Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: Easy to Use

Glad It’s Simple, But Could Use a Couple Features

We use this hooked up to a power strip for our cell phone chargers, iPod charger and bedside table lamps. Turn it on about an hour before bed and turns off at what time we select. It is so easy to use and actually does turns off when it’s supposed to! I only wish it had two outlet holes and had an option for 8 hours(intervals are 1/2 hour, 3 hours and 6 hours) as I would like to hook it up to our sound machine.

If you are wanting to save energy on some outlets you know you use only at certain times like we do, purchase this! It is such a great, useful way to conserve just a little energy in your home (and some money on your bill!) Very happy with product and ease of getting the item out of packaging.

It was thrown into a paper bubble envelope which had been smashed and torn almost open. I was concerned that it would even work and I had to pay a lot for shipping. I ordered another one a few days later from another company for the same price and free shipping. This one came in a box inside of another box. I was shocked at the difference. I know where I will be ordering my future items from.

I like that it is simple. I wish they made one with a remote and/or a corded “button” to activate it, however, so it could be more easily activated. I also wish they’d let you use the start button as an on/off toggle button– currently, you can only cut the timer on by pushing the button, but hitting the button again will not cut it off; The only way to shut it off is to unplug it. I also wish they’d sell them in packs of 3 or 4 at a discount (maybe four for $25 or $30?). Easy to use buttons. The longer you leave it connected, the more accurate the cost estimate over time, as chargers for things like laptops and cell phones use different watts depending on how much of a charge they have. Having the display away from the wall is genius. Excellent purchase.

I would have given it five stars if the instructions had said that the green led that shows that the power is on is vey very dim once you have pressed the start button. Without that clarification, I was concerned that it wasn’t operating properly.

For the money it is a very good purchase. I would have liked the option to reset the timer without having to unplug the unit from the wall, but I suspect that that would have added to the price, so I can live with the shortcoming.

The cost of a kWh in HI is 28 cents, more than double most places on the mainland. Having a long cord on the unit allows me to check on the power usage without having to weasel around to read the device at the wall outlet. The unit can tell you how much you will pay for power used on a monthly and yearly basis. You can also update the power cost which is set by default at 11 cents per kWh.

February 21, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Eats Electricity for Breakfast!!

I have been using it with my heating blanket at night. While the blanket itself shuts off after 8 or 10 hours, I don’t need it on for that long. I plug it into this adapter, hit the green light and it stays on for however long I set it for. I’ve also been using it to charge my cell phone or computer. Things that I often forget are plugged in and get over charged.

The timer is easy to use; there’s a switch to set the desired time, and one obvious button to activate the electricity flow. It’s a good product if you need to shut off an item after a certain period of time, like a phone charger.

The big complaint I will make, however, is that the timer is too crippled when it comes to the length of time setting: you can only choose from 30 mins, 3 hours, or 6 hours. That’s it. If Belkin could add an actual timer that you set your own time in, then that would be a major improvement. For example: I’m using this for my phone charger. I know my phone charges in 2 hours, so I’d rather have the timer shut-off after 2 hours instead of waste electricity for 1 additional hour.

Also, there is no “OFF” button or mechanism on the timer. The only way to shut it off is to unplug the unit. This can be a bit tedious, especially when the plug is in a tight space to reach into.

It is nice for seeing not only what an electical item uses in dollars but even more important it shows what the carbon data, and watts are. It can save us alot of money by showing the wastefull electrical appliances we might have.

Simply, plug it in and then plug whatever electronic device you wish to use with it. It will shut the power off in 30 minutes, 3 hours or 6 hours, depending on your selection. The selection is made via a sliding switch on the side of the unit.

In my case, I use a steamer and sometimes head to work, forgetting that the steamer is still plugged in. When this occurs, I’ve wasted electricy on a relatively high-wattage device for hours. I’ve also come home to find the steamer broken after leaving it on for so long and finally it could present a potential fire hazard (though not too likely). This Belkin device simply shuts down the power after 30 minutes per my selection, which not only saves money, but likely prolongs the life of the steamer.

I wish they made a double unit and maybe they do. But this items does what you expect it to and I recommend it.

it shut down like a drunk on New years Eve, just as advertised!!! Just make sure the outlet doesn’t get hot, test it every half hour or so as a safety precaution. Then after it’s off wait until the heater gets cool again. And there you have it, a truly deserving five-star product.

