Smart plugs, energy monitors and home automation — researched, priced and verified against live Amazon stock as the category evolves.
Govee Christmas Lights 2 is the pick for most homes at $99.99 list for 66 ft. Plus Twinkly, Philips Hue Festavia, and the five-season math on Govee's new Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 Pro.
Read the guide →Kasa's EP40A is our pick for outdoor Christmas lights — IP64-rated, works with Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit, no hub required. 5 picks compared, plus the GFCI rule most guides skip.
Read the guide →Sense stopped selling new hardware at the end of 2025. Here's why the Emporia Vue 3 is the closest replacement — and what circuit-level monitoring actually gets you.
Read the guide →The honest math on phantom load, standby power and when a metering smart plug pays for itself — and when it genuinely won't save you a cent.
Read the guide →No subscription ever, 16-circuit accuracy, but 100% cloud-dependent — an honest, standalone review of the monitor everyone's asking about now that Sense is gone.
Read the review →A spec-by-spec comparison of Kasa, meross and Eve Energy per-outlet monitoring — plus why "Emporia" in this search actually means a completely different product, the whole-home Vue 3.
Read the comparison →Kasa, Tapo, meross and Eve Energy plugs are all Matter-certified. Google Home wants a Matter hub and Eve runs on Thread, so it needs a border router. Here is what each ecosystem needs, plus what "Matter-compatible" on a listing does and doesn't tell you.
Read the guide →Count zones, not strings: small, medium and large display combos, the 15-amp trap on two-socket outdoor plugs, and the cost per outlet on the multi-packs we checked.
Read the guide →