Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: simple

Very Well Thought-out Product

My application required the three-prong feature, or for me to use multiple adapters. The only switches in my local hardware store were two-prong, so this suited my needs. Now, my application is for an overhead lamp in the laundry area of my garage. It has a power cord hanging down from it to plug into a wall AC socket. No switches. This product has an LED light embedded in the switch. Except it ‘lit’ when the switch is on, and dark when the switch is off. This is a bit counter-intuitive for my application – I would rather have the swtich lit when the overhead light is off so I can navigate to it in my darkened or dimly lit (depending on the time of day I do my laundary) garage. But it works the opposite of that.

Electricity cost/kwh can easily be set, and co2/khw can be set as well. Averages tell you the yearly/monthly cost based on duty cycle / historical usage. I read the 1-star reviews and there are some mistakes and misinformation there, however, one legitimate complaint is that it does not give you total KWH used since beginning a measurement. You can back-out the math to easily calculate this based on the yearly cost projection if you know the amount of time spent measuring, but this is a legitimate shortcoming that it can’t simply display the number. Overall however, a VERY well thought out product and still squeaks by to deserve 5-stars.

This is very handy when you have devices that continue to draw power when “off” (like electronics with power bricks and other so-called “vampire” appliances that constantly draw power) or appliances for which you want to have extra assurance that they’re off (e.g., irons). Given that U.S. power outlets down’t have switches, I usually unplug such appliances. This solution is more convenient. It essentially introduces a power switch right at the outlet, cutting power completely to whatever is plugged in when you toggle the switch, without having to unplug the device. It’s like a power strip without the big strip. It’s a relatively low cost and very convenient way to completely cut the power without having to unplug and replug appliances all the time. I sort of wish U.S. electrical outlets were wired with this functionality, as in the rest of the world. In the meantime, this is a relatively cheap and simple solution.

February 9, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

A Neat Idea!

Plugged it to the wall socket with the iphone charger on it. Set it 3 hours and pressed the top button. Poof nothing worked. changed all the time configurations, changed wall sockets, changed load nothing. Refuses to start. The cost of the device is $9.99, I guess it would take me another 5 bucks to return it, ended up wasting my time and money on this. Will never ever buy Belkin products again, its not worth a try. I have to give 1 star for this dead device? Amazon needs to start with -ve or black stars to indicate that this is a useless product.

it work well for that. that said, I have a simple DIY solar electric system I’m setting up and was intending to use this to monitor how much power my system was producing, this meter does not seem to read power flowing in reverse. seem the common meter for the DIY grid tie solar crowd is the Kill A Watt. I’ll have to pick one of those up for my usage.

Plug the end into the outlet, and then plug in whatever device you want to test. That’s all there is to it. Then you will know how much it costs to use your toaster, computer, stereo – anything using electricity. What’s the carbon footprint? – push a button. What is the cost per month? per year? – again, push a button. My boss has been bugging all of us to shut off our power strips on the weekends to save electricity. I found out over one weekend that we save a whopping $.32 a year per strip (And the annual cost of running my computer workstation is around $33 a year. A great gift idea for the techno-nut in your family, or anyone interested in finding ways to save money.

All you do is plug it in the outlet then plug in your appliance. Immediately you can see how much it will cost, monthly or yearly, to keep the appliance plugged in but off. I found this to be a terrific feature. It made me realize it was time to put a few things on a power strip so that I can completely turn them off.

When you turn on the appliance you can then get an idea of what it will cost, monthly or yearly, but only if left on 24/7. Very few electrical items in our home are run 24/7. Even the refrigerator only runs periodically. This feature was only helpful in letting me know how different appliances compare. You can leave it connected for 45 minutes and it gives you an average but I am not sure of what. What do you turn on and off during a 45 minute period? Television, for example, is usually watched in half or full hour increments. Computers are rarely turned on/off in a short period of time. There are some devices that do fluctuate during use but that generally depends on how they are used not necessarily over time. And what is a monthly cost, 30 or 31 days? What would have been useful is a 1 hour cost mode. Then you could quickly calculate your own usage and get a better estimate.

