Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: power strip

Will Control Fluorescent And LED Lights As Well

Bought one of these, put the on/off switch on the wall as you head down the hall and now it’s so easy to turn it on and off. Then, recently, I had trouble with my knee and found myself in the recliner quite a bit. Had to call hubby to turn on the light on the end table. Bought another one of these, attached the on/off switch on the side of the end table with Velcro and now I just reach down and flip it to turn on the lamp. What more could you want?

The package states that it will control fluorescent, LED and incandescent.

The package also states it will control, “lights, TVs, Audio components and Small appliances”, “Appliances up to 960 watts – 8 amps”, “Battery lasts up to 2-3 years under normal use”, I only wish there was a way to choose your frequency. I guess you get the luck of the draw. I may have to go to Home Depot if I want to buy another, so I can see which one I am buying.

It works great, but every once in awhile the connections get “crossed”…I will use the switch for my lamp and it will turn on my fan, or vice versa. It’s a small annoyance for a great product though. I tend to get hot and cold a lot so I find it very useful to have a switch by my bed that turns the fan off and on. I also use two for lamps where the lamp switch is a little too far away for me to reach easily. And they are also great at Christmas time for your tree lights. I would sugget this would be great for the elderly too….my grandma had trouble seeing and reaching for the lamp switch, so I offered to give her one of these switches where she could keep it right in front of her. I like the toggle switch too rather than a regular one because it’s so easy.

This was a great solution. Some complain about the screws on the switch plate cover, but they worked fine for me. Remember they are decorative and are plastic so you don’t over-tighten.

The switch on my wall operated an outlet. That outlet is immediately next to the switch. This didnt work for me. I have my lights in the back of the room. Then I stumbled across this gem. Just plug it in and attach the switch to the wall and you got yourself a solution.

Before I had to walk in the room in the dark, feel around for the lamp, then the switch to turn it on. Now I can do it as I walk into the room. Great little device.

I used double sided tape to mount the switch on the wall instead of drilling holes to attach it (and I doubt that I’m the only one who would do that, so perhaps that option should be included). I expected a slight delay in the operation of the switched unit (in my case a wall light), but to my pleasure, it comes on instantly, much like an actual wall switch. These are a good option for some less expensive homes that were built without any switched power in, say, the bedrooms. But, since they’re sold with no regard to frequency (at Amazon anyway)(I think there are like 6 frequencies available), I’ve decided that if I wanted to use a number a these in adjacent rooms, I’d just buy a bunch, pick out the ones with different frequencies, and send the rest back (this should avoid turning on every light with same frequency since the range is fairly impressive). It’s a poor way to get what you need, and I’m sure would/does drive up costs for the seller, so perhaps they should rethink the “frequency shipped at random” model.

November 19, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Works Flawlessly – Style Looks A Bit Cheap

I liked that this unit has a remote switch that I can access easily to turn off my multiple monitors at once instead of turning them off individually or crawling under the desk to flip the surge protectors switch. It also has a couple of constant-on recepticals to power items whether or not the switch is flipped.

The switch looks a little odd, but probably as good as it can given the form factor. Signal strength is quite good — a brick wall and a washing machine are in between one of the plugs and its switch. As noted by other reviewers, there are no separate “on” or “off” directions. Pushing the switch on either side simply toggles the power.

Our house was built with no wall switches in the bedrooms and we were thrilled to find these. They’ve actually gone down in price since we bought ours. They work perfectly and we’ve never had a problem.

However, as another reviewer said, it has only two different frequencies, and the frequency is NOT selectable. When you buy, you must specify either the “A” or “B” frequency switch. The package is labeled such. Don’t get two of the same frequency within range of each other! Oh, and the switch and control block do not look like what is pictured. The control block is bigger and the switch (as mentioned in the other review) is a rocker, not a traditional toggle as pictured.

It has a one-piece rocker switch/plate cover that looks like it could break easily. However, I’ve had mine for about 2 years so far and it’s still intact.

This unit has three channels, so you can have up to three different sets of these in your home. In my living room, I have two sets, both on the same channel, controlling two lamps across the room from each other. Since they’re both on the same channel, either transmitter can turn on or off both lights (kind of like three-way switching for multiple lamps).

The rocker switch makes it seem like you’d press up for on and down for off. However, it’s just a toggle switch — there’s no difference between up or down.

Leviton makes a more-attractive switch (although they only sell the almond color here on Amazon). It resembles a regular hard-wired rocker switch commonly found in homes. However, it only has two channels (so you could only have two sets of these in your home), and it’s VERY tempermental. It will randomly switch off and sometimes constantly switch off — very annoying.

I would like to see X10 come out with one of these devices, but their controllers resemble remote controls too much. They need one that looks like a regular wall switch. So why X10? First it can handle 256 channels — not just two or three. Second, it can integrate with your PC for home automation. Third, it costs about the same as one of these other more-basic models.

November 14, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Perfect For An Energy-Saver Like Me

Well, I was looking for something I didn’t think was possible to find:

- slim design

- always on outlets along with the ability to truly power some off

- reasonable length cord

- decent remote control (both looks and function)

I got all of the above with this product. It is tucked away in a cabinet where I don’t have to see it (and I don’t have mikes of cord taking up the rest of the cabinet area), with my laptop in one of the “always on” outlets. BlackBerry, iPad, and my husband’s phone charger are in the remote-controlled outlets. Every morning after I read the news on my iPad, I plug it in and use the remote. When our devices are charged, off go the outlets. The remote is slim and unobtrusive. I also can’t complain about the price.

Personally, I don’t like paying more than $50 a month in electricity, especially when there are things I can do to reduce “phantom” energy usage. I bought the 8 plug model over 2 years ago and am still loving it. I actually bought a 2nd 10 plug one a few months ago and thought I’d send out a review for both.

6 of the plugs are connected to the remote switch with 2 being available for always on performance. I connected my DVR and TV to the always on plugs with my router, cable modem, PS3 and receiver on the remote.

I keep the remote upstairs by my desktop computer (also on the a conserve switch) so I can turn on the internet whenever I use the desktop. There is also a switch on the surge protector so you can turn the remote-controlled plugs on and off without the remote. Since I have two Conserve units, I set both of them to the same frequency and they both work off the same remote. I use the upstairs desktop sparingly and it helps eliminate the phantom power draw from the power supply of the desktop when it is off. I used the handy to figure it cut 90% of energy usage for my desktop when off.

I did the math and it easily saves me 2-5 dollars a month in energy consumption on my router and modem alone vs. being on 24/7. I turn the router and modem off while I am at work or am not using the devices. It really pays for itself over the course of a year or two.

Eliminate power consumption on low use items that consume electricity even while off. Will pay for itself over the course of a few years. Multiple units can be controlled from same remote. At least 30 foot radius for the RF remote, no line of sight needed (I haven’t tried longer but that’s about how far mine is from the downstairs unit)

November 13, 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 >

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 >