Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
by Smart Strip
|
List Price: Our Price: $29.29 You Save: $12.66 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $27.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
Customer Review: Good design with some unfortunate limitations
Summary: 3 Stars
This product is a great idea: a power strip that helps to save electricity costs by automatically shutting down idle equipment. This power strip also has a very useful design, with outlets spaced wide enough to accommodate the "wall wart" plugs that so many manufacturers use -- Apple being one notable exception.
I decided to use it with a Netgear RND4250 ReadyNAS NV+ 1 TB Desktop Network Storage (2x500GB) that I have configured to automatically shutdown at midnight every night and then power up the next morning. When I am sleeping, I don't need all the other networking equipment (routers, switches, broadband modem, my PC's LCD monitor, etc) to be consuming power equal to a 60 watt bulb, so I plugged them into the switched outlets.
Alas, the Smart Strip I bought from Amazon isn't sensitive enough to support this kind of switching. The Smart Strip would power up the equipment perfectly when the ReadyNAS turned on, but as soon as the ReadyNAS was idle and spun down its hard drives (how I have it set), then the Smart Strip would turn the equipment off. Obviously, a Network Access Storage device isn't very useful if all the connecting network equipment is off. Despite lots of on-and-off testing while adjusting the sensitivity of the Smart Strip, I couldn't get it to keep the network equipment powered up while the ReadyNAS was idle. In my case, when it is fully active the ReadyNAS NV+ consumes between 50-60 watts and when the drives are spun down it consumes about 25-30 watts. The Smart Strip wasn't sensitive enough to recognize that about 25 watts was not "sleep" mode.
In reviewing the BITS Limited web site, it appears there are older versions of the Smart Strip that have trouble with some newer equipment and require a "3rd Generation" strip. It's possible Amazon is selling the older strips or I got a defective unit; regardless, I returned it.
I still think the Smart Strip is a great idea, the physical layout of the plugs is much better than other power strips, and it offers great surge protection at a reasonable price. Alas, I couldn't get the one I bought from Amazon to work with my equipment.
Customer Review: best idea in power since power came to to the masses
Summary: 5 Stars
these smart strips just plain work. they are brilliantly conceived and the quality and functionality is great. some outlets (plugs) are always hot and some are hot only when you turn on the main device connected to a special plug; they are conditional or "smart". this is brilliant since i can not use my XBOX unless my TV is on; one gadget is dependent on the other. there is a perfect mix of always-on and "smart" plugs. i have yet to find myself without enough of either plug in a set up. i have 2 versions of these now; one for the TV system and one for my PC system. besides the power savings it's convenient to have the "smart" plugs connected to peripherals to save time when starting up. my light, printer and other items turn on when i fire up the PC. My Xbox is off until i turn on the TV and then it's ready to go.
in case you do not know already Benjamin Franklin did not just harness electricity, he was a conservationist and would be so fond of this invention. it is pricey but it is such a good idea that beyond the energy savings (think oil dependence not just cost) this makes your life better through efficiency. Suggestion: check out what S3 standby is (for your PC) on the internet and then see if your PC can be set up to use it. it's basically an instant on from something similar to sleep mode using almost no power. i use mine with keyboard activation so it takes about 4 seconds to launch everything on my desk with a press of any key and be productive or online.
Note; this does require a sufficient amount of power to go through the main outlet to activate the smart plugs. i tried it on my 17 inch iMac and even with the sensitivity adjuster (brilliant feature) i could not make it sense enough power change to activate and shut down the smart plugs. i suppose that is good for the iMac not drawing much power but bad in that i can not automatically shut down those peripherals like the sound system i have attached to it, which does draw a lot of power.
Customer Review: Actually works!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was pretty skeptical about this product when I first ordered it, but decided to try it anyway. I had recently read online that an XBox wastes around $17/year a receiver around $35/year and a subwoofer more like $50!
I got this, plugged the TV (42" LCD) into the sensed plug, the DVR into an always on plug and everything else into one of the slave plugs since I'm probably not going to watch a DVD or play XBox without the TV on. There is no unusual delay between when I hit the power button on the remote and when the TV and everything else turns on, its all pretty much instant, if I hadn't been so excited about getting this my wife wouldn't even know about it!(not that she really cared anyway) The layout of the plugs is nice, with 4 widely spaced plugs for transformer packs and all the grounds facing outward. I didn't have to fiddle with it at all, but there's an adjuster on the side if its not sensitive enough. I don't have any hard numbers for savings, but at least I feel like I'm doing my small part.
My only complaint, however small it may be, is that the wall plug from this is angled for some reason. This might not be a problem with vertical wall receptacles, but mine are horizontal in the baseboard, so it sticks up and puts some strain on the whole plug and cord system and just generally annoys me. I would definitely recommend this and would would love to see some numbers before and after.
Customer Review: What they don't tell you
Summary: 3 Stars
The switched outlets in my unit wouldn't turn on unless at least 60 watts was plugged into the control outlet, no matter how the sensitivity control was adjusted. My 50 watt halogen desk lamp wasn't enough. A 70W incandescent lamp worked. Of course, the 20W desk lamp I'd originally planned to use didn't work at all. The user guide, included in the package, claims 40W incandescent is enough, but I doubt it. Why not increase the range of the sensitivity control so even a 5W lamp would work? The advertising should clearly state the minimum load required. If I have to connect a 60W lamp everytime I use my laptop and peripherals, I may actually use more energy with the Smart Strip than without it. Not so smart.
Update - January, 2008. My review was based on a *discontinued*, according to BITS LTD, model shipped by Amazon in December, 2008. I purchased a recent model directly from BITS LTD and it works fine with a new MacBook Pro laptop and acceptably (sensitivity control needs to be set very precisely) with a 5-year old Powerbook (GHz Ethernet). In each case, the power brick was plugged into the control outlet. Considering that BITS LTD and I corresponded several times to understand and correct the issues, I'd give it four stars now. I give BITS LTD five stars for support, but not the unit Amazon sold.
Customer Review: Works well for remote desktop connections on XP
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I forget to write... Purchased if off GoldBox a
few weeks ago.
This unit worked out of the box for my application, no tweaking
or setup was required; A Dell Desk-side being accessed remotely
from a Dell Laptop. I do not use "suspend" as my disk image is
to large for a reliable suspend image.
I control 2 printers, 2 scanners, 2(+) USB HDDs', 2 LCD Monitors
and items as needed (such as MP players, Watcom tablets) with
no problems.
It is set this way as I am lazy and use the laptop late at night and
no longer have to get my buttocks out of bed to shut down the
system. I use the command line "shutdown" command remotely to turn
off the desk-side (I no longer use "wake on LAN" due to the
aforementioned suspend issue) as I find it convenient to hit
the power on the desk-side when required. This type of setup,
obviously, will not be the case for everyone. Hum... a "wake on
LAN" Ethernet port on the switch might be an interesting product enhancement??
For this application the unit is a dream and has faded into the
normal day to day operation and goes unnoticed, which is
a very good thing.
Best,
Joe