My brother said his new $40 smart plug made him feel dumb

We were at his place in Austin and he showed me how it tracks his AC's power use, saying 'I never knew how much it cost to cool an empty room.' It made me think all those little gadgets we review might actually change habits, not just add tech. What's one simple gadget that changed how you do something basic?

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irisp676mo ago

But do we really need a gadget to tell us to turn things off?

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troy_harris6mo ago

Read an article last week about phantom power drain. It said stuff like game consoles and cable boxes left on standby can add up to 10% of your home's electric bill. That's a real chunk of change. For some people, a smart plug that auto-shuts things off actually pays for itself in a few months. Makes you wonder if the gadget is for laziness or just smart money sense.

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