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Smart Strip SCG3 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology
See it at Amazon.com for $20.49Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Just Works!
(5 out of 5) by M. Shanafelt on Oct 7, 2007 (Hollidaysburg, PA United States)Setup was incredibly easy, just adjust the dial. It took less than 30 seconds. Now I'm able to turn off the Wii and Stereo when the TV is off, which will save enough electricity to pay for the Smart Strip in about 9 months.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Works well!
(5 out of 5) by Ernest S. on Mar 7, 2008 (Reston, VA USA)I am using this product for my entertainment center which includes an HDTV, Tivo, network router, DVD player and Xbox 360. Using the control device allows me to shut the power off to my DVD player and Xbox 360 -- saving me about 15W of energy.
It probably won't affect my electric bill much, but it does make me feel good that I'm not wasting as much electricity. Plus, it's a lot more convenient than my old power strip behind the TV.
It probably won't affect my electric bill much, but it does make me feel good that I'm not wasting as much electricity. Plus, it's a lot more convenient than my old power strip behind the TV.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Hard to adjust; Didn't work in a simple setup.
(2 out of 5) by Richard Rubinstein on Apr 6, 2009A smart power strip is a great idea. I'm going around my house finding things that consume power when they're not in use, and making sure they're off when they're supposed to be off.
This smart power strip is supposed to be just the right thing, and if you can get it adjusted properly, it will work as advertised. But I had a lot of trouble with it. I first tried it with my TV setup, to turn off the amplifying antenna, digital converter box, Roku box, and TV when I'm not using the TV. I did this by plugging a lamp into the control socket. It was a low-power CFL lamp, using about 12 watts when on (and of course, zero when off), and I was unable to make the Smart Strip go on and off reliably. I tried two different bulbs with different power consumptions. After a dozen attempts to adjust the screw setting, I gave up.
In the end, I used a standard power strip to turn that TV stuff on and off, but it's less convenient than using the Smart Strip would have been.
But I persisted. I connected my PC to the Smart Strip unit, so it could turn off the LCDs and speakers when the computer was hibernating. After much tweaking and frustration, I was able to find a setting that worked for this very standard Dell computer. But it wasn't easy, and I was angry by the time it worked, and not confident that it would continue to work. I returned the unit to Amazon.
Instead, I bought an APC Power-Saving Essential Surgearrest power strip Apc Power-saving Essential Surgearrest 7 Outlet with tel 120V for about the same price. It worked on the PC the first time. It has no adjustments at all. No frustration and a big smile. I recommend the APC unit instead of this one.
One note: APC advises that anything taking more than about 15 watts when in the low-power state (sleep or hibernate) won't trigger their unit to shut off. This is a better arrangement, and caused no problems for me.
This smart power strip is supposed to be just the right thing, and if you can get it adjusted properly, it will work as advertised. But I had a lot of trouble with it. I first tried it with my TV setup, to turn off the amplifying antenna, digital converter box, Roku box, and TV when I'm not using the TV. I did this by plugging a lamp into the control socket. It was a low-power CFL lamp, using about 12 watts when on (and of course, zero when off), and I was unable to make the Smart Strip go on and off reliably. I tried two different bulbs with different power consumptions. After a dozen attempts to adjust the screw setting, I gave up.
In the end, I used a standard power strip to turn that TV stuff on and off, but it's less convenient than using the Smart Strip would have been.
But I persisted. I connected my PC to the Smart Strip unit, so it could turn off the LCDs and speakers when the computer was hibernating. After much tweaking and frustration, I was able to find a setting that worked for this very standard Dell computer. But it wasn't easy, and I was angry by the time it worked, and not confident that it would continue to work. I returned the unit to Amazon.
Instead, I bought an APC Power-Saving Essential Surgearrest power strip Apc Power-saving Essential Surgearrest 7 Outlet with tel 120V for about the same price. It worked on the PC the first time. It has no adjustments at all. No frustration and a big smile. I recommend the APC unit instead of this one.
