed wires.

Home

Homeowner planned bathroom outlets, then renovators shared what to wire before the walls close

A battery and a pure sine wave inverter positioned on a gray tiled floor.

Home

In Los Angeles, 95-volt brownouts knock out AC, but a home battery could keep it running

A person using a multimeter to test wiring on a wall-mounted thermostat.

Home

Thermostat swap leads to $4,000 AC quote, but others suspect bad wiring

A person adjusts the power in a circuit breaker box in a gray electrical panel.

Home

Home battery owners say a planned outage test beats finding a wiring mistake during the real thing

A person adjusting a thermostat.

Home

Texas power plan pushes homeowner to run AC and heat just to unlock a $125 credit

Tech

New homeowner takes over a Powerwall, then Tesla app 'can't find' the battery, gateway, or charger

A black Keurig coffee maker with various buttons and a transparent water reservoir.

Tech

Audit of parents' Wi-Fi finds their 'smart' Keurig used 1,008 GB in 10 days

A person lies in bed with their hands on their face.

Home

Renter says landlord quietly turned thermostat back up, leaving bedroom at 80F at 2 a.m.