Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: wireless controled switch

Perfect For An Energy-Saver Like Me

Well, I was looking for something I didn’t think was possible to find:

- slim design

- always on outlets along with the ability to truly power some off

- reasonable length cord

- decent remote control (both looks and function)

I got all of the above with this product. It is tucked away in a cabinet where I don’t have to see it (and I don’t have mikes of cord taking up the rest of the cabinet area), with my laptop in one of the “always on” outlets. BlackBerry, iPad, and my husband’s phone charger are in the remote-controlled outlets. Every morning after I read the news on my iPad, I plug it in and use the remote. When our devices are charged, off go the outlets. The remote is slim and unobtrusive. I also can’t complain about the price.

Personally, I don’t like paying more than $50 a month in electricity, especially when there are things I can do to reduce “phantom” energy usage. I bought the 8 plug model over 2 years ago and am still loving it. I actually bought a 2nd 10 plug one a few months ago and thought I’d send out a review for both.

6 of the plugs are connected to the remote switch with 2 being available for always on performance. I connected my DVR and TV to the always on plugs with my router, cable modem, PS3 and receiver on the remote.

I keep the remote upstairs by my desktop computer (also on the a conserve switch) so I can turn on the internet whenever I use the desktop. There is also a switch on the surge protector so you can turn the remote-controlled plugs on and off without the remote. Since I have two Conserve units, I set both of them to the same frequency and they both work off the same remote. I use the upstairs desktop sparingly and it helps eliminate the phantom power draw from the power supply of the desktop when it is off. I used the handy to figure it cut 90% of energy usage for my desktop when off.

I did the math and it easily saves me 2-5 dollars a month in energy consumption on my router and modem alone vs. being on 24/7. I turn the router and modem off while I am at work or am not using the devices. It really pays for itself over the course of a year or two.

Eliminate power consumption on low use items that consume electricity even while off. Will pay for itself over the course of a few years. Multiple units can be controlled from same remote. At least 30 foot radius for the RF remote, no line of sight needed (I haven’t tried longer but that’s about how far mine is from the downstairs unit)

November 13, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Remote Station: A Tale Of Discovery, Confusion, And Abject Laziness. Or, The American Dream

It’s become part of the overall scheme I have to slowly reduce my electricity consumption, and I plan to purchase a few more over the next few months.

While this surge protector is much larger than any of the standard power strips I own, and thus is harder to hide away behind a cabinet, the extra size makes it easy to utilize all of the outlets. I don’t actually understand why it’s so large, and the extra plastic on the end, designed for keeping cords wrapped around it and, presumably, organized, is fairly useless and annoying. But, the remote control is very convenient, and I used the included double-sided tape to stick it next to my light switch. This makes it easier to remember to turn it off when I’m not using it.

The two always-on outlets are great, because I can keep my clock powered while turning off my cable box, my PS3 and all my various chargers when I leave the house. In general, it’s hard to compare surge protectors, but the always-on outlets definitely make this one stand out from the crowd.

I was pleased to discover that one could set the devices on different channels. I had not known this and was initially frustrated that the remote was turning off both surge protectors on two different floors. This means the remote has good range. Now I set the individual surge protectors to different channels and I can turn off one set of devices without effecting the others. I have one for my home entertainment system and lights, one for upstairs tv, cable box and light, the third for my computer/home office. For the home entertainment system I leave the DVR plugged in all the time to record my programs and the TV and other plugs are plugged in the remote controlled outlets that I turn off when not in use. For those that do not know, the TVs even when idle drain a lot of electricity, and so do other electrical devices, so this saves power. The remote I put on the wall by the entrance which is also convenient to turn on lamps that are not connected to convenient light switches. The other surge protector I have upstairs for another TV as well. That cable box is not DVR so I turn it off when not in use and yes it takes time to boot up but not very long. The Fios box,and the battery backup are plugged in the plugs that are always on. The third is set up for my computer with my modem and router plugged into the outlets that are always on and the other devices for my computer are plugged in the remote controlled ones. This is useful when you go away or when you do not want to waste electricity. I put the remote switch on my desk.

I should add that one important feature which made me buy this particular surge protector is the spacing of the outlets. The outlets are spaced apart to allow plugs and chargers that normally do not fit next to each other to fit. On other power strips and surge protectors I have I cannot fit the plugs and chargers together which is an annoyance. Being able to utilize all the plugs of a surge protector is to me is a big plus! Many of my plugs are bulky and this allows one to put them side by side.

I have been pleased thus far with this product and am planning on buying a fourth one.

November 11, 2013 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >

Works Great And As Expected

The remotes works exactly as expected. Since I have an office and just work at home at night and on the weekends, I wanted an easy way to completely shutdown my home monitor, printer, and ext hard drives when I am not using them. This worked great. It costs $30 on Amazon and $35 at my local Home Depot. Unless you have Prime shipping, it is probably not worth buying online if you have a local Home Depot or Lowes.

I’m one of those people that switch off their power strip/surge protectors; when seated at my desk I only need to lean a few inches (maybe a foot at most) towards the floor to knock the green-lit selector into the off position.

My Enercell worked fine; however, while purchasing beginning-of-the-year crap, I decided to buy a surge protector with a wall insert that was flush with the wall rather than a protrusion (note: yes I know that last part wasn’t exactly technical), and was tempted by the promise of being able to ‘manage [my] power use via remote control’.

These are not the ho-hum benefit statements of yore; Belkin is promising, in effect, to add seconds (possibly ten seconds on aggregate) to my life. And remember kids, we are ALL selling convenience…

…and so I bought it, and it screamed from some state in the interior of this country (with the other crap for the year that is now upon us) to solve the “energy cliff” which I was so precariously teetering off of. I unplugged everything, rewired it all into the Belkin, and like Link holding up the Master Sword, held the remote above my head and clicked.(!)

And it didn’t bloody work. I repeatedly clicked it, and it repeatedly didn’t work.

I unplugged it all, plugged everything back into the Enercell, and started reading the manual. And then I logged back onto Amazon to read the reviews, somewhat like your doing now (only somwhat because you are actually reading an unboxing epic), when I noticed in the preview pics that the remote was mounted on the wall.

In order for it to be mounted on the wall, there would have to be a wall mount. But there was none in the box! They denied me a wall mount! I was certain that words would be exchanged with a Belkin customer service representative!

But nay! Upon closer inspection, I noticed the other pics with the remote out of the wall mount…and realized it came shipped inside of the wall mount. It was like studying epistemology for the first time, all over again.

Quite frankly, whatever time would have been saved by purchasing the Belkin Conserve Switch Energy-Saving Surge Protector with Remote has been spent writing this review. Buy it, get what you expected, and always remember friends…

November 10, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Cut Your Energy Bill!!

It’s all buried behind the entertainment system. You do have to push relatively hard on the switch to ensure it turns on/off, but otherwise functions very well. Kills 126 watts (Killawatt used for testing) of idle power draw from the six components hooked up to it. A couple of KW a day at 30 cents a KW… it’ll pay for itself in just a few months.

We had a lamp in the corner of the room that we liked to turn on to add light to the room but you would have to reach over a couch to turn it on. We hooked it up to this and put the switch by the other light switch and it works great. Saves us some time and effort turning it on and off. I also like that it has constant on outlets for things you don’t want controlled by the remote. I wish i would have bought a few more while they were on sale.

The remote switches were very easy to set up with a different configuration for each computer (it took about 45 seconds to reset the configuration so each remote switch would work only one system). Switching on and off is absolutely as simple as it gets. This is a winner if you want to switch off your electronics when not using them to save electricity.

You know, almost every single product now have a so-called “idle” mode and that’s where the energy and money are wasted. I have my router and modem plugged in the always-on outlet, along with my TV, PS3, sound system plugged-in the “Remote-Switched Outlets”. I’ve seen some people here mention about the remote not working, or whatsoever problem with it.

Here I got some little tricks for you:

I believe this remote would put itself into “idle” mode, therefore, if you simply just switch on and off, it might not work all the way you want. So, I recommend you press the same side down first, before you switch it to the other side.

Sounds complicated? here’s an example:

If your remote is on “I” (which means on, closed circuit), and you want to turn it off. You simply press down on “I” first (in my words- to wake the remote up), then switch it to “O” (off), vice versa.

I love this surge protector and am STRONGLY RECOMMEND it. Great product!!

So far they are working pretty good. Occasionally they do require a firmer or repeated pressing to go on or off but after several months so far it still works pretty good. Id recommend it. If it breaks I will update with an appropriate response.

