Tag Archive: program

Keep the Peace with your Teen Daughter

After realizing the adapters are always draining come power, even if not in use, this seemed to be a good device to help conserve some energy. And after my initial use it turned out to be just OK.

The operation is very simple, you set a timer (which has a few preset options, 3 hours being my default), and hit the small start button. The missing thing is, a second press on the button resets the timer, but does not turn it off, as I would have expected to do.

Thus between replacing the power-strip with an intelligent surge protector with auto off timers, and fancy stuff, and converting the old one cheaply, the latter seemed to be a better option. So far, I’m satisfied with its operation.

But make sure you know what you’re getting. There are no custom timer settings, no off button, and there is only a single (large) socket. If you can do with that you’re given this seems to be a nice device.

The only improvement would be if there was a setting somewhere between 30 minutes and 6 hours. Would be nice if you could set it for whatever time limit you wanted. But, it works like a charm and whatever is plugged into it will turn off after the set amount of time expires. Very nice.

It seems that the things he wants left on use ‘very little’ electricity but if I want to leave something on I’m not being responsible because I’m wasting electricity. NOW we have the answers. As long as he believes them :-) This is a very easy product to use. Just plug it in (it is a three plug and must have a grounded socket) and then plug your electrical item in the socket that is part of the unit. You have three options for display: CO2 use for a month or year (that is the CO2 that the electric company will use generating the electricity for this item), monthly or yearly averaged electrical costs (based on a national electricity cost that can be overridden with your own local costs) and the actual wattage being used by the item.

I found it interesting that a cordless phone appears that it is using no electricity until its charge is used and it has to recharge. So far I haven’t found any big surprises but I haven’t tried everything. In regards to trying the TV and some other high use items, it is a little hard sometimes to get to the plug. I guess the big question is this, with so many items staying in standby mode, are we really willing to change our habits and unplug these high frequency items when not in use. I know that many of mine require reprogramming once they’ve lost power so it seems a little unreasonable. But what this will do is make us think about the things that we keep plugged in but don’t use often. Maybe those are things we should unplug when not in use.

The best thing is that now the heated debates are no longer an issue as the evidence of me being right all the time is all that is needed to bring them to a quick demise.

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.

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! :)

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.

Effortless & Dependable

I’ve had trouble with other brands before but these are pre-programmed and work every time. Everything is labeled. Outlet plugs are a bit bulky but works great for all my light up Christmas decorations.

They simply work. I’m sure that maybe a few out there don’t, because some bad reviewers have noted some lemons. But, also look at the high reviews… they all worked for me, and I bought about $200 worth for different houses/ rooms. I added fluorescent under-cabinet lights all over my house… 4 underneath my bed, 3 behind each television, etc. These remote outlet switches allow me to have accent lighting galore.

it saves me so many steps, I can’t believe it. I bought it pretty much on a lark. But am I glad. I can control so many things from one spot. Lights in other rooms on at dusk, off at bedtime. Various Entertainment components easily controlled without moving to each of them. Considering more of these for my office.

I gave it only 4 stars because Wireless Controlled Electrical Switch Socket Outlet are huge! its as big as your regular outlet plate. I thought they were smaller than the others but I was mistaken. I consedered returning it but it works very well and a little inconvenience because its huge doesn’t matter to me. Lucky that we have a lot of outlet in our home that I didnt need any extension wire. The shipping was fast by the way.

I use them for my living room / home theatre system. I turn on and off the lights and sound system and these are just amazing for the price. Going with the two remotes is definitely nice because there is one at each end of the living room, plus, if one ever fails, I have a spare. So far, these have been a delight! My audio rack is in a different part of the house and in the past, remote controlling has been an issue because of distance but that’s history now. I highly recommend these. I don’t understand why some people complain the size in their reviews; there is a good picture that shows the product’s size. They are just built to last!

Adapter plugged into my power strip and plugged the lamp into the adapter the remotes work like a charm and I’m not left in the dark anymore when I’m alone. As a side note this can be used for anything that can plug into it there are some creative things you can rig with these. The only issue I have is that I wish the remote used AA batteries.

Works as Promised

I use them for all of my christmas lights, garlands, etc around the house that are plugged in. Works great, no complaints. Responsive. Exactly what I was looking for. (suggest getting as many plugs as possible, you’ll end up using more than you think!)

Works even if you control the units from the other room! Only issue I found is the size, they still make this prodcuts very bulky! I dont care but I could be a 5stars if the size was more on the small size.

Ever since Time Warner Cable bought out Insight Communications (near Louisville, KY), I have had my internet connection drop out at least once per day. I have my cable modem plugged into one of these remote power outlet switches so that when my internet connection drops out, I don’t need to go to the basement to powercycle my modem.

I have recessed sockets in my floor so I had to get an extension to plug this into, but once I did it works great. Love the remote – makes it convenient for my living room light and bedroom light that have hard to reach switchs – I just use the remote and they work great.

For some reason our home has very few wall switches and installed lighting. We must use lamps to light our home. It’s pain to go around turning each light off individually (one room has 6 lamps). These make it simple and are a new necessity in our home.I love being able top walk in the front door or any room and use a switch to turn on a light instead of stumbling through the dark to the lamp.

Easy setup, just hold the learning button on the side and choose your button on either remote. Was planning on using at two different locations, but now I think I’ll buy another set. Very convenient.

My daughter has one of those elevated beds so we wanted to have an easy way for her to turn her lamp on/off when she’s up in the bed. This is perfect and the price was right.

Programming is easy, you can have them each on their own channel, or put them two or three on the same channel. I do have a little problem with the second channel sometimes turning on the third channel too, not turning it off, just on. One of the remotes I received is a five channel remote, not sure why I got that, but at least it works. I feel sorry for whoever needed five channels and only got three. Over all, I am very pleased with my purchase, they make life just a little easier!