Electrical Guides From the Field
Marc Reeves · October 10, 2026
If you’ve screwed a smart bulb into a fixture that’s controlled by a regular wall dimmer and you’re now watching it flicker, buzz faintly, or glow in the dark when it’s supposed to be off, I can tell you exactly what’s happening before you even describe it to me. A smart bulb and a dimmer … Read more
Marc Reeves · July 24, 2026
Half the smart doorbell service calls I get are not actually doorbell problems — they are transformer problems that show up right after installation and get blamed on the new hardware. Most homes still have an 8- or 10-volt transformer from a mechanical chime era, and smart doorbells pull enough current that an undersized transformer … Read more
Marc Reeves · July 12, 2026
Last fall, I installed a home energy monitor on my own panel and the home energy monitor panel results genuinely surprised me. I’ve been doing my own electrical work for 12 years. I thought I had a solid picture of where my electricity was going. I was wrong — by a significant margin. Within 48 … Read more
Marc Reeves · June 19, 2026
The question of smart plug vs smart switch when to use each comes up constantly in my work. Just last month, a homeowner called me frustrated — she’d bought four smart switches for her living room lamps, hired someone to install them, and then discovered none of those lamps were hardwired. They all plugged into … Read more