February 17, 2014 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

Excellent Little Electronic Gizmo

It’s a cool gadget that’s easy to use. It comes preset with regionally-based default energy cost and carbon output values which can be manually changed to match those specified on your energy bill to provide more accurate readings.

The display uses symbols which are both easy to see and understand. The buttons are clearly marked with unmistakable symbols. The unit is made of durable, well-contoured plastic – a nice quality piece.

This product provides useful information to use to influence your energy consumption for the better. It’s a fine item for gadget lovers and would even make a wonderful gift for the green conscientious individual who has everything.

It allows the user to see the impact that their electronic devices have on the environment and their wallets, as well as the watts used to make the device work and the watts used while the device is dormant.

The monitor is very simple to use. Simply plug the monitor into a wall socket and then plug any device that you wish to track into it. The display automatically starts showing you the CO2 output, cost of use, and the watts used. The amounts can be alternated between monthly and yearly numbers. Cost and CO2 output is also averaged after a forty-five minute period.

The device gives excellent and surprising results. I have an oscillating fan that I leave plugged in pretty much year round and I was amazed to see that when it isn’t in use, it costs me $.79 a year just sitting there. When I turn it on, depending on the fan speed, the cost can range anywhere from $29.25 a year to almost $45.

Personally, the CO2 output is cool to see, but the green I’m most interested in saving is the kind that goes into my wallet. With that in mind, I have to say that I do recommend the Belkin Conserve Insight Energy Monitor for the simple fact that it can save you a good bit of money by showing you how much it costs you to leave devices like cellphone chargers, lamps, printers, computers, etc. on when they aren’t in use.

It’s very simple and works every time. I’m actually on here to buy another one for my son to plug an RC car charger in to.

I plugged my coffee pot into this socket and set the socket’s timer for six hours. Now I know that the coffee pot will automatically turn off, even if I have to run to a meeting or leave the office in a hurry. I bought a second on to use in my daughters’ room. They like to have a lamp on so that they can read for a little bit. I set the timer for 30 minutes, and they know that it is time to stop reading when the light goes off. The product is durable, easy to use, and reliable.

February 11, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Innovative for Smart Energy Monitoring

My Gigabyte motherboard and AMD X6 are capable of power conservation and indeed the whole system goes to sleep within an hour of inactivity. With this meter I found that the computer, a 24″ Viewsonic LED monitor and an external hard drive only use 4.1 watts when powered down. It was able to place the display on my computer desk for easy viewing. I set the cost display to $0.10 per kwh so I can see the averaged power usage per month or year. My actual cost per kwh is greater but my utility uses a tiered rate system so a dollar amount may not be valid. My next tests will be on the television and the refrigerator (the socket is rated at 15 amps). One thing that would make this better would be if it could be plugged into a USB port for data acquisition on a computer. But I am still very impressed with the performance of this device.

It is priced similiarly and may have a little better functionality.I like the daily/annual energy cost switch. The fact that it does not have to be viewed at the outlet and has some cord attached to it helps a lot to check the status without moving furniture around. Last but not least it is a pretty pleasant design.

I work on a television program and we demo’d this product for a segment on energy efficient products. I found the Conserve easy to use, easy to understand and a great way to find out how much phantom load you’re appliance is costing you. This was much easier to use than the product we compared it to, the Kill-A-Watt.

It’s ridiculously simple to install and use – flip the switch, plug it in, and plug something into it. It turns off automatically after a set period. It could be really useful for items that don’t turn off automatically – like hair curlers, lights, etc., when you just need a little power.

On the “green” side of things, it’s silly. Supposedly it helps prevent vampire drain from things like cell phone chargers, video game chargers, etc. I’ve got a tester that shows the amount of power things draw – these items don’t draw anything anymore unless something is plugged in. Makes buying this item kind of pointless if you’re doing it to stop vampire power drains.

Overall, it’s a great product, but don’t be duped by the purported green benefits or power savings. They aren’t there.

February 10, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Knowledge is Power… and Money Saved!

This is why I chose to review the Conserve Insight F7C005q Energy-Use Monitor via the Amazon Vine program. I haven’t used any other type of energy monitor in the past, so I don’t have anything to compare this to in my experience. But what I’m getting from this device is pretty cool… I like it a lot!

In terms of mechanics, it’s extremely easy to use. You plug the three-prong monitor plug into whatever outlet you’ll be using for the device you want to measure. Then you plug the device into the monitor outlet. There’s a display unit attached to the plug via a cord, so you can place it in a position that’s viewable regardless of where the plug might be (like behind a cabinet). That’s it… you’re now able to see what’s going on in terms of energy use.

The display shows CO2 output (per month/year), cost to run device (month/year), and wattage. Once you’ve had the monitor plugged in for awhile, it starts averaging the cost, so if you have something that is turned on and off during regular use (like a TV), you can get a good feel for what your actual energy cost will be to run it based on actual use. The CO2 output doesn’t mean much to me, as I’m not interested in that particular measurement. Wattage is interesting, as it confirms what the device is supposedly using according to the specs. For me, the most important aspect was cost, and it was here that I found the most benefit.

I tried this out on the aforementioned radiator heater to see exactly what this was setting me back to stay warm in my home office. The wattage reported by the display conformed pretty closely to the specs listed by the manufacturer. But the cost aspect was a real eye-opener. If I left the unit on 24/7 at the high power setting, the heater would set me back $144 a month. Wow! Popping it down to the low power setting took it to $40 a month. So now I know that using the heater to take the chill out of the basement is good, but leaving it on past that can get a bit expensive. Knowledge is power… and money saved!

Now that I’ve used my Conserve Insight F7C005q Energy-Use Monitor, I can see myself making a concerted effort to check out stuff that I leave plugged in and turned on for the sake of convenience. Knowing that I can get a real dollar total linked to everything I have plugged in, I think I’ll be much more aware of what I’m using. I might even start turning green! :)

February 6, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Nice Unit to Get Electric Use Info

I find myself trying out a item that I wish was available to me 7 years ago….when I needed to test the output of a whole bunch of electrical items.Back then I had to hire an electrical Engineer to tell me what I was using to dispute a elelctric bill. Now, because of this little unit –you no longer have to go thru the confusion and craziness that I did. All you have to do now is plug it in and read the display…easy as pie to use and understand. Now you can tell when its time for a certain item to go because its drawing too much electricity….or tell when you need to use a certain thing more becasue its so frugal. When you plug this unit in it shows it is using 0 – 0.5 watts . I tested my pencil sharpener…and when I plugged it into the unit there was no change –therefore showing it does not DRAW power until used……….as I began to sharpen my pencil the power use went up steadly to 69.17 watts. You can then press a ” $ ” symbol and it shows you what a years worth of this item will cost you. Co2 imprint as well. Thats the sort of information this unit will give you. Excellent information to figure out your electrical use !

I never really thought about where electricity came from. Do people really think about that? Probably not much, unless you or people you know mine for coal. Nine out of every ten tons of coal goes towards producing electricity. Coal is a finite resource, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Now that’s food for thought. Now I turn off as many electrical items as I can when I’m not using it or when I shut the house down for the night.

Many appliances that we leave plugged in when not in use are still drawing electrical current, and it does cost money. With this clever product you can do your own science project by finding out how much each item in your house costs you to operate.

I used this monitor on several items but one appliance that sort of scared me was the hair dryer. My hair dryer did not show that any electricity was being used by it being just plugged in but not in use, but when I turned it on, it said it would cost over $60 a year in electricity. Not that anybody ever runs the hair dryer for a year solid, but it is something to be aware of.

This product is easy to use because it has a nice long cord between the information screen and the outlet end. Very handy when what you are monitoring is down at the floor and you don’t want to be crouched down there with it. You can set the rate that your utility company charges you per kWh to get an accurate reading. The instructions that come with the monitor are very concise and easy to read. This is a huge plus, for anybody who has read terrible instructions or ones that are multi-lingual, that are nearly impossible to follow.

The monitor also reads the CO2 that your appliance is emitting by using electricity. The monitor is a very easy to handle shape and doesn’t interfere with other plugs in that might be occupying the outlet, usually.

I gave this to my 9 year old daughter to find out more about conserving electricity. She had a ball, just as I did, plugging appliances in and finding out how much CO2 an appliance puts out, and how much it costs Mommy and Daddy to operate it. I was my daughter’s age in the 70s when we had the energy crisis here in the United States, which was a total drag. We were afraid to use any electricity. But now we have this, and can decide if it’s worth using the appliance, if it’s worth keeping it plugged in or unplugging when not in use. Happy monitoring!

February 5, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >