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How To Make a Dumb Air Conditioner Smart in 2026

In Heating Cooling and Power by Tim Brennan

In this blog post, I review four viable ways how to make a dumb air conditioner smart. I will also review one potentially dangerous method you definitely want to avoid. The four ways are: Method #1 – Smart AC Controller Method #2 – Smart Air Conditioner Method #3 – Smart Thermostat Method #4 – Smart Plug How To Make A …

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5 Best Smart Portable Air Conditioners with Alexa (2026)

In Heating Cooling and Power by Tim Brennan

In this post, I share my picks for the best smart portable air conditioners to help you beat the heat-while lowering energy costs. Portable ACs Are Getting Smarter recently moved into a new apartment with side-to-side sliding windows. While I technically could install a traditional window unit vertically-like some of my neighbors here-I really didn’t love the idea. My place …

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Generac vs Kohler vs Champion: Best Home Generator? (2026)

In Heating Cooling and Power by Tim Brennan

In this blog post, I’ll break down Generac vs Kohler vs Champion standby generators so you can protect your home against increasingly common power outages. Is a Standby Generator Still Optional? fter losing power for nearly a week during a brutal Nor’easter, I realized exactly how vulnerable residential homes are without reliable power backup. Scientists at the American Meteorological Society …

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Rollicool Review 2026: Is This the Best Smart Portable AC?

In Heating Cooling and Power by Tim Brennan

In this Rollicool review, I give my honest take on what I like about this 14,000 BTU “smart” air conditioner from Rollibot — and what I don’t. When the summer heat hit my home office /bedroom, my trusty Ukoke 8,000 BTU Smart Portable Air Conditioner started to feel a bit underpowered. I needed something more robust to handle the rising …