Cutting down your electricity bills April 2, 2008

Speaking of energy saving…

[Press Release] New Belkin Conserve features a “one-touch” wireless remote control that allows for easy managing the power usage for your electronic devices, driving down both energy waste and electrical bills. There are two sets of outlets on the surge protector: 2 are the “Always On” outlets, and 6 are the “Wireless Switched” outlets. According to the California Energy Commission, standby power (aka phantom power) losses, attributed from plugged-in electrical appliances in standby or switched off mode, can be as high as 15% of total electricity usage in an average household. Devices plugged into the Wireless Switched outlets can be turned completely off, using the remote control, to save power when not in use.

Belkin Conserve

Even better, Smart Strip Power Strip can automatically detect when your computer is switched off or on sleep mode and turn off the outlets on your peripherals to save standby power loss. The Smart Strip Power Strip consists of a “Control” outlet, 6 “Switched” outlets, and 3 “Constant Hot” outlets. Constant Hot outlets function the same way as Always On outlets on a Belkin Conserve. Devices plugged into these outlets remain powered at all times. Switched outlets are similar to Wireless Switched outlets, except that power is not controlled by a remote control but automatically determined by the strip according to the status of the Control outlet. For example, a CPU plugged into the Control outlet can have a monitor, a set of speakers, a printer and an external hard drive plugged into the Switched outlets. When the computer shuts down (i.e. CPU switched off), peripherals in the Switched outlets will automatically get switched off as well.

Smart Strip Power Strip

As companies are moving forward with an energy efficiency and management vision, new products not only have built-in energy saving features but also monitoring abilities to track when exactly energy is consumed and how much energy is consumed so as to better manage the use of electricity and cost control. P3’s Kill A Watt PS not only displays different power usage indicators (such as voltage, line frequency, amperage, KWH/leakage) but it also calculates (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) electrical expenses and forecasts. Understanding the operating costs and efficiency of electronics can help you manage your bills in the long run.

Kill A Watt PS

Owning information is the door to success. That’s what makes the Internet (and Google etc.) powerful tool in the modern age. However, actual success comes only with analytical and managing skills. Modern products should be able to help users collect, analyze, and convert data into useful information. Perhaps a downloadable, real-time tracking of energy use for an entire household? Remotely stored database/network to monitor energy use at home while you’re at work or on travel? What’s more?