Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: socket switch

Nice Unit to Get Electric Use Info

I find myself trying out a item that I wish was available to me 7 years ago….when I needed to test the output of a whole bunch of electrical items.Back then I had to hire an electrical Engineer to tell me what I was using to dispute a elelctric bill. Now, because of this little unit –you no longer have to go thru the confusion and craziness that I did. All you have to do now is plug it in and read the display…easy as pie to use and understand. Now you can tell when its time for a certain item to go because its drawing too much electricity….or tell when you need to use a certain thing more becasue its so frugal. When you plug this unit in it shows it is using 0 – 0.5 watts . I tested my pencil sharpener…and when I plugged it into the unit there was no change –therefore showing it does not DRAW power until used……….as I began to sharpen my pencil the power use went up steadly to 69.17 watts. You can then press a ” $ ” symbol and it shows you what a years worth of this item will cost you. Co2 imprint as well. Thats the sort of information this unit will give you. Excellent information to figure out your electrical use !

I never really thought about where electricity came from. Do people really think about that? Probably not much, unless you or people you know mine for coal. Nine out of every ten tons of coal goes towards producing electricity. Coal is a finite resource, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Now that’s food for thought. Now I turn off as many electrical items as I can when I’m not using it or when I shut the house down for the night.

Many appliances that we leave plugged in when not in use are still drawing electrical current, and it does cost money. With this clever product you can do your own science project by finding out how much each item in your house costs you to operate.

I used this monitor on several items but one appliance that sort of scared me was the hair dryer. My hair dryer did not show that any electricity was being used by it being just plugged in but not in use, but when I turned it on, it said it would cost over $60 a year in electricity. Not that anybody ever runs the hair dryer for a year solid, but it is something to be aware of.

This product is easy to use because it has a nice long cord between the information screen and the outlet end. Very handy when what you are monitoring is down at the floor and you don’t want to be crouched down there with it. You can set the rate that your utility company charges you per kWh to get an accurate reading. The instructions that come with the monitor are very concise and easy to read. This is a huge plus, for anybody who has read terrible instructions or ones that are multi-lingual, that are nearly impossible to follow.

The monitor also reads the CO2 that your appliance is emitting by using electricity. The monitor is a very easy to handle shape and doesn’t interfere with other plugs in that might be occupying the outlet, usually.

I gave this to my 9 year old daughter to find out more about conserving electricity. She had a ball, just as I did, plugging appliances in and finding out how much CO2 an appliance puts out, and how much it costs Mommy and Daddy to operate it. I was my daughter’s age in the 70s when we had the energy crisis here in the United States, which was a total drag. We were afraid to use any electricity. But now we have this, and can decide if it’s worth using the appliance, if it’s worth keeping it plugged in or unplugging when not in use. Happy monitoring!

February 5, 2014 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

All in One Now

We use to have 4 or 5 individula remote controls to operate the Christmas lights on our tree, the hanging fiber optic decorations and other decorations around the house. We had to have a remote control for each one. Now we just have one remote and it controls all of them, We just make small taped labels to identify which operates which. They also worked great for our outside decorations on the house and porch without have to go outside to turn things on and off. They-re Great.

It works beautifully! Turns my garbage disposal on and off without having to run special wiring to a switch. Would be an awesome remote for a lamp, tv, stereo, etc. I highly recommend it.

They work flawlessly. I can now selectively turn on lights around my room to save power. It is also great because I don’t have to fumble around for a light at night. I just keep the remote near my bed.

The remote works well. The buttons provide good feedback, and there is a small light at the top to indicate that you’re pressing the button. When the units turn on, they make a slight, audible click.

There are only two things I dislike about this wireless socket. First, if you plug the socket into a switched outlet, it forgets it’s last setting. For example: when I turn the light on with the remote, then I turn the wall outlet switch off. You might expect that if I switched the wall outlet on, the light would come on. Unfortunately, it defaults to off. The only other downside is that it is positively gigantic. I will upload pictures that will try.to demonstrate the size of these sockets. I expected them to be big, but I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw how big they actually are. This isn’t a deal breaker, and it doesn’t affect me much. It doesn’t allow much room for other items to plug in. I have only found one lamp that has a plug small enough to fit beneath this socket without unplugging it too much. It is impossible to securely plug both this socket, and another cord into the same outlet. If you are thinking about putting this thing behind any furniture, think again. With the plug sticking out of this socket, it is virtually impossible to fit it behind anything. You could always attach it to a grounded extension cord. It probably says not to do that, but I’m sure it would be fine if the cord was strong enough. It would allow it to be stashed in less noticeable places. Also, the range is unbelievable. I can turn my lights on from anywhere in my house. It can go through literally anything. Short of taking the remote outside, I can’t find anywhere that it doesn’t reach.

