Daily Archive: January 26, 2014

Very Good with Room for Improvement

You can adjust the cost per kwh. I sit next to mine at the computer to see my much of an energy hog it is. It shows I’m spending $12 a month to run my rig. I have all kind of things connected to it. Has a long cord to reach the desktop. Detects vampirism, too.

It is super easy to use. My issue as other customers is the lack of different times available that one can set it on such as 1hr and 2hrs. If it comes out with such a timer maybe with the luxury of a remote that would be the best. It is worth the money and it DOES save energy. I gave it 4 stars because I think it could be improved upon otherwise when one needs the times it has available 30mins 3hrs or 6hrs this is the timer to get.

That said, I wasn’t able to find much use for it on any of my electronics. You can’t use it on a computer unless you power down and turn it off, which I guess you “should” do, except that I access my computer remotely, or throughout the day, etc. Same with my stereo, which I do turn off when not in use… A good number of my electronics also have memory functions and need to remain powered in order to keep their timing or pre-programmed info, etc..

You could use it for things like lamps that you don’t turn on frequently,, but then you’d need a dozen of these for your house, and with that investment you’d not save much money of the course of the year. If you use a curling iron or clothes iron (or similar) and have a habit of leaving it on, that might be a good use, although I’d argue you should just leave yourself a Post-It or something and just unplug it…

If you have a stereo system or other “energy sucker” that doesn’t store programmed channels or other info, I’d suggest a multi-plug solution, which it also sells. This one seems too limited for me.

For me the only thing that makes sense (read: interested in) is the dollar amount. After a quick run through the instructions, I found this device to be rather simple to use. Basically you plug it in an outlet, plug your device into the Belkin outlet, and the display quickly gives you a reading. The Belkin Conserve Insight displays readings as a years usage or a month, and also averages it for you when used for 45 minutes. You’ll have to program the KWH by looking at your latest utility bill, but it’s simple enough.

Overall I guess I had nothing to fear, the device is fairly simple to understand, but you’ll have to spend a couple minutes reading the instructions and programing the wattage to get an accurate reading. I just wish the device also displayed the impact of an hour of usage.