I Love Saving Energy with These Things
We use them every night to charge ipads, ipods, kindles, phones, etc, etc.. And although it will probably take years to save enough energy to recoup the purchase cost, I like the idea of being green. (I’d guess hybrid car owners buy a disproportionately high number of these). I do have another motive though. Most new device batteries, which are usually lithium ion, are maintained best when they are charged often after any use, but they shouldn’t sit constantly on a charger. After I use a device, it goes on a charger for the night, and I don’t have to worry about forgetting to take them off in the morning, even if I don’t use them for days. And finally, these are great for toys and game machines and TVs that the kids use for a couple hours, but stay in a power-using standby mode if left plugged in.
I put up 50,000 Xmas lights every year and sometimes I melt stuff. So the Belkin does not tell me Amps…but it does tell me Watts that are being drawn and I can do the math. So, I finally have a device that tells me what I need to know without finding out by trial and error.
This handy gadget allows me to set it to run for either 1/2 hour, 3 hours, or 6 hours. My sinuses are happy and my room does not get drenched in moisture. win/win. I am sure there are many other uses for this socket also.
It works as intended and is priced fairly. The only problem is that most households would need lots of these things, since many tv’s also have dvr’s and/or video games for example. For those instances, I think a surge protector with an off switch is a better choice, and this would be better suited for the spare tv’s or other single items in your house. For that use, it is a smart choice.
I plugged my devices into the switch when I need them I turn it on and when I don’t I turn it off. No green LED or anything in the device sucking power when I don’t need it. It also had the switch on side I needed it on.
I love this product. I have a Chi that does not have an auto shut off so many times I have had to return to the house to be sure I unplugged it. This devise works better than any other timer i have used. The only reason it received 4 stars instead of 5 is because, as others have mentioned, you cannot plug anything else in the other socket when this is being used. Other than that, I love it!
The power switch is located on the right side of the unit and glows green when power is enabled. We use ours with a cell phone charger. It’d be nice if Belkin sold these in a 3-pack value set. I’d love a few more for around the house. I recommend it.