Hindsight, I would have purchased the set with 2 remotes. It would be nice to be able to keep one by the entrance to my room, and one by my bed. That way, when I walk in the room I don’t have to look for a remote in the dark. I have solved this problem by hooking up some of my lights to a main switch by the door, and the rest are in non-switched outlets controlled by the remote.

These sockets may be huge, but I couldn’t ask for them to function any better. They also feel like they’re actually full of something, so it’s not just a cheap design. If function is more important than fashion, these are the sockets for you. If looks are at the top of your list, I would encourage you to reconsider. For the price, I couldn’t ask for much more. I will upload some pictures of this socket to put its size into perspective. I will also update this review if anything changes. They have served me well for over two months. As of now, I would highly recommend these wireless sockets for anyone looking for wireless socket switches.

January 13, 2014 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Extremely Convenient

They’re all pretty much the same thing. Battery included and everything. Couldn’t be more satisfied!

My father has them set up all over his house and I have a set in my livingroom. it has a long range – will go through walls. as other people said, it does cover up the second outlet which is a pain in the butt. I love this and would recommend it.

Can’t beat the price for a great little automation gizmo. Wife loves it – we can light up the counter in the kitchen and 2 Curio cabinets with them. Everyone who’s seen it says they want to get one (and have).

These worked instantly and very well. They are pretty big, so don’t plan on using the other plug unless you run an extension (probably ill advised). The remote is curved, so I can’t hang it on the wall like I did the last one. Now I have to walk one whole step into the room. I think I’ll live.

First off, the socket switches are much larger than I expected and limit your ability to use the other socket in the outlet (if you have 2 like most outlets). For example, I could plug in another lamp below the switch, but my Ipad charger will not fit due to switch bulkiness. Second, the 3 button control is not flat on the back, its concave. To most this is not a big deal but I wanted to attach it to the wall with Velcro. I was still able to do so but it doesn’t stick nearly as well as a flat back remote would have with less Velcro space to hold it.

These switches have been a lifesaver. I attached a piece of velcro to the back of the remote and stuck it to the wall. Now I can use the remote like a light switch, or remove it from the wall and use it as a remote.

That’s where these babies come in handy. I can be as lazy as I want and with the push of a button, my fan / lamp is off or on. Or they can be used for something else, either way they are convenient.

I wouldn’t really recommend buying these for that purpose. If it’s in the same room though, you should be good to go. Please be aware these have some phantom power drain, but it likely doesn’t amount to more than a few pennies a year.

I’ve read reviews that said some of these didn’t work – mine all worked right out of the box and still work after several months of regular use (I use them for paintings with lights and buffet lamps). Very convenient. No issues so far, knock on wood!

December 22, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Fantastic! Shame So Many Companies Stopped Making Them

He has a hard time getting around so a remote for the outlets makes his day go a lot smoother. He has more than one set of these and so far we have no issues with clicking the remote on one side of the house and it affecting another…

That being said, I was somewhat skeptical at first because I was purchasing these for work as a bit of a child deterrant so we could shut things off remotely and not have to physically unplug the machines, but also to make closing up at night a little bit easier, and was pleasantly surprised.

Because of the technologies used, a fairly clear line of sight is required to shut off or turn on the plugged in devices, however in a small store like we have, that is not a problem at all. After nearly a month of use, there have been no problems at all and consider it money well spent!

there is no more bending over furniture or other hard to reach areas. This products remote even goes throuhg walls when in a differnet room and it comes with three wall units. only disappointing thing about this is that it only comes with one remote. overall very happy with this product.

This product turned out to be great! Easy to use and figure out how to use. Very inexpensive way to resolve my problems. I walk into a dark bedroom many a night. I have knee problems and going done five steps in the dark can get tricky. I was going to pay an electrician to put a motion sensored item at the top of my stairs. It turned into more money then I wanted for easy to turn on and off light. Then we thought about how every time I moved in my room the light would turn on.

So, I went to Amazon and found this set of three remote control assistance clicker. I put one on a light near my bed, my desk and near the path to the restroom. My grandchildren can hardly wait for night time in my bedroom. Now my problem is which grandchild gets to use the clicker when all three are around! Oh, I carry the clicker in my purse when I leave and near my bed when i am already in my bedroom. Great Product!

No worry or concern of electrical shock since no occupant comes in contact with harmful electric forces since the remote control is powered by a low voltage battery. Installation is as simple as plugging the module into a 120 volt receptacle then plugging the lighting, fan, appliance, etc into that module. Kit will operate up to 3 different circuits. Ofcourse you need to remember to keep the modules or the actual powered appliance/ lighting from coming into contact with pets or people if you are working in wet or potentially damp locations. Since the remote is battery powered you could safely control the moduled circuits while you are bathing or in a hot-tub but I would surmise this could result in a short life, due to high moisture exposure; especially if submerged, of the remote.

