Remote-Outlet

Monthly Archive: November 2013

Solution to a Real Problem

This surge protector allows for up to 8 devices to be plugged in with sufficient room for the wider DC adapters to fit and it will protect them against power surges. What makes it ‘special’ is, of course, the remote control that will completely shut off all but 2 of the outlets so nothing, not even stand-by power is consumed. This is good because it saves some energy and I suspect that the devices for which the power was completely shut down are better protected in the event of a spike. With the remote on my desk, I found that I almost always remember to shut things down when I’m done.

More details

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The following are noteworthy, in my view.

Positives:

+ Simple remote control with a 60 ft. range and no line of sight requirement to turn off all but 2 of the outlets – it’s what makes this device special.

+ On-Off switch could be mounted on a wall (mounting screws not provided) or simply glued to the wall or the side of your desk (adhesive tape provided).

+ 8-outlet capacity with a lot of room for the wider AC adapters.

+ ‘Always on’ light shows that power is present.

+ ‘Not grounded’ red light (must be off) will warn you when there’s something wrong. Its warranty won’t apply if the light was on when your devices got fried. I don’t know if for a fact but I assume they have a way of telling if that was the case.

+ ‘Remote-Switched Outlets’ light shows when switched outlets are active.

+ Manual override button allows for direct control of switched outlets. A must have when the remote’s battery needs replacing.

+ Clip for cable management. If you don’t need it – and I didn’t – you can simply pull it and it comes out easily.

+ Thin (one inch) and flat shape. Sits well on any flat surface, usually the floor.

+ It’s possible to control several similar devices with one remote control or have each respond to its own on-off remote – the manual shows you how to set them up.

+ 4 foot long cord.

The only negative I can think of is the overhyped up to $100,000 protection promised if your equipment is destroyed by a power surge. Once you read the fine print you realize that by the way it’s worded, it would probably cost you more to fulfill the requirements and prove your case than whatever you are likely to get IF you are successful.

Rating

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I like its opting for simplicity – click ‘off’ and you’re done – over the more complex semi-intelligent energy saving power strips that many will find difficult to set up and don’t always perform the way one expects. With me in control, at least I won’t be blaming someone else if something goes wrong. The outlets that I can turn off when not using them should probably not waste 25-35W each hour for 12+ hours every day plus weekends. Not bad and it should probably pay for itself after about a year of use.

I am awarding 5 stars to this item that addresses real issues by providing a realistic solution. It’s possible that the power strips of the future are going to be a lot more intelligent than today’s but, until then, this is the optimal solution for me.

November 12, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Remote Station: A Tale Of Discovery, Confusion, And Abject Laziness. Or, The American Dream

It’s become part of the overall scheme I have to slowly reduce my electricity consumption, and I plan to purchase a few more over the next few months.

While this surge protector is much larger than any of the standard power strips I own, and thus is harder to hide away behind a cabinet, the extra size makes it easy to utilize all of the outlets. I don’t actually understand why it’s so large, and the extra plastic on the end, designed for keeping cords wrapped around it and, presumably, organized, is fairly useless and annoying. But, the remote control is very convenient, and I used the included double-sided tape to stick it next to my light switch. This makes it easier to remember to turn it off when I’m not using it.

The two always-on outlets are great, because I can keep my clock powered while turning off my cable box, my PS3 and all my various chargers when I leave the house. In general, it’s hard to compare surge protectors, but the always-on outlets definitely make this one stand out from the crowd.

I was pleased to discover that one could set the devices on different channels. I had not known this and was initially frustrated that the remote was turning off both surge protectors on two different floors. This means the remote has good range. Now I set the individual surge protectors to different channels and I can turn off one set of devices without effecting the others. I have one for my home entertainment system and lights, one for upstairs tv, cable box and light, the third for my computer/home office. For the home entertainment system I leave the DVR plugged in all the time to record my programs and the TV and other plugs are plugged in the remote controlled outlets that I turn off when not in use. For those that do not know, the TVs even when idle drain a lot of electricity, and so do other electrical devices, so this saves power. The remote I put on the wall by the entrance which is also convenient to turn on lamps that are not connected to convenient light switches. The other surge protector I have upstairs for another TV as well. That cable box is not DVR so I turn it off when not in use and yes it takes time to boot up but not very long. The Fios box,and the battery backup are plugged in the plugs that are always on. The third is set up for my computer with my modem and router plugged into the outlets that are always on and the other devices for my computer are plugged in the remote controlled ones. This is useful when you go away or when you do not want to waste electricity. I put the remote switch on my desk.

I should add that one important feature which made me buy this particular surge protector is the spacing of the outlets. The outlets are spaced apart to allow plugs and chargers that normally do not fit next to each other to fit. On other power strips and surge protectors I have I cannot fit the plugs and chargers together which is an annoyance. Being able to utilize all the plugs of a surge protector is to me is a big plus! Many of my plugs are bulky and this allows one to put them side by side.

I have been pleased thus far with this product and am planning on buying a fourth one.

November 11, 2013 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >

Works Great And As Expected

The remotes works exactly as expected. Since I have an office and just work at home at night and on the weekends, I wanted an easy way to completely shutdown my home monitor, printer, and ext hard drives when I am not using them. This worked great. It costs $30 on Amazon and $35 at my local Home Depot. Unless you have Prime shipping, it is probably not worth buying online if you have a local Home Depot or Lowes.

I’m one of those people that switch off their power strip/surge protectors; when seated at my desk I only need to lean a few inches (maybe a foot at most) towards the floor to knock the green-lit selector into the off position.

My Enercell worked fine; however, while purchasing beginning-of-the-year crap, I decided to buy a surge protector with a wall insert that was flush with the wall rather than a protrusion (note: yes I know that last part wasn’t exactly technical), and was tempted by the promise of being able to ‘manage [my] power use via remote control’.

These are not the ho-hum benefit statements of yore; Belkin is promising, in effect, to add seconds (possibly ten seconds on aggregate) to my life. And remember kids, we are ALL selling convenience…

…and so I bought it, and it screamed from some state in the interior of this country (with the other crap for the year that is now upon us) to solve the “energy cliff” which I was so precariously teetering off of. I unplugged everything, rewired it all into the Belkin, and like Link holding up the Master Sword, held the remote above my head and clicked.(!)

And it didn’t bloody work. I repeatedly clicked it, and it repeatedly didn’t work.

I unplugged it all, plugged everything back into the Enercell, and started reading the manual. And then I logged back onto Amazon to read the reviews, somewhat like your doing now (only somwhat because you are actually reading an unboxing epic), when I noticed in the preview pics that the remote was mounted on the wall.

In order for it to be mounted on the wall, there would have to be a wall mount. But there was none in the box! They denied me a wall mount! I was certain that words would be exchanged with a Belkin customer service representative!

But nay! Upon closer inspection, I noticed the other pics with the remote out of the wall mount…and realized it came shipped inside of the wall mount. It was like studying epistemology for the first time, all over again.

Quite frankly, whatever time would have been saved by purchasing the Belkin Conserve Switch Energy-Saving Surge Protector with Remote has been spent writing this review. Buy it, get what you expected, and always remember friends…

November 10, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Cut Your Energy Bill!!

It’s all buried behind the entertainment system. You do have to push relatively hard on the switch to ensure it turns on/off, but otherwise functions very well. Kills 126 watts (Killawatt used for testing) of idle power draw from the six components hooked up to it. A couple of KW a day at 30 cents a KW… it’ll pay for itself in just a few months.

We had a lamp in the corner of the room that we liked to turn on to add light to the room but you would have to reach over a couch to turn it on. We hooked it up to this and put the switch by the other light switch and it works great. Saves us some time and effort turning it on and off. I also like that it has constant on outlets for things you don’t want controlled by the remote. I wish i would have bought a few more while they were on sale.

The remote switches were very easy to set up with a different configuration for each computer (it took about 45 seconds to reset the configuration so each remote switch would work only one system). Switching on and off is absolutely as simple as it gets. This is a winner if you want to switch off your electronics when not using them to save electricity.

You know, almost every single product now have a so-called “idle” mode and that’s where the energy and money are wasted. I have my router and modem plugged in the always-on outlet, along with my TV, PS3, sound system plugged-in the “Remote-Switched Outlets”. I’ve seen some people here mention about the remote not working, or whatsoever problem with it.

Here I got some little tricks for you:

I believe this remote would put itself into “idle” mode, therefore, if you simply just switch on and off, it might not work all the way you want. So, I recommend you press the same side down first, before you switch it to the other side.

Sounds complicated? here’s an example:

If your remote is on “I” (which means on, closed circuit), and you want to turn it off. You simply press down on “I” first (in my words- to wake the remote up), then switch it to “O” (off), vice versa.

I love this surge protector and am STRONGLY RECOMMEND it. Great product!!

So far they are working pretty good. Occasionally they do require a firmer or repeated pressing to go on or off but after several months so far it still works pretty good. Id recommend it. If it breaks I will update with an appropriate response.

