Smart surge protectors can cut your power bill

[Kathleen Atkins]

BEST HARDWARE Smart surge protectors can cut your power bill By Lincoln Spector Just about everything attached to your computer needs electricity. Unfortunately, they use power all the time — even when they don't need it. But there is a solution — a better type of surge protector that can put cash back into your pocket and help the planet, too. The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/best-hardware/Smart-surge-protectors-can-cut-your-power-bill/ (paid content, opens in a new window/tab). Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.

[DavidToronto]

I'd really like to have seen some numbers calculating how much money you might save by using a smart surge protector, using it in some sort of typical way.

[RussB]

I'd really like to have seen some numbers calculating how much money you might save by using a smart surge protector, using it in some sort of typical way.

By most calculations I have seen it will pay for the "Smart" unit in 12 - 15 years. It still makes much more sense to turn it off when not needed.

[awindhorn]

"Watts per hour" is not a valid unit -- Watt is already a rate of energy delivery.
You can say "Watt-hours per hour" but since this is the same as watts it's
a bit redundant, though it may clarify your point for those less technical.

[Owen Glendower]

Helpful article. I wasn't aware that smart surge protectors had gotten THAT smart.

However, some peripherals might object to this type of shut-down. My HP inkjet printer wants to be shut down only by the printer's power button. Cutting the power via surge protector generates a warning message the next time I power it up.

[westom]

Helpful article. I wasn't aware that smart surge protectors had gotten THAT smart.

They haven't gotten smarter. The scam becomes obvious with a first fact: it comes without numbers. How does an author keep the informed silent? Make subjective claims. Provide no numbers. Had he provided numbers, then even layman could have seen a myth behind that 'smart' protector.

A let-through voltage number is on the box of every protector. 330 volts means the protector circuits remain completely disconnected (does nothing) when 120 VAC is below 330 volts. Why did he forget to include that number? Many consumers all but want to be scammed. The rule is simple. Any subjective recommendation is probably a scam. No numbers are the first indication that claims have no merit.

As DavidToronto so accurately said, "I'd really like to have seen some numbers calculating how much money you might save". Every reader should have jumped on that without pause. Every reply should have been demanding those numbers. But so many are so easily scammed as to never demand numbers. Therefore the much fewer who know this stuff cannot provide honest recommendations.

Now, that author said meters are too expensive. He foolishly implies meters are too complicated and expensive. Anyone can buy the Kil-A-Wat for only $25. Or for half that in stores marketing meters even to 14 year olds (ie Kmart, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Radio Shack, Tru-Value Hardware, etc). Then learn that the article is bogus. The article was a classic example of how propaganda routinely manipulates those most easily scammed. No numbers is a very first indication that the article is bogus.

[fjbr]

They haven't gotten smarter. The scam becomes obvious with a first fact:. . . . No numbers is a very first indication that the article is bogus.

And the price of corn has dropped.

I don't understand where this poster is coming from or going for that matter. The device either delivers on its promise to turn off the controlled outlet or it doesn't. Plug in a receptacle tester and check.

As to the amount saved, how the heck can anybody say that. Do they know what you have plugged in and how long you computer will be turned off?

[ibe98765]

What a waste of bits. I can't believe people are still writing articles about turning off your computer to "save electricity". I run my computer 24x7x365. When I want to check email, I don't have to reboot. When I want to quickly check something on the web, I don't have to reboot.

My monthly electricity bill in my one bedroom apartment is about $25/month. How much of that is due to my computer? $1? $2? Whatever, I am confident that it is less than a single cup of coffee at Starbucks...

And don't forget the turning your computer off/on makes it run through many heating/cooling cycles, putting a high degree of stress on the hardware that may shorten the life of the machine or parts.

[mbreslin]

A drawback to shutting off all power to your computer is that the CMOS battery will wear out much faster. It's irritating to have to get into the PC to replace that battery, especially if it's a PC that you end up giving to a friend or relative who hasn't a clue how to replace it. I don't mind using a third of a watt if it makes the CMOS battery last two or three times as long as it would otherwise.

[paleolith99]

It's pretty hard to trust an article about electricity written by someone who doesn't know what a watt is.

Edward