December 6, 2013 Outlet, , 0 Read more >

They Are Exactly What We Expected

The newer models allow you to program each socket to respond to any of the buttons on the two remotes provided. The instructions that came with the device are very poorly written. Poor English in some cases and incomplete instructions. There is no explanation of how to ‘un-program’ a button, and I was finding it impossible to get the two remotes to replicate one another. In some applications you want to program the remotes to control different devices, but in what I believe is the more common application you want the remotes to functional identically. If I program button number 1 on remote A, I want button number 1 on remote B to control the same socket. I would setup one remote, and then when I went to duplicate the process for the second remote some of the buttons stopped working on the first remote and vice-versa.

I reached out to customer support via email and got a quick response. The customer service rep (Tyler) was very helpful and informed me that each socket can only remember up to 3 buttons. So as soon as I tried programming a 4th button to a socket that had already been associated with 3 other buttons, it removed the association for one of the 3 previous buttons. Each button sends out a specific frequency. 5 different frequencies for buttons 1-5 on remote A, and another 5 frequencies for each of the buttons on remote B.

I explained that this is the setup I wanted, and that I wanted all buttons on both remotes A and B to behave identically. They are all hooked up to various lamps in my kids’ bedroom.

Button 1 – Device 1

Button 2 – Device 2

Button 3 – Device 3

Button 4 – Devices 1,2,3 (all at once)

Button 5 – Device 4

I wanted to place one remote in the dark and scary hallway for my kids to press on the way to their bedroom, and the the other remote right next to their bed so they can turn off the lights from the safety of their bed. They would especially like button #4 which turns all 3 light on all at once.

The rep informed me that this was not possible because the two remotes used different frequencies, and you couldn’t have socket associated with more then 3 frequencies (buttons). This is when I got pleasantly surprised. The rep offered to send me a remote that matched the frequencies of one of the remotes I already had. He explained that one remote had a number on the back, the other remote had no number. He would be sending me a duplicate remote in essence for the one without a number on the back – at no extra charge! He sent it USPS First Class. I reprogrammed the matching remote, and the one he sent me duplicated the programmed remote without any additional programming.

I was disappointed it uses strange batteries (12v A23) instead of the standard ones that the original non-learning remotes use, but I read they are smaller and provide more power for this type of application. I just ordered a five-pack of them on Amazon for under $7 and stuck them in my spare batteries drawer.

My kids are super happy campers and I am a happy parent, and now loyal customer of it. All companies should treat their customers this way.

December 1, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Works as Described, What’s Not to Like

I bought two sets because I knew I would need more than two remotes. I didn’t think I’d need 10 outlets. The hot water recirculation pump has a built-in timer, but the timer means it’s often running when we don’t need hot water and not running when we do need it. A remote motion-detector switch wouldn’t have been ideal because often we are in the bathrooms but don’t need hot water. Problem solved with the remote switches.

I’m now using the extra switches to control pretty much everything else in the house that doesn’t need to be on all the time (primarily AV equipment). So far I’ve found uses for 9 of the 10 outlets. With one remote next to the garage door opener it’s easy to make sure everything is switched off when we leave and then to turn on things we want on when we come home. With additional remotes next to our bed and in the bathrooms it’s pretty convenient. I’m not sure we’ll ever save enough electricity and gas (water heater) to justify the expense (plus replacement batteries for the remotes), but I feel better knowing that all those energy wasters are shut off when we don’t need them on.

So far I’m impressed. The range seems excellent and the on/off function seems rock solid. I was a little skeptical that they would work that well, but they’ve exceeded my expectations. Probably the best functioning remote devices I’ve ever had. I’ve only had them a week, but they seem very well built.

I’m giving them 4 stars only because they don’t sell the remotes by themselves. Otherwise I’d give them 5 stars. On the company’s own web site they list the remotes by themselves for a ridiculously high price that makes no sense. Based on the pricing of the packs the individual remotes should sell for less than $10 each. At that price I would probably buy a couple more remotes just to have them in more convenient places in the house.

Program the outlet and the remote control is very easy the only thing that is two remote working as one. You can’t not assign two outlet in two different room with same number in two different remote because when you press any remote the two outlet will turn off/on the same time. Right now just have to wait and see how long it last

The range for the remotes is outstanding and flawless to this point. I would definitely recommend this product to any household for making the process of turning lights on and off a simple and effortless push of a button.

November 27, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >