Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: simple

Just What Ordered and Needed

Every little bit helps. Don’t forget…..just because you powered down or turned off that tv, computer, ps3, wii, xbox, laptop…etc, doesn’t not mean its not still using power. These things are cheap enough and simple to use, buy a few. You’ll be glad you did. Example, having a 46″ tv plugged up 24hrs a day without the power being turned is exactly like burning a 60watt bulb 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But when you go to bed at night, you turn those lights off don’t you??? Like I said, Buy Them!!!!

After 45 mins it switches to “averaging” mode, where the info displayed represents a moving average, not an instantaneous measurement, but you can disable averaging if you want, or just unplug the unit briefly to reset it before measuring a new device. I like it better than Kill-a-watt, which I never understood very well. Hope it holds up for at least a year, if it does it will get 5 stars from me.

I bought this to conserve energy, but also to save the life of my phones battery since I charge while I sleep. I wish they would have had an hour setting instead of 1/2 then 3 hour. The look of it is nice and simple though. The LED is not annoying and I like that feature. I would send it back simply for the fact it covers the other outlet, but I think I will just buy a power strip for my other electronics and either hook this onto the power strip or use the power strip on my other outlet in my room. Had it not covered both plugs, I would have gave it 5 stars. I will do an update later on after having it for a while. It seems to be working fine right now.

i purchased two of the other kind of this socket thingys, the kind where you can fit two in an outlet. those were for my microwave and toaster, and work well for that since they are not on a timer. but I like using this one for my living room lamp since it is on a timer. I can walk away and forget about it and 3 hours later it turns itself off. i just wish the 2nd outlet were accessible. otherwise i like it.

We all use many portable devices, i use at least 3 (2 mobile phones and a tablet) In the past i used to leave my devices charging through the whole night, now i set the time i want (30min, 3hr or 6hr ) and this device auto shuts off when time is over. This socket is really easy to use and looks good. For a con (if you want to force one) it is somehow bigger than expected but not really a problem.

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

Simple and Effective Power Switch, Great for Christmas

Nice little gadget to check how much all of your other gadgets is costing you on electric bill – your computer, laptops, toaster, microwave, desk lamps, desk fans, window acs, tv, clock radios, WiFi router, iPhone chargers… Good quality and is easier to use than energy watts monitor.

The battery needs a 3 hour recharge and this outlet can be set for different lengths of time. This prevents overcharging. This outlet works as promised.

It’s awesome. I use it in the kitchen for my lights and appliances and in my bedroom where the socket is handier to reach than my reading lamp.

I have often worried about my poor habits with regards to battery conditioning. For example, I nearly always have my laptop plugged in when it’s at the house, regardless of whether it’s running or not, and I generally leave my cell phone plugged in all night long–even though both of these things really only need a couple hours to charge, and then “best practices” say to remove the power source.

That’s where the Converse Socket comes in. No, it doesn’t do some fancy detection of the power draw from the plugged-in device(s) like some of the more expensive devices, but rather it has a simple timer switch that will turn off the power after the configured time. The design is easy to understand: on one side is a switch that you set for 1/2 hour, 3 hours or 6 hours; and on top is a button that you press as you are plugging in whatever device needs the charge; while the countdown is running, the little green light remains lit, and when the timer has expired the light goes off along with the power.

The simplicity of the design makes it mindlessly easy to use–it’s not like programming one of those awful plug-timers with the dial of 48 tiny buttons that divide the day into 30-minute segments of “on” or “off”… just plug in and push the button, then forget about it.

My only wish is that the Conserve Socket were a little cheaper, or they would sell it in packs of 3 or something to bring the price down–then I’d buy more for all around the house. Currently, I only have one that I sometimes move between different plugs and devices, but I’d love to get some more so that each device or wall socket could have its own dedicated power-conserving socket.

The power switch creates a gentle green glow when the device is powered on. As illustrated, two of these fit well into a standard wall outlet. The frustration free packaging made it easy to open and protected the product well in shipping. Overall not a bad purchase at a reasonable price point.

March 4, 2014 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >

Simple and Effective Power Switch, Great for Christmas

This is a perfect little device to shut off power to chargers, lights, and audio equipment when you no longer want it. I set it for 3 hours when charging my laptop and cell phone so they don’t overcharge and I don’t waste vampire power. I also put one on my night readnig lamp so it shuts off after I fall asleep. Liked this gizmo so much that I got a bunch as stocking stuffers for each of my (grown-up) kids.

I set my electric toothbrush for 30 minutes, dust buster for 3 hours, and the rest for 30 minutes (mainly if I forget to unplug them–for safety purposes). If you buy the Conserve Power Switch (non timer switched version of this) and intend to use it on the bottom outlet, don’t bother–you can’t get both to fit, it’s one or the other on the same wall panel. Otherwise, it’s perfect.

I have one for my toaster, espresso machine, coffee maker, and iphone/ipod speaker dock. You can stack to fill both outlets, but will not fit on the bottom outlet if you try to use it with Conserve Socket Energy-Saving Outlet (the timed switch version of this). I sometimes forget to switch it off, but it’s not too long before I noticed the green light glowing and then I promptly switch it off.

The actual switch part lights up when in the on position. I’m using it with an external hard drive’s AC adapter that I only turn on during backups. I’m picking up a few more when this goes on sale.

I wish they also made another version with the plug rotated 90-degrees so it fits on power strips.

The cell provider said that it was due to the battery charging too long since I charge at night. I got a new battery and now charge with the Conserve Socket. It is great. I set it for 3 hours and it charges and cuts off. The unit can be set for 1/2 hr, 3 hrs, and 6 hrs. Hopefully, I won’t be buying any batteries any time soon.