Running one of these power strips on every TV and computer in the house

will easily knock $25 – $35 dollars a month off of your electric bill! Why pay the utility company for the time you NOT using your devices? In these days when utility rates

are jacked up so unjustifiably high you have do everything you can from being raped the by utility companies! These strips are wall mountable, have cable management hooks and the remote switch can be taped or screwed to the wall and should be placed next to a light switch to make sure it gets used. Bottom line it’s a little pricey but it will definitely pay for it shelf in 1-2 months time!

November 7, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Very Handy For Remote On-off of Things On Power Strip

Works great. I did the math and it saves about 3-4 dollars per item a year if it is just turned off at night. It will take a few years to pay for itself but worth it to me. The remote only works about 10-15 feet away.

Bought 5, then realized I needed 6, then realized I needed 7, then 8… then bought two as gifts. No problems with stuck rocker switch whatsoever. Remote control comes in a cover with double-sided tape on the back; or you can remove it. You can obviously use one switch with as many units as you’d like, or split them up on up to 8 channels if the neighbors aren’t also using these. I’ve only had the occasional issue with “oops one power strip didn’t get the off/on signal”, in which case you just hold down the switch a bit longer. No dead units so far.

The surge protection for cable modems only comes with the 10-outlet model.

All the cords plug into this on a shelf under the built-in desk and we use the remote to turn things on and off. Has been working well for these several years.

So this fall when I got out our fancy low-voltage electric mattress pad, I realized we needed a second one of these. Being low voltage and queen size, the mattress pad has two brick size transformers, one for each side of the bed, separate from the controls. Even when the mattress pad is off, these things make a high-pitched buzzing noise. And we only have the mattress pad turned on to warm the bed up before we get in.

This product works great for this–the power strip sits on the floor under the bed, along with the transformers. The two transformers plug into outlets that are operated by the remote. Our alarm clock and bedside lamp plug into the two outlets on the power strip that are always “on” regardless of the remote. Now, we just have to click on the remote which is on the bedside table and turn on the mattress pad an hour before bedtime, then click off the remote to shut the mattress pad and the transformer noise off at bedtime.

*TIP* : if you are buying more than one of these, or buying your second one, you definitely need to change the sync switches to a new code so your remote operates the strip you intend to operate. I found that our remote in the home office does turn on and off the new power strip in the bedroom and vice versa, even though there is a wall and 15ft in between them. Once I changed the sync switches to a new code, problem solved. And it is easier to make this change initially, before you start plugging everything in.

November 5, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Great Energy Saving Surge Protector

This unit also has a remote control that I love. I have the items that I do not use all the time when I watch TV connected to the plugs that are controlled by the remote, so they are not powered up until I need them. The TV and U-verse box are plugged into the two receptacles that have power to them all the time, but all eight are protected.

In addition I have a networked file server in the same location that I didn’t want to shut down, so the power center was perfect for my needs!

Slim flat design makes it fit easily under things like cabinet or shelves. Widely spaced sockets accommodate brick style power supplies for devices like modems & routers. Clearly marked and laid out design allows easy set up and use.

I have a desktop setup in a room different from where my networking devices are housed, so I wanted to be able to shut down my internet/router if there was ever a need to (i.e. connection or system outage) without having to go to another room and then unplug each device and then reconnect them. I attached the remote switch to the desk in an out of the way location so it wouldn’t be mistakenly switched. It’s about 30 feet from the power strip and I’ve had it over 2 years, and it works perfectly. Granted I don’t switch things off an on with it constantly, just whenever it’s needed. So that maybe why I haven’t had any problems with the remote switch like others have had. I can highly recommend this for any kind of remote power switching for all kind of uses and would purchase another with out hesitation as the experience I’ve had so far has been great!

Which can be a pain if it is buried behind your desk and not easy to reach. But it works as expected and I figure it will pay for itself pretty quickly now that I am eliminating vampire power from a lot of computers and electronics.

The power strip was delivered on time in Amazon’s hassle-free packaging. The battery in the remote unit was dead so I had to replace it. The battery is commonly found in Staples, Office Depot, Radio Shack, etc. for $2-3.

The power strip itself seems to be well made. The build quality of the remote however could be better. The mechanism inside the remote provides for a cheap “click” feel. The remote does have an LED that is illuminated when it’s sending a signal to the power strip which is a nice.

Overall the remote and power strip works as advertised. I bought this item because I have a room which does not have a switch-controlled outlet. This power strip allows me to turn on and off a floor lamp when I enter/exit the room.

November 4, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >