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02-05-2009, 07:59 AM
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Smart Power Strips
Has anyone used anything like this before?
Smart Strip Power Strip w/ Fax & Modem Protection - LCG4 - SmartHomeUSA.com 
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02-07-2009, 01:36 PM
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I have several of these in my home. I also recommended them to my employer, who has since purchased about 50 of them. I bought mine from Bits Limited :: Home of the Smart Strip, EASI Services, Pool Pals, Bits IRS. Save Energy. Save Time. Save Money.. I found that if I purchased them in cases that the price was substantially cheaper. I bought a case and then sold the extras to friends & coworkers at cost, so we all enjoyed the savings.
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02-09-2009, 08:41 AM
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Did you notice any cost savings? About how much a month...
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02-09-2009, 09:46 AM
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I'm also wondering how much you actually save by unplugging things or turning off power strips. I realize little savings can add up, but is it really worth spending the money for a bunch of power strips? Will you save enough to make that worth it? I don't want to spend $50 on power strips to save $5 on electricity.
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Steve * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular. * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything? * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.
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02-09-2009, 09:57 AM
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They are actually pretty convenient and work very well for something like home entertainment setups or computers. The downside is that there is frequently one or two items that you don't want turning off with everything else, so you are still paying to power them (A DVR, or wireless router for example, you'd probably want to keep powered).
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02-09-2009, 10:00 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Steve * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular. * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything? * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.
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02-09-2009, 10:09 AM
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I've been thinking about those power strips, but I would like to see savings for using them. I might get them even if I don't save alot...just an investment in using less energy overall as an environmental thing.
I'm also really interested inthe kill-a-watt meter. I might try to find a used one on ebay...and then resell it!!
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02-09-2009, 10:24 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Steve * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular. * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything? * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.
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02-09-2009, 01:48 PM
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I have a Kill-A-Watt meter but the instructions that they send aren't very instructive. They tell you what each button means but no real explanation on how to use it.
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02-09-2009, 01:50 PM
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In the same vein as the Kill-a-watt, you might want to check out The Energy Detective. It's a good bit more pricey, but you can monitor the power consumption of your entire household. Not as useful for isolating a particular device, but better for larger scale things like heat, A/C, etc. You can also isolate devices by keeping the rest of the stuff in your house at steady state, and cycling one device. Very easy to install, and my parents really like theirs. They have started saving ~20% on power bills just because they are more conscious of their usage.
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02-10-2009, 11:03 AM
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Sorry it's taken me so long to get back on this thread. I have a Kill a Watt meter, I used it largely to determine what was pulling electric in "off" mode and to see how much when compared to other things.
As far as savings, I do not have an exact figure on that. I implemented a bunch of things at once (new HE washer (1st HE died), smart strips, increased my use of CFLs, etc). When I did those things, my electricity dropped a consistent 30% from year to year. So, I feel that they did help but I can't quantify by how much. I can tell you that the cabinet that I keep all my components (DVD, tivo, stereo, vcr) in is no longer warm when things have been off all day. Now the cabinet is the same temp as the rest of the room, so that's a difference I could definitely notice. I bought mine in bulk at a cost of $18, so that also helped shorten the payback time. I like them because they take the work out of turning things off at the strip. Some things are not convenient to turn off, but these strips make it effortless.
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02-10-2009, 11:06 AM
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02-10-2009, 11:21 AM
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However, it reduces the amount of power you can actually save. As far as I know, the "switch" device is also not disconnected. So if you are switching everything off the TV and use a DVR (which would make sense), two of your devices (likely the two biggest energy consumers) would still be drawing power.
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02-10-2009, 11:41 AM
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Cabinet Stereo - drives the smart strip, the control device VCR - shuts off if stereo is off DVD - shuts off if stereo is off Tivo - hot all the time TV strip contains the TV and the Wii, each night we manually flip the switch on a regular power strip that I positioned in a convenient location. I hope that helps....
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02-11-2009, 02:19 PM
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I would use mine for the computer...
PC as main controlling monitor, printer, speakers and cable modem. Even if it's 2/month... it will eventually pay for itself.
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03-23-2009, 08:55 AM
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So I bought one and it works as advertised. Will report back on power savings...
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