Co2. How many of us have a choice of who or what source we buy our electricity from? Unless you are an activist, the only thing this may do is put the guilt on you and convince you to throw away a device which really creates more pollution.

I do think the most important thing we can do to both save money and help the environment is take concern on the items that are wasting energy plugged in but still using electricity. I found one appliance that cost roughly $5 a month plugged in. For that this device is very useful and could very well pay for itself.

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

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.

January 26, 2014 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >

NEVER GET UP FROM BED TO TURN YOUR LIGHT OFF AGAIN!

Give me a break, I have a big bed okay? Haha So I used an extenstion cord and connected both lamps to this gizmo and voila! I can turn them both on with the touch of a button. I’ve had zero problems with it. I may buy another for the lamps in the living room. I wish there was a two pack but I guess being lazy aint cheap!

I have a little hook on the side of the fridge for the remote and when we have company or just want to enjoy the lighting, one click takes care of it. An easier option than a new outlet or running an extension cord. Works great for what we need it to.

Great for lamps/lights that are in hard to reach spots—or for turning on or off lights outside—or after you’re in bed. I gave this to my nephew and he really liked it and put it to use right away.

It meet my needs and then some. I have an extra one but haven’t decided where I am going to use it at as of yet. Great product and great prices.

I plugged it into this and now I can shut my light of while Im in bed. VERY CONVENIENT. We also have one for our christmas tree so you dont have to bed down under all the branches to plug it in. Im sure there are many more uses for it as well!

Easy to set up, but the adapter is a bit bulky and the cord is short. Had some trouble getting it to connect to my device, but once I did all was well. Prompt delivery. Better than the fire hazard clapper.

I have it plugged behind my nightstand in order to turn on my nightstand lamp. The only problem is that I have to click the button for “On” and “Off” sometimes multiple times before it registers to turn the lamp off. This could be due to the fact that the outlet it is plugged into is behind the nightstand, and it’s just not catching the laser to the sensor. Just be aware that if it’s plugged behind something, it might take a few clicks to turn the switch on or off. This really doesn’t bother me because it works usually after the second try.

Every time I sat down on my lazy boy to watch a movie or a game, I had to get back up to turn the lamp off. I now keep the remote control for the wireless power switch right next to me. The product does exactly what I wanted it for and it’s a simple device: you plug the power switch into an electrical outlet and, in my case, the lamp into the power switch. You are then ready to turn the lamp off or on with your remote control. It’s a little expensive compared to some of the other comparable devices, but it’s simple and well put together. I recommend it.

January 22, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Great Idea, and Almost Perfect Execution

Came across this one at a good price and 5 outlets. I attach the remote to the wall and use the outlets for various lighting setups throughout the main floor of my house, and also my Wireless router that I use with a mobile broadband card. To get good signal I have to set it up quite high, and would need a ladder to reset it as needed. Now I just click the remote off and on to restart.

Why I gave 4 stars.

Pros:

More outlets than most with 5.

Slim remote with front loading batteries so I can attach it to the wall and still change them.

Distance seems good, the furthest I have is about 20feet.

Price is right.

They have a manual on/off button on the outlets.

Cons:

The outlets themselves are quite a bit bigger than the other units I have had. Basically they are ugly, and you will want them hidden from view. No idea why they are so big because it doesn’t appear that the casing is full of electronics. Meaning most of it appears hollow.

Overall, if you want a simple setup like I described, and your outlets will be mostly hidden, you can’t beat these for the price.

I choose this one because it had on and off button right on the units so the remote control is not required. Remote has good range and units do what they are suppose to do…. well sort of.

