Sam Whitfield
Charging an EV at home is convenient until you see your electric bill. The difference between a dumb charger that starts pulling power the moment you plug in and a smart charger that waits for off-peak rates can be $30 to $50 every month. Over a year, that pays for the upgrade. I spent three … Read more
My mom is 73 and lives alone in the house I grew up in. Last winter, she fell in her kitchen at 11 PM and could not reach her phone. She sat on the floor for two hours until a neighbor happened to call. That story ends fine, but it got me thinking about what … Read more
I spent 180 dollars a year on smart home subscriptions before I realized most of it was optional. Here is how I rebuilt my setup to zero monthly fees without losing any features.
My garage was the last room in my house to get smart. I spent two years automating my living room, kitchen, bedroom, and backyard before it occurred to me that the place where I store 40,000 dollars worth of car and tools was still running on technology from 1998. One pull-chain light. One manual door. … Read more
I learned about seasonal smart home prep the hard way. Two years ago, my smart thermostat kept the house at 72 degrees all summer, and it worked great. Then October hit, the outdoor temps dropped to 40 at night, and the thermostat kept blasting AC because nobody told it the season changed. I woke up … Read more
I have installed smart lighting in four different homes over the past six years. I started with cheap Wi-Fi bulbs from Amazon, graduated to Philips Hue, then ripped half of it out and started over with Lutron. Along the way I learned that the “best” smart lighting system depends entirely on what kind of person … Read more
If you are heading back to campus this fall, you have probably seen a dozen “dorm smart home” lists packed with gear that makes no sense for a 12-by-12 shared room. You cannot drill into cinder block walls. You cannot replace the thermostat. Your roommate might murder you if you install a smart lock on … Read more
I bought my first smart bulb in 2021. It only worked with Alexa. My second bulb only worked with Google Home. My smart lock needed its own app. My thermostat wanted a separate hub. By 2024, I had seven apps on my phone to control devices in one apartment, and half of them stopped working … Read more
The smart doorbell is the first security device most people buy. It makes sense — you see who’s at the door from your phone, you get motion alerts, and you never miss a package again. But there’s a catch that stops a lot of people: your house or apartment doesn’t have existing doorbell wiring. Older … Read more
If you’ve ever opened your electricity bill and thought “there’s no way I used that much power,” a home energy monitor will tell you exactly where it went. These devices clip into your electrical panel and track consumption in real time, breaking it down by device or circuit. Pair one with a smart thermostat and … Read more
