MetaEfficient Reviews » Power Saving Devices

TED 5000 Household Power Meter – Improve Home Energy Efficiency

benjamin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:23:06 +0000

TED 5000 Household Power Meter (photo: The Energy Detective)

It’s no secret that cutting your household energy consumption is a great way to reduce your environmental footprint. It’s also a great way to save money on your utility bills. But to pinpoint the best places to reduce power use, you need to know exactly where your power is going – no small task considering the number of devices, appliances, and fixtures in an average home. Enter the TED 5000 energy meter, a nifty tool to precisely track your home energy use.

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Review: Smart Power Strips

Justin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:04:34 +0000

I’ve been testing a surging-protecting power strip called the Smart Strip by BITS. The Smart Strip works like this: it has a “Control Outlet” which controls six other outlets on the power strip. If you plug a computer into the Control Outlet, and it turns off or goes into sleep mode, the other “switched” outlets on the strip will be turned off. There are also three other outlets that are “always on”. Most people use this power strip to turn off all their computer peripherals, or to shut down their home theater system, when they turn off their television.

If you use a notebook computer with an external monitor (as I do) you’ll have to set things up a bit differently, because laptops don’t cause a large enough power dip for the power strip to detect. To solve this problem, you can use your monitor as the Control Outlet (see more details here).

Smart Strips are available from Amazon.

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Solar Powered 12 Volt Battery Charger

Justin — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 22:04:47 +0000

Solar powered 12 volt battery chargers are small solar panels that trickle charge your car’s battery while the sun is shining.

Basically, the solar charger provides a small amount of power to the battery, so that if you leave your car’s door open you won’t be left with a dead battery.

This reminds me: I’ve always wondered why cars don’t incorporate a small switch to turn off interior lights and headlights if they’ve been on for say a hour or two.

The best 12V solar charger I’ve found is the Sunforce 50012 1.8 Watt Solar Battery Maintainer. You can plug this 1.8-watt solar charger into your vehicle’s 12-volt lighter socket and position the panel to pick up the most daylight possible. Or, if you prefer, use the alligator clips to connect it directly to the battery, so you can keep your lighter socket open for cell phone chargers or other accessories.

The Sunforce solar car charger is available from Amazon for $34.95.

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Efficient Power Adaptor: PowerSquid

Justin — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:01:33 +0000

This piece of electrical cordage is called a PowerSquid. It lets you connect multiple devices, even with big power converters, to a single outlet. It even has its own home page. They also have version that incorporate surge protection and other electrical interference. Available from Amazon for $11.99

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Tumi Electrical Adaptor for Travel

Justin — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 06:45:27 +0000

From Tumi comes this device that combines many electrical adaptors into one. It has configurations for 120 countries, all in one unit.

Available from: Tumi ($50)

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Wind-Up Universal Remote Control

Justin — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 04:59:54 +0000

This is a remote control that you can charge by turning a small hand crank — thus eliminating the need for batteries. You can control six different devices with the remote, including your television, DVD player, VCR, cable, satellite, and an auxiliary module. The wind-up generator requires only 30 revolutions for a full charge, which will last seven days. It’s priced at $24.99. Available from Smart Home.

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Hand-Powered Night Vision Scope

Justin — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 19:17:46 +0000

This device is a night vision scope, but it doesn’t require any batteries. Instead, it’s has a lever-activated power supply, so you can generate your own power ad hoc. You’ll can see in the night without fear of an energy failture. It is priced around $200. See Camping Station or other vendors.

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Powerstrips That Detect Your Presence In a Room

Justin — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 01:41:42 +0000

This powerstrip, called the Isole IDP-3050, is unique because six of its eight outlets are controlled by a motion sensor. You could plug your monitor, desk lamp and space heater into the strip, and they will be turned off automatically when you leave the room.

The sensor has a 120 degree coverage, and the off-time may be set from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. It’s available from EFI for $78.

A similar device, called the Smart Power Strip, will turn off appliances based on whether or not your computer is turned on. It’s priced at $35 from Amazon.

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