Did you know a smart power strip lets you plug in multiple devices and detects when they’re no longer in use to turn them off/save you money? This is a great option for TV or computer set-ups because smart power strips protect your devices and help reduce your energy usage.
Traditional Power Strips vs. Smart Power Strips
Both traditional and smart power strips supply power to multiple devices using only one electrical outlet. Traditional power strips are meant to protect your devices from power surges, but as long as your power strip is on, the devices plugged into it will continue to use energy—even if they are in standby mode.
On the other hand, a smart power strip is designed to protect both your devices and your wallet! Smart power strips can detect when a device is in standby mode so they can cut off power and save energy. Using a smart power strip can reduce your overall energy usage, which will decrease your utility bills.
If you have a lot of power strips to change over, then you should consider the cost of making the switch.
Tips for Using Smart Power Strips
- There are several types of smart power strips, so it’s important to learn which one is appropriate for your devices. The main difference between each type of smart power strip is the method used to detect whether or not a device is in standby mode. For example, some smart power strips use USB cables to measure a computer’s power level and detect when it is in standby mode. However, some computers continue to power those USB ports, even if it’s cut off energy to the device itself. As a result, this type of smart power strip will not be as effective.
- There are also motion detector smart power strips, which assume that a device is in standby mode when activity is no longer detected. These smart power strips are perfect for certain devices, such as lamps, however they are not ideal for computers.
- If you use a motion detector strip on a computer, it’s possible that your computer could shut down and erase your work if you simply walk away for a few moments to get a snack. If your smart power strip is not shutting down devices that are in standby mode, it’s probably not broken. Instead, it is most likely a problem with the voltage sensitivity. Most smart power strips allow you to control the voltage sensitivity, so try adjusting this to see if the strip works correctly.
