Upgrading from a basic thermostat to a smart thermostat offers many advantages, with the most significant being long-term energy savings. By optimizing your heating and cooling system, a smart thermostat can often pay for itself through lower utility bills. In addition, you can control your thermostat remotely from your smartphone; many models integrate with voice assistants, and installation is typically quick and straightforward.

That brings me to my preferred brand of smart thermostats: Honeywell and its X8S Wi-Fi smart thermostat. Honeywell room sensors are what make them stand far and away as the leader in home temperature control. Typically, a thermostat is installed in a hallway or another convenient location, not in an area where the exact temperature reading is critical.

The sensors ($44.99 each) can be placed wherever they're needed — your living room, bedroom, office or other frequently used spaces. For example, if you place a sensor in your bedroom, the Honeywell X8S can prioritize that room at night, maintaining your desired temperature for as long as you choose.

Multiple locations are not a problem; just one in each location. Sensors have a range of up to 200 feet, depending on the home's construction. They are easily controlled on the First Alert app or the X8S’s display.

Installing the Honeywell X8S is easy; I’ve done many of them. I like to think of thermostat installation as color-by-number. The wires are color-coded according to an industry standard. Before you disconnect your old unit, it’s a great idea to take a quick photo of the setup. And of course, if you're not confident, you can hire a professional to hook it up for you.

Once it's connected, the Honeywell X8S brings your temperature control and cost savings to the home, which you can control on the 5-inch touchscreen or the app. The display shows current time, indoor humidity, outdoor temperature, your set temperature and all the thermostat controls. Schedules can be set based on your comfort needs to maximize energy efficiency.

How many times have you left your home for the day with the AC turned down or the heat turned up? If your answer is never, you’re lying, but that's OK. A great advantage of the X8S is its smart features, and its auto-away feature puts money in your pocket. With the feature enabled (your choice), it will sense occupancy and adjust settings accordingly.

Honeywell specifications for the X8S state that it will work with “Up to 4 Heat/2 Cool Heat Pump systems; Up to 3 Heat/4 Cool for conventional systems.” A C-Wire is required. A wall plate, screws and anchors are included.

The This Matter-enabled and Energy Star-certified Honeywell X8S is also compatible with video doorbells. If you have a First Alert VX1 or a Ring streaming doorbell, you can use the thermostat display to speak to and see the video doorbell. It also works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Home voice assistants.

https://www.honeywellhome.com/products/x8s-smart-thermostat. $219.99

An informal survey of two group texts produced some surprising results. In the first group of six friends, no one had a carbon monoxide detector in their home. A second survey of five more friends yielded just one person who did. Combined, that's only one out of 11 people, or just over 9%, with a carbon monoxide detector.

My follow-up text consisted of information I got from an AI search for the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning: “Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can be extremely dangerous and potentially fatal, even after relatively short exposure. It's sometimes called the 'silent killer' because CO is colorless, odorless and tasteless, so people often don't realize they're being exposed to it. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in your blood about 200-250 times more strongly than oxygen, preventing oxygen from reaching your organs and tissues. This can quickly affect the brain and heart.”

Enough said. That brings me to the X-Sense Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarm (model SC07-W), another do-it-yourself project that adds a single unit to your safety devices, monitoring for smoke and dangerous carbon monoxide gas in a single compact unit for home or commercial use.

One feature that stood out to me in the UL-Certified alarm is the 10-year sealed battery for long-lasting safety. Think about that compared to many traditional alarms, which need a battery changed yearly and always seem to chirp an alert about a dead battery in the middle of the night.

The 10-year cycle replaces the yearly inconvenience of frequent battery replacement, which is often overlooked. A sticker on the side of the alarm has the recommended replacement date.

The all-in-one alarm is easy to install and has an advanced dual-sensor technology. A bracket is included and can be hung from a ceiling, wall, or any flat surface. Once the bracket is installed with the included hardware, twist on the alarm, and you're done.

Inside X-Sense, a photoelectric sensor will detect smoke particles from potential fire hazards. An electrochemical sensor detects carbon monoxide. A display on the front shows CO levels and device updates in real time. There’s also a test/silence button.

With its wireless interconnection, up to 24 X-Sense SC07-W alarms can be purchased and linked to create a network. Then, when one of the connected alarms has a danger detection, they all go off, alerting a larger area of the potential danger. According to X-Sense, the alarm closest to the source flashes red, while all other units alternate between red and green.

The detectors are available individually for $41.39 each, $116.99 for a three-pack, or $224.99 for a six-pack.

https://www.x-sense.com/products/sc07-w-wireless-interconnected-combination-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-detector

©2026 Gregg Ellman. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.