This was posted 11 years 1 month 5 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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EcoSwitch Easy Reach Power Switch from $12.50+ $9.95 Post (4+ @ $10ea + Free Post)

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EcoSwitch Easy Reach Power Switch from $12.50+ $9.95 Post (4+ @ $10ea + Free Post)
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AssociatedEcoSwitch on 23/11/2013 - 15:12 ecoswitch.com.au (790 clicks)
ozbnovonly1

My boss says we have to reduce stock levels once more and that the OzBargain community is always looking to save money (and electricity and CO2) and there's no easier way to save money than with a few EcoSwitches around the home. Or office.
They also make thoughtful gifts for Christmas! The perfect stocking filler!

Buy three or more with the coupon ozbnovonly3 and pay only $10 each (plus just $9.95 total postage). Free postage if you buy 4 or more!

Buy two with the coupon ozbnovonly2 and pay only $22 (plus just $9.95 postage)

Buy one with the coupon ozbnovonly1 and pay only $12.50 (plus $9.95 postage)

Choose all in black or all in white.

Hurry - deal is only good for November!

Electrical & Electronics Standby Powerboard Standby Switch

Related Stores

EcoSwitch
EcoSwitch

closed Comments

  • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 15:19
    +4

    I know someone that got some of these last time and the switch seems to get far hotter than you'd expect it to. What's in there, an LED or is it a neon or … ?

    • shmahoo on 23/11/2013 - 15:26
      +3

      it might be a frickin' laser

    • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 15:44

      Power consumption of a neon mains light approx 0.25w
      http://www.electronicspoint.com/power-consumption-mains-indi…

      Power consumption of a led approx 0.06w. (12v x 0.005A = 0.06W)

      • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 15:52

        It can't be an LED, there's a slight flicker to it which is why I'm leaning toward a small neon of some sort. Looking at those figures, the clear and logical choice would be an LED.

    • puffinfresh on 23/11/2013 - 15:50
      +1

      So they're all about saving standby power, and they put a standby light in there?

      • bigbear on 23/11/2013 - 16:06

        their website quotes "Think of your EcoSwitch as being like an extension cord with a remote controlled switch, except better because – unlike virtually all other standby savers - the EcoSwitch does not consume any standby power whatsoever."

        so maybe it's a magic led/neon :)

        • shmahoo on 23/11/2013 - 16:21

          I'm going with magic LED too - good call, bigbear :)

      • AssociatedEcoSwitch @ EcoSwitch on 24/11/2013 - 23:47

        Hi Puffinfresh,
        The neon is not a feature that uses standby power. The neon is only ON when the switch is ON, thereby idicating to you that you might want to tutn it off and eliminate all standby power from all connected devices.

  • wisc on 23/11/2013 - 15:20
    +5

    Aren't these the things you get for free from door knockers?

    • shmahoo on 23/11/2013 - 16:21
      +8

      no, that's herpes

    • Bren20 on 23/11/2013 - 16:23
      -3

      these have recently been excluded from the VEEC scheme in Victoria, so instead of "installing" them for free and claiming a rebate from the government, they are now stuck with a bunch of excess stock.

      • greenie4242 on 23/11/2013 - 16:36

        Just curious, why the neg? Is something wrong with the deal or product?

      • llama on 23/11/2013 - 17:53

        They haven't been excluded at all. They just made the rebate about half the previous value.

        So instead of getting something like $60 each to give them away, the installers get $30 (on a product that costs under $10)

      • jdr on 24/11/2013 - 10:08

        "these have recently been excluded from the VEEC scheme in Victoria…"

        that's no reason to neg the deal.

    • AssociatedEcoSwitch @ EcoSwitch on 24/11/2013 - 23:45

      No these are not. The products on the VEET scheme are effectively master/slave devices and use around 1W of standby 24/7.

  • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 15:48
    +1

    OP do you know if the switch is double or single pole?
    (judging by the fact it looks like 'standard' mains cable its probably just single pole)

    ie does it only switch the active or both active and neutral?

    • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 15:53
      +3

      You asked this last time and they didn't bother answering, will be interesting to see if they do this time round.

      Actually, looking over their last deal again, the rep never actually responded to any question or post so I wouldn't go holding my breath :)

      • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 15:58
        +1

        They probably have no idea what i am actually asking…..lol

        • AssociatedEcoSwitch @ EcoSwitch on 24/11/2013 - 23:43

          Hi there, switch is double pole as per Australian Standards

    • greenie4242 on 23/11/2013 - 18:28
      +2

      I just tested mine with a multimeter, the switch is double-pole and switches both active and neutral.

  • puffinfresh on 23/11/2013 - 15:48

    So 3 with postage is $39.95, and 4 with postage is $40.
    Why would I buy 3?

    • haz on 23/11/2013 - 15:59
      +8

      um…to save 5c

      • Dover on 23/11/2013 - 21:36
        -1

        All true ozbargainers thought exactly the same thing! Lol

  • killergreely on 23/11/2013 - 16:00
    +1

    Or wait for Aldi to get the foot plunger switches in again for ~$10.

