# APC BX1500M Review — 6 Months in a Portland Proxmox Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer The **APC BYI1500M** isn’t my favorite budget UPS; it is a basic battery-backed surge protector that runs about 4.2 watts on standby and offers no […]
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# How Accurate Are Smart Home Energy Monitors? A 6-Month Portland Lab Review *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After running six months of continuous load testing in my basement Proxmox cluster with a four-node setup and an Emporia Vue Smart Home Energy Monitor
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## How Hard Is It To Install Motorized Blinds Without Breaking Your Network? A Portland Home Lab Buyers Guide *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* Installing motorized blinds is a moderate-to-high difficulty task that depends entirely on your electrical comfort level and willingness to deal with proprietary gateways.
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# Extending WiFi to Detached Garage Review — 6 Months in a Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer If you are dealing with the specific topology of a detached garage separated by a foundation wall and exterior siding, my testing over
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# Samsung S95B QD-OLED Review — 6 Months in a Portland Home Lab Environment *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After running the **Samsung S95B QD-OLED** through my four-node Proxmox cluster and connecting it to Zigbee2MQTT on a Sonoff ZBDongle-E for six months of
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# Smart Smoke Detector That Works With Alexa Review — 6 Months in a Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer In my six-month testing cycle within the basement of our 1920s craftsman, the **X-Sense SC06 Smoke and CO Detector** proved to
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# Smart Sprinkler Controllers Review — Does It Really Save Water? In My Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer The Rachio 3e Smart Sprinkler is the clear winner for water conservation in my basement testing because it enforces strict rain delay
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# Checking Garage Status from Work Review — 6 Months in a Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer In my testing of smart garage door controllers for remote status checking, the **Ratgdo Smart Garage Door** won hands down because it runs
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# Best Zigbee Coordinator for Home Assistant Review — 6 Months in a Portland Proxmox Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After six months of daily use on my four-node Proxmox cluster and through two rounds of firmware updates, the Aeotec Z-Stick 7
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# Managed vs Unmanaged Switch for Home Network — 6 Months in a Portland Proxmox Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer For the average smart home user living in an apartment complex like mine, unmanaged switches are often sufficient unless you need VLAN
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