Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: simple

Better Than the Other One I Got

Incredibly simple to operate, just one button. The main problem is the fact that you can only choose between three different presets, but so far is working perfectly for me. I have one that I use on my crockpot, another one for my cell phones chargers and one more for a night light. Perfect to operate with stuff that does not have a timer integrated.

Over a year now with all five units I own, working perfectly. Ordering a couple more for cellphones since the ones I already have are now with my two laptops, a charger of tipical AAA and AA batteries and home appliances. My batteries last forever now that they are not overcharged. The simplicity of the product I once tought it was a drawback it is now the feature I like most. Good product.

My favorite use for this is in the bathroom where I have my flat iron- it is great peace of mind to know that it will be turned off after 30 minutes if I forget. It does really only work on the top plug as it would cover both if it were plugged into the bottom, so only one per outlet.

We’re using it on our electric toothbrush so it shuts off the power to it after charging (1/2 mode). We tested the other two time modes and they worked. My only complaint is that we can *barely* fit a plug into the outlet beneath. It made it but if that bottom plug was even slightly bigger, it would not have fit. I’m certain that Belkin will read this next sentence and act immediately :) Belkin…give the 3-prong plug a rotation feature (as has become ubiquitous these days), so we can plug it in upside down if we want. This will free up the bottom plug and/or allow us to use the bottom plug for your device (which will free up the top plug). Do this and the item will be perfect :)

It had an 8hour setting, and a ‘constant on’ setting. But I like this one more because the first button press is the pre-set time (the other one you pressed button til setting you wanted) and the button is easier to access on this model. Also it has half hour which is the setting I use and the shortest on the other one is an hour, but it had more time choices. Also the top-socket aspect is great. Be nice if it had a shorter time such as 5 min but as is, it’s a really good unit. I don’t really care about the “conserve factor” I use it for the temporary turn-on of heating elements such as toaster. The number one thing this unit lacks is a way to turn it off. It should be that if I hit the button again it turns it off. Also this unit is not grounded which is bad and means many appliances cannot be plugged into it safely.

February 20, 2014 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

Coffee Cup Warmer Plate

I wish it had auto shut off, but since it doesn’t, this outlet timer really does the trick. I set it for 30 minutes and never worry about coming home to a hot countertop.

The only thing is that the 30 minutes isn’t long enough for a few things I use it for and the 3 hours is too long. Wish there was perhaps a fourth setting for an hour. But otherwise it works as promised and would have given it a 5.

I have several places where I’ve determined it will pay for itself in about a year’s time (for me, anything that uses about 10W or more). I have the first one hooked to my modem/router.

I recommend using a Kill-a-Watt or similar device to check for devices which have a high parasitic drain (cost money to leave plugged in). New devices are good at using near-zero power when off. How can you tell without such a device? Feel the case or feel the black box that plugs into the socket. If either is warm after the power’s been off for 5 hours or more, it’s probably robbing the bank.

The plug does intrude on the neighbor plug in a few places I want to put it. I also wish it could be turned off with a push of the button.

I’ve verified the power consumption is essentially zero. That’s good news, because most people will use it to save energy usage.

When Amazon took my return, it was easy, quick and gave me lots of options (refund/replacement, shipping methods that didn’t cost me anything). I highly recommend buying items “fulfilled by Amazon”.

I’ve purchased the Simple Touch C30002 Auto Shut-Off Safety Outlet, Single Setting as well as receiving a working replacement. I have to say I like the Simple-Touch product much better. The red LED is much easier to see than the faint green LED. Also, pressing the button a second time turns it back off. It allows me to make better use of the second socket as well. The only downside is it does not have a selector switch, it’s fixed at 60 minutes (a number I like). This other product has so many plusses, I don’t think I’ll be missing the slide switch on the outlet or the extra few buck it cost.

It is ideal for both: my coffee maker does not have an automatic shut-off, but when it is plugged into this device, it will get shut off at the plug in the time frame I choose, in this case the 1/2 hour setting.

For the home phone charger, I used to plug it in to charge and then forget about it for days. If the phone is charged but the charger or transformer is hot, you know you are wasting electricity, especially since we don’t use a home phone much so it doesn’t need to keep charging. By using this device, I can plug in my phone charger and set it to the three hour mark, knowing I will get a full charge but not leave it on needlessly, wasting electricity.

It doesn’t have any fancy features but at this price, it does exactly what I want it to without the clunkiness and clicking of a manual timer.

February 19, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Excellent Power Saver

It lacks any sort of archival features such as memory to save results or USB to computer data transfer, but for testing devices one at a time, this is an excellent device. The inclusion of a carbon-footprint mode seems silly, but for those that care about such things, it can be interesting to see. Overall, the product is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to gain insight on their electric bills.

It’s very helpful with something like a space heater or a vaporizer that you want to make sure is off after a certain amount of time. We’ve been using it with our space heater in the bedroom to warm up the bedroom while we’re getting ready for bed and after we go to bed, then it shuts off after we’re asleep. It has a half-hour setting, 3-hour setting, and 6-hour setting. Very handy, except I wish it had an 8-hour setting.

Some efforts have been quite expensive like installing all new heat pump and air conditioners while others have been small and simple such as power strips etc…

When this came up, I decided to give it a try as every little bit adds up. It’s super simple to install..plug it in, plug in the appliance or item, hit a small switch that acts like a timer. That’s all there is to it. It’s a great way to reduce those vampire watts without the headache or hassle of having to always unplug items.

Unfortunately there were two problems we encountered – one is with appliances without a solid memory storage that require reprogramming if shut down entirely. That is NOT the problem of this device but limited the use on some items.

Next, like many households we actually have a LOT of little items that could use this but even at a relatively low price, it would add up significantly to change over. Also, negating a plug was a little problematic in some areas. All in all, a nifty little device that works as advertised and is simple to install.

Most days I notice it, but still worry on the days I don’t look before I leave the house. The Belkin Conserve Socket is a robust timer that can run some heavier loads (such as a hair iron) without issue. In the morning, my wife presses the button on the top of the Conserve Socket and it allows her to power-up her iron and do her thing. When she is done, she shuts it off normally, but if she forgets, we don’t have to worry because the Conserve Socket will kill the power after 30 minutes (a value that you can select) For the money, it was nice because it eliminated a worry of mine and wasn’t too complicated to upset my wife.

February 14, 2014 Outlet, , , , , , 0 Read more >

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.

February 13, 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 >