Millions of American homes heat with electric baseboards, and the smart-thermostat world pretends they don’t exist. Nest and Ecobee are built for forced-air systems with low-voltage control wires — they won’t touch a 240-volt line-voltage baseboard. That leaves millions of bedrooms running dumb dial thermostats that heat to 72 degrees whether anyone’s home or not. … Read more
The Winter Bill Math Nobody Runs Before Buying a Space Heater Every November the same purchase happens: the thermostat gets set back, someone gets cold on the couch, and a 1,500-watt space heater appears in the living room like a migratory bird. That heater pulls fifteen hundred watts to warm a room full of air … Read more
Here is the number that stings: a household that holds 72°F around the clock — including the ten hours a day nobody is home — can easily burn about $100 a year more than the identical house next door that simply lets the temperature drift while everyone is out. The US Department of Energy’s long-standing … Read more
Here’s the number that gets people started with smart plugs: you don’t need $200 of gear to automate a home. You need about $15 per device, a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network you already have, and one evening. The catch is that smart plugs are sold in more pack sizes than almost any gadget on Amazon — … Read more