Smart Strip LCG5 Energy Saving Power Strip with Auto-Switching Technology and Modem/Coaxial Surge Protection
by Smart Strip
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List Price: Our Price: $30.65 You Save: $35.47 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Smart Strip LCG5 Energy Saving Power Strip with Auto-Switching Technology and Modem/Coaxial Surge Protection
Customer Review: Really Saves Energy
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought two of these power strips back in Feb 2011 and I already have seen a drop in my kilowatt consumption and electric bill in comparison to last year and previous months. The manufacturer claims a couple a dollars a year but for me it resulted in $30 last month alone. Like many homeowners I have a computer area with printer, hardrives, speakers,camera chargers, phone chargers, bluetooth audio trasmitters and an entertainment center with large screen TV, two game consoles, audio receiver, CD Player, modem, router, DVR etc. I did not realize how much all these devices were costing me until I bought the two strips. It came in one shipment and I had to return one of them because it was not working right even after adjusting for sensitivity. Amazon sent another one in no time and both have been working fine since. What is nice about this model is that it has several jacks giving you flexibility in regards to the number of devices that can remain on or turn off automatically.I find the purchase price very reasonable considering that it is also a surge protector, is saving me a couple bucks a month and I feel less guilty about harming the environment. Overall I'm pleased with the purchase and would recommend it as a good way to save energy specially for people who have a large array of devices plugged in at one location.Customer Review: The perfect power strip
Summary: 5 Stars
This is really the best power strip for TV or computer setup.
Pros:
* Enough sockets, with enough spacing for adapters
* Surge and electro-magnetic protection - I like that the LCG5 model also includes coax protection
* Energy saving with easy to use color coded sockets, as well as "always on" sockets when required (satellite box, router/modem,...)
Cons:
* None !
Note:
* I measured the energy saved, and the savings with my 2009 electricity rate. The strip in itself uses a tiny bit of energy (red LED and power detection circuit), as much as another power strip with a LED. With newer stand-by efficient devices I got for my TV setup, the savings are around $10/year, but goes much higher with older or less efficient devices (can go above $50/year depending on how many devices are powered off).
It has a small screw to adjust the sensitivity of the master device (TV or computer for example). I didn't need to use it though, as it worked out of the box for me. I also liked the color coded zones that makes it easy to find how each socket is controlled. I find it especially useful for computer setup as it turns off the monitor, speakers, printer,..., when I turn off the computer. I don't have to do that manually anymore !
Customer Review: surge suppression that worked
Summary: 5 Stars
With desktop PC plugged into control outlet, Windows "Turn Off Computer.."
also powers off monitors and other peripherals plugged into controlled outlets.
Power cord is substantial enough for a laser printer.
Perhaps 15 years ago, Radio Shack also sold well-built master/slave
power strips, but they are far too easily confused by modern products
with substantial peak current drains when nominally powered off.
Many modern products draw relatively high peak currents with very
short duty cycles. For example, a nominally-off appliance averaging 6 watts
may draw 60 Watts for 1/10 of each cycle of 60Hz power.
All external connections to a system should be surge-protected
at a single ground point; surge suppression on power without phone
and cable asks for trouble.
Our LGC5 phone surge suppressor sacrificed itself during a recent
storm; Bits Support shipped a replacement module free,
even though our strip is well beyond the 2-year warranty.
Replacing those F connector and RJ11 surge suppressor modules
is well within the capabilities of folks comfortable with
screwdrivers and a soldering gun.
Customer Review: Works like a dream.
Summary: 5 Stars
No problems with these strips. Been actually buying them for presents to family members. My electric bill has actually been dropped at least [...] bucks (conservative estimate) a month with these things. Considering they are not much more expensive then normal power strips you can't really go wrong. I have them on my computers to turn off everything associated with the machine when it goes on standby and on my TV with a timer switch in between... meaning that EVERYTHING in my entertainment center is OFF and uses absolutely NO POWER for 2/3 of the day while I am asleep and at work. Everything is tied to the TV so if I shut off the TV, everything else is off as well... might as well be. You can chain two of these together to product interesting results as well for a media center. But I love the product. Easy to use; just use a screw driver to adjust shutdown settings. Plenty of ports and they are spread apart in areas for larger plugs which is GREAT! A smart solution compared to the energy saving strips that require USB connections.Customer Review: Why aren't there more companies making these?
Summary: 5 Stars
My old computer set-up stopped being energy efficient when I installed a network back-up server for all the family computers. I could no longer turn off the main power strip at night since someone might still be up and using the internet. Unfortunately I had a number of accessories that didn't have power switches or it was difficult to get to them. A HP printer, an external drive, a set of speakers. Now I can have one power strip that has a set of three always-on outlets for the modem and server but the rest of the outlets are controlled by whether the computer itself is on or not. It worked right out of the box, not bad at all. However it seems to be temperature dependent. As long as the apartment is warm around 70 degrees it works perfectly. When the landlord forgets to turn the heat on and the apartment drops to under 62 degrees, the strip seems to get indecisive about whether to turn the accessories on or not. It always does but it switches on and off about three times before staying on.