Running one of these power strips on every TV and computer in the house

will easily knock $25 – $35 dollars a month off of your electric bill! Why pay the utility company for the time you NOT using your devices? In these days when utility rates

are jacked up so unjustifiably high you have do everything you can from being raped the by utility companies! These strips are wall mountable, have cable management hooks and the remote switch can be taped or screwed to the wall and should be placed next to a light switch to make sure it gets used. Bottom line it’s a little pricey but it will definitely pay for it shelf in 1-2 months time!

November 7, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Works As Advertised And Suits My Needs PERFECT!

It has good spacing for AC adapters. It makes really good surge protectors. The remote is wall mountable so it can be used to solve lack of wiring in a room. You can use multiple surge protectors with the same remote or use many in the same area because you can set different channels.

I wish there were more constant on outlets. It should have done 4 always on and 4 remote switched, but maybe that’s just me. The remote control is great but the button can stick sometimes and doesn’t click all the time like you would expect it to. I bought two of these and one switch is better than the other. I should probably contact it but it works so whatever.

Overall I really like these and the remote makes it really handy. It worked for me but might not work for everyone.

All the little bright lights for the audio/video products I own have such BRIGHT standby lights to let you know they are off it just does not make sense!?? So, with a flick of a switch at night those bright Led’s diminish! :) I like a dark room environment so it solved my problems and will probably buy another if and when they ever go on sale.. It has some outlets that still stay on for the equipment that you need left on for some juice still. VERY “nifty” idea…. Problem solved! And I cannot thank Amazon.com for being my number one source for almost all of my online shopping cause they are VERY easy to contact if you can understand some broken English from time to time but every time I have EVER had a problem arrive it has been promptly resolved or if it was not through their chat system they will call you back and that person has a little bit more room to bend on things I think…? Anyways, good product and a good seller!

Another very nice feature is the child safety covers over each switch, you can slide each one thats not in use so the holes are covered to prevent accidents. The strip itself is nice and flat and feels very well built. The main unit also has a built in cable management system that can route wires when things are plugged into the strip. There is a warning light on the strip that tells you if your main wall outlet that the strip itself is plugged into is grounded or not. I like how well the outlets are spaced out and are side by side to provide more room for bigger power bricks.

To use the strip you plug your devices that dont need constand power into the remote switched outlets(6 side by side total) and devices that always need to be powered on into the 2 always on outlets. Once everything is plugged into its respective outlet you use the included wireless remote to turn off the “green” switched outlets, thus saving you lots of electricity. When a pc needs to be powered up just flip the remote to on and the whole strip powers up. I think the price on amazon is excellent and its worth every penny but check around I have bought mine in store for half the asking price online.

November 6, 2013 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

Very Handy For Remote On-off of Things On Power Strip

Works great. I did the math and it saves about 3-4 dollars per item a year if it is just turned off at night. It will take a few years to pay for itself but worth it to me. The remote only works about 10-15 feet away.

Bought 5, then realized I needed 6, then realized I needed 7, then 8… then bought two as gifts. No problems with stuck rocker switch whatsoever. Remote control comes in a cover with double-sided tape on the back; or you can remove it. You can obviously use one switch with as many units as you’d like, or split them up on up to 8 channels if the neighbors aren’t also using these. I’ve only had the occasional issue with “oops one power strip didn’t get the off/on signal”, in which case you just hold down the switch a bit longer. No dead units so far.

The surge protection for cable modems only comes with the 10-outlet model.

All the cords plug into this on a shelf under the built-in desk and we use the remote to turn things on and off. Has been working well for these several years.

So this fall when I got out our fancy low-voltage electric mattress pad, I realized we needed a second one of these. Being low voltage and queen size, the mattress pad has two brick size transformers, one for each side of the bed, separate from the controls. Even when the mattress pad is off, these things make a high-pitched buzzing noise. And we only have the mattress pad turned on to warm the bed up before we get in.

This product works great for this–the power strip sits on the floor under the bed, along with the transformers. The two transformers plug into outlets that are operated by the remote. Our alarm clock and bedside lamp plug into the two outlets on the power strip that are always “on” regardless of the remote. Now, we just have to click on the remote which is on the bedside table and turn on the mattress pad an hour before bedtime, then click off the remote to shut the mattress pad and the transformer noise off at bedtime.

*TIP* : if you are buying more than one of these, or buying your second one, you definitely need to change the sync switches to a new code so your remote operates the strip you intend to operate. I found that our remote in the home office does turn on and off the new power strip in the bedroom and vice versa, even though there is a wall and 15ft in between them. Once I changed the sync switches to a new code, problem solved. And it is easier to make this change initially, before you start plugging everything in.

November 5, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >