(Credit:
Nevvus)
A few weeks ago we mentioned the Cost Controller Power Strip, a device that indicates which appliances are doing the most damage in your monthly power bill. But a lot of green power strips are taking a more aggressive approach than just tracking numbers.
The "Powergard," for example, claims to store energy that would otherwise be wasted in the operation of inductive motors and then recycle it later, according to Electronic House. It also functions like a standard strip, regulating surges and power spikes.
Nevvus, which makes the Powergard, says it will save consumers up to 10 percent on utility bills--that is, after the initial $200 outlay for the device. But if you live in Buffalo, that could cost could be made up in just a couple of winters.
(Credit:
ComputerGear)
Ever wondered how much power is being consumed by your LCD TV or desktop PC? Now you can find out exactly how much electricity your appliances are drawing with the Cost Controller Power Strip.
Like most power strips in the market, the Cost Controller Power Strip is designed to connect to multiple devices (in this case, eight) and comes with surge protection. What's interesting, though, is the addition of an LCD display that shows in kilowatt hours (kWh) the power consumption of the connected electronic gadgets.
This allows you to find out which devices contribute the most to their monthly utility bills and perhaps better manage usage to keep costs down. The increasing kWh figures shown on the display may even be inspire some people to think twice about leaving their DVD recorder or LCD monitor on standby mode over the weekend.
The Cost Controller Power Strip also shows the voltage, line frequency and power factor, so the quality of the power line can be monitored as well. It retails for $100.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Watt Stopper)
Best intentions aside, even the greenest of us can forget to conserve energy once in awhile, especially if we have other priorities. Watt Stopper understands this, which is why it came up with the "Isole IDP-3050."
No ordinary power strip, the Isole controls six outlets with a sensor that detects whether a person is in the vicinity. If no one seems to be within 300 square feet, its "passive infrared technology" cuts off power when the plugged-in gadgets aren't in use from a programmable 30 seconds to 30 minutes.
There's just one problem: Only two of the strip's eight outlets aren't controlled by the sensor. And with our personal hopelessly tangled workstation, that's about nine short. Still, if we could find a way to make the Isole work, it could be a useful addition in our relentless pursuit of laziness.
(Credit:
Vahakn Matossian)
Are you one of those artsy-fatalist types who has a poster of Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory up on the wall? That's the "melting clock painting," also known as the backdrop of the 1938 cartoon short "Porky in Wackyland." (Yes, it's on YouTube.)
Dali's 'The Persistence of Memory'
If so, we've found something perfect to further indulge your fantasies of things that appear to be melting into a puddle of surrealist goo. Called the "ElectriciTree," this stretchy power strip/extension cord is technically supposed to look like the branches of a tree to remind us of electricity's impact on the Earth, but I'm totally not seeing that one. Besides, the little sockets totally look like faces. It's a tad creepy, but in a good way. There's also an ingenious little feature involving magnets that makes them look like they're crawling up your wall, or melting off your wall, or however you want to put it.
Core77 suggests that you use them to prank surgeons. We think you'd be better off just, you know, plugging lots of stuff into them. And then hanging some half-melted pocket watches off them.
Porky Pig would be proud. Oh, and Dali probably would be, too.
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