Make your home a smart home Archives | Page 5 of 30 | The Cool Down

A portable generator is placed on the ground with a chain around it, near a tree and a concrete edge.

Home

Texas smart generator owner fears outage theft, learns it 'can't be left outside'

Two electrical panels showing circuit breakers and wiring, one larger and more modern, the other smaller and older.

Home

Homeowner's smart panel had 2 unused breakers, and a generator switch that would not move

An LG TV.

Tech

LG pushes back on reports its TVs' logged ambient conversations

An EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus generator outside.

Tech

EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus owner says common furnace workaround risks damage, gets a fail-safe redesign

A basement with exposed electrical wiring, a window, and a grey electrical panel on the wall.

Home

Homeowner with oil furnace, 2 sump pumps asks what backup system can auto-switch in outages

A Tesla Powerwall mounted outside a home near a window with indoor plants visible.

Tech

Tesla reminds Powerwall owners as 'super El Niño' looms: Storm Watch charges for outages

A person interacts with a portable air conditioner unit.

Home

Homeowner weighing EcoFlow battery learns 5 overnight hours could deliver about 4.5 kWh

A person adjusts an electric boiler.

Tech

Homeowner asks if a Wi-Fi water heater left offline can still be hacked, gets practical answer

The inside of a Taco HVAC device.

Home

First-time homeowner loses heat after Nest thermostat install, gets blunt warning on boiler setup

An electric panel.

Home

Homeowner loses power in storm after retired generator becomes home's single point of failure

A person talking about Alexa+.

Tech

Amazon says Alexa can flag whether order alerts, account warnings, and other messages are scams

An air conditioner in a closet and its status code guide

Home

Homeowner says 30-minute AC repair ended with dead thermostat in 105-degree heat