The design allows for two to be used over/under in a normal outlet and it also looks fine. Price is also very good but again the functionality, appearance and design for this model is the best I have found/used. A must for those who are reaching behind things to unplug from the outlet often for items like Christmas lights.

Electric toothbrush usually takes an hour to full charge, but the charger continues the draw power even when it’s not charging. Instead of remembering to unplug the charger after an hour or so, I simply use the Conserve Socket. With one simply click I can initiate an one-hour charge.

March 3, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Pretty Simple and Effective Product

Given that the GFI sockets in my kitchen are mounted sideways (I’d have to replace them to get them mounted vertically, that’s too expensive) I can’t see the lighted switch too well because it’s facing the top of the counter instead of being out to the side.

It’s an excellent concept of item but I don’t see why they did not add some kind of plastic reflection that would use the same light in the device for the switch to also add some light to the face of the device. That would make it a lot easier for people in my situation, seeing as a lot of homes built only 20 years ago will have similar sockets as I have in my kitchen because that was all that was available.

I had to reduce it by a star because of this. If you have plugs in your kitchen or wherever for that matter that don’t have this issue by all means pick it up, it works pretty good and will help reduce useless power consumption on items that don’t need to be sucking power all the time. I’ve been using a multitude of power strips for this very purpose for years and it does help to cut down drastically on power consumed when you do it all over your house. I had done calculations before on how much power I was saving by this method about a year ago and I found that the bills were about 10-20 dollars different each month I had all the extra items “unplugged” by turning off the power strips to those devices when they weren’t needed, it also depended on how much I was using those devices as well. It also means less wear and tear on items as well. So you end up saving even more by not having to replace things as often. I’ve used a wattage consumption tracker on a few occasions to test how much some of the items that I turn off with this little plug in switch use and it was substantial when added up.

Be smart about your power usage and turn off and unplug items that don’t need to be used 24 hours a day… You’ll spend less and replace less.

It also does not block the other plug in the outlet. The product saves energy by not leaving devices drawing power longer than necessary. I like that because it saves me even more money.

I paid $25 and had 2 day free shipping before christmas, it made two other good Christmas presents. I really wanted a battery backup model, but not sure why (!) This model doesn’t have a battery, but its not needed. I am pleasantly suprised how good this model is. I really like the long cord between the plug and the output lcd screen. It comes preset for 11.6 cents a kilowatt hr, which is pretty close to what we pay here in the panhandle of Florida. I was amazed at how many watts my large barn fan uses on low let alone medium and high, (145 watts). It will tell you watts per month or per year and how much it will cost per month or per year based on that rate per kilowatt hour that you can manually change. If you want a really accurate estimate you have to wait about 45 minutes with the device plugged in while your energy monster chows down. Now here a another good marketing money maker, they need to make a cheap one to measure the costs per room instead of each individual appliance. They are out there but I don’t want to spend $200.

February 28, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Fantastic Way to See What Anything You Plug in Uses for Energy!

I have an older model and needed more. I really like this Conserve Power Switch and the new style is nice. They are both economical and terribly useful.

I wish the unit could be thinner but it does the job. Three setting; 6, 3 and 30min as I recall. No more leaving my chargers on all the time. I have an old electric razor whose batteries are dead. Leaving it plugged in was a waste of power but this unit allows me to set the charge time for 30min and I can shave with my old razor. It was worth the money. I am thinking about getting one more.

It works as advertised- select the time to charge, hit the top button and it shuts off after charging for that amount of time. What I dislike about this product is that the time spans given of 1/2, 3 & 6 are too ridged for me. Find that I charge my instruments by the half hour several times to keep from having to have it on for the full 3 hours. I only need 1.5 hours to charge most things and think that adding a 1 hour option would have served this product well or to have it shut off automatically after it somehow senses that the charge is full. My other complaint is that my children like to push the ‘on’ button just to see the green light. Probably should have been made so that it doesn’t turn on to charge something when nothing is plugged in. With these two changes I would have given it 5 stars but it would probably cost a lot more as well.

While this is really nice, it’s not really any better than unplugging your device from the wall. Either way, when you want to use the device you have to reach to the outlet, and either plug in your device, or flip the switch. Then, when you’re done, you have to reach to the wall and unplug the device, or flip the switch. Flipping the switch doesn’t really take any less time than unplugging the device. While these outlets do look cool, and do do what they’re supposed to do, I’m not convinced it’s worth the cost.

This can be used for Blueray players, DVD players and similar devices that consume some power even when powered down. A simple flick of the switch to off position will cut off all power to the device. It works as advertised but I prefer the other products such as smart power strips that cut power when you turn the main device off. That type of strip does the turn off automatically of the other devices so you never have to think about it. This device is probably better suited for a kitchen for coffee makers and other applicances that pull power.

I’ve owned many power strips, USB hubs, surge protectors, printer cables, and peripheral-sharing switches. Every single device has performed reliably over time, exactly as advertised. This little energy-conserving device appears to be another fine product. You plug the device into a wall outlet, plug an appliance into the device, and the device turns the wall outlet and the plugged-in appliance on or off, with the flip of a little switch. The switch lights up in green to show that the wall outlet is delivering power to whatever it is that is plugged into the device.

When it is plugged into a wall outlet, the on/off switch is quite close to the wall. This means that it is just as easy to unplug whatever is plugged into the outlet as to flip the switch. So the main use for this switch that I see is to be able to turn off a device that you don’t want to plug and unplug all the time (to avoid wear and tear on the power cord).

As a matter of design, the lighted on/off switch isn’t particularly well-placed–it’s on the right side, not on the front. This means that when the device is plugged in, the lighted switch may be facing away from you or downward (depending on how your wall outlets are oriented), and you won’t be able to tell at glance whether the outlet is on or off.

February 24, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

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 >