May 02 2008
Protect Your Electronics While Monitoring Electricity Usage
Power strips have been one of the greatest inventions of all time. They allow us to safely plug in a mass quantity of electrical devices in one spot, cutting down on the extension cord mazes throughout the house. Most models even come with its own circuit breaker, protecting our devices should our home be struck by lightning or experience an unusual power surge. I couldn’t think of any other ways to improve this already efficient product; but thankfully there is someone out there that can. There is a new power strip in town, and it not only offers protection, but helps save on utility costs.
I have seen this new power strip pop up recently all over the e-commerce market. It is the Cost Controller Power Strip, and I must say it sounds impressive. It looks like an ordinary power strip with a little LCD screen attached. What it does is allow you to see just how much electricity usage each device is drawing. This can be very valuable information if you leave a lot of home office machines in the “always-on” mode, as it will show you just how much it is costing you to do so. There are varied opinions on whether to power down at the end of each day, or leave everything in stand-by mode. This will give you the tools to make your own decision. After all, it is coming out of your pocket.
The Cost Controller has eight outlets, giving you a good amount of coverage for either your home office or entertainment system. Better yet, it protects your extremely valuable electronics against any voltage spikes, giving you peace of mind for that large plasma TV or state-of-the-art computer system. I am betting that even your home owner’s insurance guy will hug you if you stock your home with a few of these.
It is a bit pricey at roughly a hundred bucks. However, if you think about it you could potentially cut down your electric bill by more than that in the first year, given you analyze the data and make the appropriate decisions to turn off what is not in use. And who doesn’t want to do that, with the way energy costs are skyrocketing towards the moon? I am tempted to walk around my house, with all of the kids of course, and take turns plugging in each gadget they tend to leave on for days at a time. My oldest daughter’s radio in her bedroom is the first stop, followed by that hallway light I am replacing bulbs for every week. Then I am going to use one for my saltwater fishtank that runs 7 or 8 power suckers, and that’s a 24/7/365 electricity abuser. Maybe then I will have a good defense of why we need to get rid of the 120-gallon rectangular wonder in our family room.
Well, I am off to go convince the wife why we should spend $100 on a power strip. It should go well, as long as I can make her see the savings side of it. Good luck to whoever tries this one out, I think it is well worth the dough and a good (yet small) way to stick it to those power companies.
