Fox News senior national correspondent William La Jeunesse reports on proposed changes to California's electric bills on'Special Report.' Power saver programs are utility-sponsored demand response initiatives that help reduce electricity usage during periods of peak demand. These programs typically target central air conditioners (AC) and heat pumps, since cooling equipment drives spikes in summer energy demand. In exchange for incentives such as bill credits or rebates, participating homeowners allow the utility to temporarily adjust or cycle their HVAC systems on hot days. I recently received an email from Leah, an HVAC professional based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Amazon Prime Day hasn't even officially started yet and we are already starting to see a massive influx of deals. For instance, the Amazon Smart Thermostat is on sale for 52. This is a discount of more than 30 percent and the best price we've seen all year. This is one heck of a smart thermostat with a robust list of features. It does require a C-wire or a power adapter kit, and these are sold separately. Once you get it hooked up though, the Amazon Start Thermostat allows for voice control over your climate, thanks to Alexa.

If you want to explore this area further, here's everything you need to know about what data and AI can mean for your future energy costs and how these trends will impact your utility bill over time! The average American home uses more than one trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or enough to power 3 million homes. Nearly half of that is used by appliances. The good news is that there are several ways to save on energy costs without compromising comfort or convenience. For example, LED bulbs can last up to 50 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and use 75 percent less electricity; smart thermostats can automatically adjust the temperature settings in your home based on where people are located, saving you an average of 10% on heating and cooling costs. Data and artificial intelligence (AI) fundamentally change how we consume, manage, produce and distribute energy.

Upgrading your home with the latest tech can be expensive, but Amazon Prime Day is an opportunity to do so for a lot less. Be it robot vacuums or smart bulbs, there are a whole lot of IoT and kitchen devices on sale today. Even some of our favorites from iRobot, Shark and Google have been discounted. Not all of the sales are actually worth your money, so we've done the hard work of narrowing that list down to the best deals available. One of our favorite smart thermostats is this one from Ecobee, so we're glad that it's on sale today for $178 ($71 off its retail price of $249).

For all the modern conveniences technology brings to the home – Wi-Fi-enabled washing machines, powerful gaming systems and enormous smart televisions – one of the downsides is paying to power it all. In fact, home utility costs are continuing to spike for many parts of the country, with 2021 electricity prices rising at the fastest rate since 2008, says the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – already hitting Americans facing skyrocketing inflation, resulting in higher costs for many goods and services. Not only does the average household have dozens of consumer electronics products plugged into power outlets at any given time, most consume electricity when not in use. "Vampire power" – also referred to as "phantom power" or "standby power" – can account for as much as 10% of a household's electricity bill, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This can really add up.

For decades, we've been dreaming about a futuristic lifestyle. But now, this fantasy is finally within grasp. In fact, the concept of home automation has been around for some time. It rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As the internet and technological advancements exploded, the development of appliances linked to computers flourished.

It's the latest water-cooler buzzword that has our heads spinning -- the "metaverse." A surface-level skimming of the term unlocks a complex universe of modern technology propelled to sci-fi-like proportions. With some of the tallest names in Big Tech announcing their commitment to this next wave of VR-powered living, it stands to reason that the metaverse, however realized or un-realized it may be, is that next digitized horizon that humanity and humanity's devices have all set sail toward. But what if we told you that the metaverse has actually been around for longer than most of us think (albeit in much more primitive forms)? Since Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been building blueprints for Meta's future based on the company's intentions to massively expand what fragments of the metaverse currently exist, we've all been thinking a lot more about living our lives through a VR headset.

As Amazon's executives took the stage one after another yesterday to introduce the world to the company's "next big leaps forward," a sense of deja vu crept up on me. It only grew stronger as the event progressed, with many new Amazon products seeming incredibly familiar. The company has been criticized in the past for borrowing designs of popular goods and selling them for a lot cheaper. That's not an uncommon practice of course -- massive retailers all over America like Walmart and Costco have offered lower-cost store-brand lines forever. But none of them stage flashy keynotes to tout their products as "innovations."

This year finds us in a much different place than last. Instead of hunkering down for a chilly, lonely winter, we're flinging aside our face masks and getting ready to return to the outside world. However, if you're having friends over for the first time in more than a year, you might still need help vacuuming the living room carpet. Or maybe you're styling your hair to appear in public for the first time in a loooong time and have forgotten how to do it! If that's the case, we can help! We perused all of Amazon's Prime Day deals for the second day to find the best ones for you, your kids, and your dusty corners and kitchen counters. Note: We regularly update articles and strike through items that sell out or rise in price as of publishing, and mark discounts based on recent product pricing or average price, not MSRP.

This year finds us in a much different place than last year. Instead of hunkering down for a chilly, lonely winter, we're flinging aside our face masks and getting ready to return to the outside world. However, if you're having friends over for the first time in more than a year, you might still need help vacuuming the living room carpet. Or maybe you're styling your hair to appear in public for the first time in a loooong time and have forgotten how to do it! If that's the case, we can help! We perused all of Amazon's Prime Day deals to find the best ones for you, your kids, and your dusty corners and kitchen counters.