One note: APC advises that anything taking more than about 15 watts when in the low-power state (sleep or hibernate) won't trigger their unit to shut off. This is a better arrangement, and caused no problems for me.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
This device works as advertised only if you use it appropriately
(4 out of 5) by Pilchard on Jan 16, 2009 (Connecticut)This is a review of the Smart Strip SCG3 / 049418906 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology product offered by Amazon.com.
This product when plugged in with no load, uses virtually no power. In my home it is controlled by my TV set. The devices which power on and off (the controlled devices) include an Xbox 360 (Elite), PS3 (60 GB), a Wii and an 8 port Ethernet switch.
Using a Kill A Watt, my power savings vs not having this switch are about $2-$3 per month, depending on how long the set is on for. The longer the set is on (that my kids play) the less is saved. My electric rate per KWH is about 18 cents.
This device will pay for itself in 10-15 months using my configuration.
To know how long it will take to pay for itself in your home, you'll need a Kill A Watt or similar product, and will need to measure the power off energy consumption of the devices which will be turned off by this product.
In my opinion any product which pays for itself in under 2 years is a reasonable purchase.
If I had fewer devices controlled, or if they were different devices, the only way to tell if this would save enough energy to justify the cost is by using a Kill A Watt or similar device.
My suggestion is to take the $30 you'd spend on this, and purchase a Kill A Watt first, then you'll know the energy consumption of the appliances which this device will fully power down. You need to measure them in the off state to determine if this energy strip is viable for your situation.
I personally prefer the Kill A Watt 4460 as you can enter your energy cost, and it will tell your what an appliance costs to use per day, week, month or year.
Purchasing this strip without a measurement of energy use from the controlled devices, is making a guess, maybe an educated guess, about power savings.
Our devices are controlled by a 47" LCD TV, and no adjusting of sensitivity was required. My guess is any large appliance can control all smaller appliances on a circuit.
This appears to be a reasonable product to use when controlling devices linked to a TV or home Computer. It may have difficulty with some energy efficient laptops.
This product when plugged in with no load, uses virtually no power. In my home it is controlled by my TV set. The devices which power on and off (the controlled devices) include an Xbox 360 (Elite), PS3 (60 GB), a Wii and an 8 port Ethernet switch.
Using a Kill A Watt, my power savings vs not having this switch are about $2-$3 per month, depending on how long the set is on for. The longer the set is on (that my kids play) the less is saved. My electric rate per KWH is about 18 cents.
This device will pay for itself in 10-15 months using my configuration.
To know how long it will take to pay for itself in your home, you'll need a Kill A Watt or similar product, and will need to measure the power off energy consumption of the devices which will be turned off by this product.
In my opinion any product which pays for itself in under 2 years is a reasonable purchase.
If I had fewer devices controlled, or if they were different devices, the only way to tell if this would save enough energy to justify the cost is by using a Kill A Watt or similar device.
My suggestion is to take the $30 you'd spend on this, and purchase a Kill A Watt first, then you'll know the energy consumption of the appliances which this device will fully power down. You need to measure them in the off state to determine if this energy strip is viable for your situation.
I personally prefer the Kill A Watt 4460 as you can enter your energy cost, and it will tell your what an appliance costs to use per day, week, month or year.
Purchasing this strip without a measurement of energy use from the controlled devices, is making a guess, maybe an educated guess, about power savings.
Our devices are controlled by a 47" LCD TV, and no adjusting of sensitivity was required. My guess is any large appliance can control all smaller appliances on a circuit.
This appears to be a reasonable product to use when controlling devices linked to a TV or home Computer. It may have difficulty with some energy efficient laptops.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Great Concept
(4 out of 5) by Virginia on Apr 13, 2008 (Oreland, PA USA)This item, sadly, is incompatible with my Dell laptop. Check with the manufacturer before buying is you use a Dell lapttop, it is also incompatible with my son's.