The knock I have against this is that they too drain power even with in the off position. For instance, I figured I’d use on the microwave for when it’s not in use, which is like 23.5 hours a day. Although the microwave only drained about 0.8 watts when plugged in, I though I’d attempt to save even that by turning it off with one of these units. The problem is that each of these units also drain 0.8 watts per hour when connected. That’s not so bad right? not at all except in the case of the microwave and a few other items, it makes no sense to use these.

However, if you have say an entertainment center or at a minimum a flat panel digital TV, the 0.8 watts is nothing. Many people don’t realize that just having the average LCD/LED/Plasma screen TV plugged in and turned off drains 40-60 watts per hour.. Again, that’s turned off. That like running 3-4 CFL light bulbs 24 hours a day. If you simply connected that TV and any other items nearby (say DVD player, cable/sat receiver, or TIVO) to one of these units and turned it off when not in use, you’d save upwards of 70-90 watts per hour during non use times.

However, since have most of my electronic on a surge strip that has an on/off switch, I simply turn off the switch and it uses no additional power. So now I find myself looking for a place to actually use these that will save me on power.

I realize the power is needed, probably, for the wireless remote communications…. so you give a little for the convenience.

I did find a home for a few of these. I put them in the kids’ room. I already had power strips in them but found another convenience. Because we have the power strips and plugs in hard to reach places, these make it easy to shut the power strips down. Also at night, we can easily turn of the TVs, DVD player, cable box, and etc… from our bedroom, after the kids fall asleep. We can also turn them off as we prepared to walk out the door.

Between using this and a number of power switches with on/off switches, we’ve seen a decrease in our power consumption/bill of between around 16-19% over the months following the installations. I accredit most of the drop to the use of power strips and us diligently turning them off when not in use, but these controllers make it easier to turn of several of those switches.

Good luck and think GREEN!

January 20, 2014 Outlet, , , , , , 0 Read more >

So Simple, Yet Such a Quality of Life Improvement!

I used it to light up different Christmas lights on my 11,000sqft yard and it reach all the switches with no problem but I cover them with electric water proof tape for rain just in case. Good product over all does the job.

Amazingly convenient, especially for Christmas lights and such, but also for turning on and off lamps and other things. Works VERY well through walls and floors. Turns on and off a Christmas tree that’s in one corner of the house from the opposite corner on the second floor.

worked fine and my wife enjoyed turning on lights in a palm tree, from inside the house. this 1st unit was fairly small and had a second plug built in. after getting some LED lights for christmas, i decided we needed more controllers, so i ordered the 5 pack. they work great even thru multiple concrete walls. my wife sits in the living room and turns on 5 lights inside and outside. don’t even have to air it. i gave it 4 stars because of 3 things. these things are huge. i mean huge. in a normal 2 plug socket they take up the room of both plugs, plus they don’y have the 2nd outlet built in. why the need to be so large is beyond me. it looks like there is a lot of empty space inside and they could of been less than 1/2 the size. lastly they take a really odd size battery. the battery is included but replacement might be tough except at a speciality store. never have seen that size before. looks like a AAA cut in half. don’t understand that either.

but overall they work great. the remote is kind of funky. it has 5 switches each with an off and on, however if you push the on to turn on and push it again it goes off. same for the off side of switch. it also turns on and off. you’ll get used to it. i did use a felt tip pen and mark initials of each appliance that was connected. i would reccomend, but make sure you understand how big these are!!!

My DD was visiting for the holidays and showed me how she could turn his tree and all the decorations on and off with the remote. I was sold. Got my set in the mail today and it works perfectly! Now, yes, they ARE big units and you cant use them in the same outlet as some large plugs or power supplies. And I found out that when I plugged my fully used power strip into one, it shut off (that was just an experiment, though….I have my fish tank hooked up to that strip and I don’t want to shut it off). But for a single appliance/light it is terrific And it does work with an extension cord plugged into it. I am very satisfied.

January 18, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >