Rachel Bennett 
Backfeeding a portable generator into a home without a transfer switch is the fastest way to kill a lineworker and burn down your own house. Our team compared the best transfer switches for portable generators currently on the market, weighing listing specs, customer reports, safety listings, and the amperage each one actually supports. Ten products … Read more
The generator sitting next to your house during a rainstorm is the one machine on your property that is designed to get wet. Rain, humidity and sideways spray attack the outlets, the control panel and the carburetor, and the corrosion that follows usually costs more than the machine did. This guide covers the best generator … Read more
The best video doorbell for a home without wiring is the Ring Battery Doorbell. It mounts with two screws and a base plate, needs no transformer, and ships with the rechargeable pack already inside. Across the eight wire-free models I compared, it combined the highest rating with the largest pool of owner feedback, and its … Read more
Choosing the best wireless security cameras for outdoor use comes down to three questions: does it survive rain and cold, how do you watch the footage without paying every month, and does it actually hold a Wi-Fi connection where you mounted it. Those three questions eliminate most of what is on the market. The Ring … Read more
The ZEEPORTE Snap 30T is the best solar security camera for driveways we could justify in , with a 2K sensor, 360-degree pan and tilt, an integrated solar panel and more than 11k reviews behind it. If your driveway has weak Wi-Fi or you want a phone without a monthly fee, the eufy SoloCam S340 … Read more
The best floodlight cameras for backyards are the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus for proven all-round performance, the eufy Security Floodlight Camera E340 for wide pan and tilt coverage, and the WYZE Floodlight Camera v2 for bright light with subscription-free recording. All three cover the two things a backyard needs after dark: a genuinely bright … Read more
A smart deadbolt for a rental home is an electronic door lock that replaces a standard deadbolt and lets you open the door with a keypad code, a phone app, a fingerprint, or a physical key. The part that matters for a rental is connectivity: with built-in Wi-Fi or a radio link, you can add, … Read more
A home security system without monthly fees is one you monitor yourself: sensors and cameras trigger a siren, send a push alert to your phone, and store video on a microSD card, a hub, or an NVR inside your home instead of in a paid cloud plan. You pay once for hardware and never again. … Read more
The best smart garage door opener for a two car garage is the Genie StealthDrive Connect 7155-TKV. Its 1.25 HPc DC motor paired with a steel-reinforced belt drive handles a double-wide door rated up to 500 lbs, and the integrated Aladdin Connect app gives you phone control, voice control and outage operation in one box. … Read more
The most expensive thing about a heat pump is not the equipment. It is the thermostat’s ability to stop your backup heat strips from firing every time the outdoor temperature dips a few degrees below what the compressor can handle. Auxiliary electric heat runs at roughly three to five times the cost per hour of … Read more