Most obvious statement of CES: To conserve energy, turn off power!

Belkin must need to score some points with Al Gore, because they announced an energy-reducing power strip that you can... turn off. The aptly-named Conserve has eight power outlets, six of which can be toggled on or off using a wireless remote. While the strip will shut down stores worldwide in the summer and fall for $49.99, you should know you can get the same effect right now just by flipping the "off" switch on your existing power strip.

[Brad @ Jan 8th 2008 7:38AM]

It's a nice start. A lot of us have our power strips hidden behind our desks in a pillow of dust bunnies, so this is actually a quite welcome device. What I would like is a strip that physically unplugs appliances when switched off, as there is a continuous power draw from anything that is plugged in, even when turned off.

[Jorge @ Jan 8th 2008 9:11AM]

Good idea. I just patented it. Sucker!

[Jorge @ Jan 8th 2008 9:42AM]

I just read the product specs from the belkin website and apparently this power strip eliminates phantom power which is the wasted energy that comes from plugged in appliances. Do regular old power strips with on/off buttons also eliminate phantom power or is this feature specific to this particular powerstrip?

[chibi @ Jan 8th 2008 12:16PM]

Ummm... That's what a power strip does, it disconnects power when the switch is off. In other words, you appliance is completely off when the power strip is off.

The remote button is a great idea, it makes cutting power simple so there are no excuses. Now they just need a small addon to also shutdown the PC before cutting power.

[nh @ Jan 8th 2008 10:56AM]

If there's a physical break in the circuit, there will be no power drawn. Here in the UK all wall sockets have a physical switch which breaks the circuit and stops the phantom power loss. It is equivalent to pulling the plug.

Am I right in thinking that some wall sockets in the US do not have an on/off switch and are always live? In that case you rely on the device's own off switch, which may not break the circuit completely, typically one side of the transformer will still be live. This adapter physically breaks the circuit so the device receives no power at all.

Yes this will use power to listen for the radio 'on' signal, but that is a small cost compared to having 6 devices permanently on standby.

[SuperPrime @ Jan 8th 2008 7:39AM]

Hold on a minute. If the remote is wireless then the powerstrip itself rests in standby all the time consuming more power than a regular powerstrip.

In fact I'm willing to bet it consumes more with the wireless thingy than the other devices that are on standby plugged into it.

[Magallanes @ Jan 8th 2008 10:57AM]

So, the best solution (also cheap) is the old method to unplug the cord.

[TimB @ Jan 8th 2008 8:20AM]

Fortunately low power radio receivers are very efficient so I would not worry. From some one who makes is my bedtime ritual to turn off all power sockets etc its nice not to have to crawl around under the desk.

Its not new though, in the UK there are a number around from strips to individual adaptors. Is it worth while? Well here's some figures from the BBC web site

Figures from the Energy Saving Trust on standby power use in the UK home are astonishing:

* Stereos on standby cost £290m ($580m) and produce 1.6 million tonnes of CO2
* VCRs and DVD cost £194m ($388m) and produce 1.06 million tonnes of CO2
* TVs on standby cost £88m ($176m) and produce 480,000 tonnes of CO2

It means that in one year, in the UK alone, our equipment on standby produces a total of 3.1 million tonnes of CO2.

Remember there are only 65m in the UK!

[Magallanes @ Jan 8th 2008 10:56AM]

My microwave can spend in just a few minutes the same energy used of many standby devices in the course of a entire month.

Standby feature is a problem but a minor one and recently overlabeled as the big guilty.

[NHAnimator @ Jan 8th 2008 8:31AM]

This isn't a bad idea, but where I use power strips, there is always at least one thing plugged in which needs to have constant power to stay online/updated (e.g. STB, cable modem, router). If some outlets are switchable and some are not, then it's a good start.

Of course with UPS's, this might be a bit tough to pull off: some outlets battery-backed up, some outlets on all the time, some outlets switchable.

[Cory @ Jan 8th 2008 8:55AM]

Good news then. The article says that six of the outlets are switchable, which leaves the other two continuously on. My 8 year old APC surge protector is the same way, except that it doesn't have a nifty remote.

[alexander @ Jan 8th 2008 8:53AM]

I've got a Harmony remote to reduce the clutter of remotes so RF is a no-go. Put an infrared eye on it (or connect one via cable if you have the strip in an inaccesible place), make each socket individually switchable and I'll buy one.
Even better, put a little webserver into it and you could turn on and off devices via the Internet/home network (handy if you want to cycle power on a non-responsive PC).

[Doug Jensen @ Jan 8th 2008 10:46AM]

There are scads of web enabled power outlet strips with a variety of features (e.g., control each outlet individually) and at a variety of prices. Check out eBay and Google.

[Neil @ Jan 8th 2008 9:01AM]

I wouldn't mock this as much as the writer, Erik Hanson, is. There are a few strips that I have where some of the devices need to be running while others could easily be turned off. Does that mean that I should have multiple power strips? I don't think that's reasonable. I actually see this product as a creative solution for a problem that I face. My question involves the ease of turning individual outlets on and off with the remote.

[Tom @ Jan 8th 2008 11:49AM]

This remote doesn't have 6 buttons, so it's easy to see it's not going to do individual circuit breaking.

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Jan 8th 2008 9:08AM]

I use a power strip at home that easily fits 8 "bricks" and has individual on/off switches... great for the home theater and the PC!

http://www.progearwarehouse.com/PC-8

[Ryan @ Jan 8th 2008 9:12AM]

I recently ordered a strip that senses when the device plugged into a specific outlet is turned off, then it turns off four other outlets for you. Turn off your computer, and it'll turn off those auxillary devices for you. It also has one unswitched outlet.

[Tom @ Jan 8th 2008 11:50AM]

This is really a good idea. More info?

[shanoboy @ Jan 8th 2008 9:13AM]

Yay!!! Another remote I can lose.

[Tim @ Jan 8th 2008 9:20AM]

Bits Limited's smart power strips seem like a better solution to me (for computers with plugged in peripherals, at least).

[Neoprimal @ Jan 8th 2008 9:33AM]

I actually like the idea. Switched outlets on remote are a nifty way to save energy...especially if you arrange your apt. or house with that in mind. Currently I only use UPS outlets, so I guess I'll wait until this design hits UPSs'.

[incaDark @ Jan 8th 2008 10:05AM]

I have the same device from the 1980's minus the RF control. It's a simple box type power strip with switches for each outlet. It sits on my desk at home and I can kill power to my monitor or any other part of my setup at the flick of a switch. For something that looks a lot cooler and provides more 'flexibility' check out http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/07/11/kill-vampires-with-the-e-rope/

[torokun @ Jan 8th 2008 10:15AM]

I saw better one than this at CES show...
I think the booth number was 40010 or something..if I remember correctly...

[AlexNC @ Jan 8th 2008 10:24AM]

I have an Energy Saving Smart Strip With Autoswitching Technology #LCG3.

[Chris Taylor @ Jan 9th 2008 6:25AM]

Yes it would consume power NO its not a lot (unmeasurable on my equipment so its well under half a watt) I have a lot of wireless switches they are wonderful :-) To the UK guy NO most of our outlets are NOT switched IE always live. Most cases only LIGHTS are on switches (dedicated primary lighting) sometimes in bedrooms one of the outlets will be "inline" with the switch as well. But usually outlets are live no switch. this is nice because only SOME of the outlets are "switched" so you can turn off all the vampires WITHOUT turning off the stuff you WANT to stay on. (with normal power strips you would have to use TWO strips since its either all on or all off.)

The wireless is also nice. I hope they are partially programmable enough to let me control multiple strips with one switch :-) I also HOPE PLEASE that they can arrange it so I can configure MORE THAN ONE REMOTE to turn the outlets on or off. I pay around $20 for wireless plugs I would GLADLY pay $50-$60 for one that let me do this. I illuminate my entire room with LED lights. About 600 LED's in 8 3ft tubes of 198led's each. anyway I run the wires into the atttic to a strip. That runs to a Variac in my closet to a wireless switch on a UPS to my outlet. So I have to be careful not to lose the remote or I can turn them on or off. Having 3 would be nice permamount one at the door one on the bed post and one loose. Right now there is no easy or affordable way to do this. Grrr I got this great GE unit that comes with TWO modules and the remote has TWO sets of switches. but I was never able to find another one to even see if I could use 2 remotes with one unit. Grrrr

[Chris Taylor @ Jan 9th 2008 3:51PM]

dolt stupid keyboard damned 1 key sticks thats 1600 led's not 600