  • pmupsinep on 23/11/2013 - 16:07
    +1

    there's no easier way to save money than with a few EcoSwitches around the home.

    How does buying a power switch extension save money?

    • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 16:37
      +1

      to "save" the $20 spent for one, you would need to save approx 80kWh (80,000 watt hours)of mains power. (@ 25c kWh)

  • greenie4242 on 23/11/2013 - 16:35
    +6

    These don't save me money in any way shape or form (plus as pointed out they have a neon bulb inside the switch which means when they're turned on they use slightly MORE power than a standard power switch!) but I did order four last time they had this deal, and have used them all to make life much easier.

    "Eco" should be removed from the name (as with MOST Eco branded stuff) but they are very useful for things that don't involve imaginary power savings.

    I have one that effectively moved the power switch for a couple of spotlights in my loft so I can switch them on before entering it, rather than having to climb up there in the dark with a head torch and find the poorly located powerpoint. Another one turns on a desk lamp with a foot switch that's hidden under a couch and really hard to get to. Another turns on the lights in the garage from the doorway, instead of the rear of the garage behind the car. The fourth is great for taking on repair jobs when I have to crawl under things to unplug/reset them multiple times for testing purposes.

    The switch can be screwed into place on rough surfaces. Unfortunately there's only one screw bracket so I'm a bit concerned it might break off, as any weight on the cord can cause the switch to flex away from the wall and bend the bracket. The neon bulb is either a blessing or an annoyance depending on your needs. Unfortunately it is listed nowhere on the website. Originally I was thinking to use a couple for my bedside LED lamps which have hard-to-reach switches, but the NEON bulbs were rather annoying when reading a book in low light, so I switched back to using ALDI foot switches for those.

    They are a good deal for something like this if you're buying four of them. You couldn't buy the hardware to make one for yourself for $10 each, and wiring one up from spare parts isn't exactly legal if you're not a licensed electrician.

    • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 16:43

      @ greenie4242
      "The fourth is great for taking on repair jobs when I have to crawl under things to unplug/reset them multiple times for testing purposes."

      Safety warning.
      Have you checked the mains switch on theses things is double pole?

      Depending on what you are testing you may find the unit under test is not fully isolated and is still live if they switch only the "active" and you have a wiring fault somewhere.

      • greenie4242 on 23/11/2013 - 18:31
        +2

        You raise a good point. I only switch on and off PC power supplies or routers that don't have their own integrated switch, so nothing where full isolation is critical.

        For the benefit of others, I did just test mine with a multimeter and found the switch is double-pole and switches both active and neutral.

    • AssociatedEcoSwitch @ EcoSwitch on 24/11/2013 - 23:49

      Hi Greenie 4242,
      The neon is not a feature that uses standby power. The neon is only ON when the switch is ON, thereby idicating to you that you might want to tutn it off and eliminate all standby power from all connected devices.

  • sirplus on 23/11/2013 - 16:44

    I bought 4 last time and they are good. The light gets hot so obviously is using juice but its only on while the switch is turned on. It's a warning/reminder so I think that's ok and it's really bright so I don't forget to turn it off/nag the kids when they don't. One not so bright would not be as good.

    I'm happy and these seem great quality. Heavy.
    From the size of the switch I expect it will be 2 pole.
    The switch sits nicely on the foot plate of all my flat screen TVs and looks neat.

    I also use one on my PC which has 14 other things plugged in so the power station can just about go on standby when I turn that all off.
    Cheers

  • Jabba the Hutt on 23/11/2013 - 17:24

    Looks like a glorified cordline switch.

    • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 18:01
      +2

      They basically are but the switch is off on its own cord. A friend is using one to turn off logitech speakers when they're not in use, supposed to consume 60W or something on standby. An inline switch would do but access could be a problem, with this the cord with the switch seems plenty long and makes this particular task easy.

      The problem is finding a use for them, if you can do that then they're probably well worth the $10.

  • PlasticSpaceman on 23/11/2013 - 18:22
    +2

    Last time I heard the 'my boss told me to get rid of…' story, it came from a guy in a van trying to sell me speakers…. Good times…..

  • tonka on 23/11/2013 - 18:29

    What is it about these that is better than the remote control switches you can get around the same price?

    • greenie4242 on 23/11/2013 - 18:46
      +1

      A few things off the top of my head. I've owned a few remote controlled switches and had a fair bit of experience with their issues:

      • Remote controlled switches are susceptible to voltage spikes and short circuits. I had three die during an electrical storm a few years ago, and another two died during another electrical storm a few months later. One died when a desk lamp burned out and the filament shorted out the power supply for a fraction of a second. Not long enough to blow a fuse, but enough to destroy the switch. The MOSFETs used to turn power on and off are very sensitive.
      • Remote controls sometimes go missing or have flat batteries just when you need them the most. People can lose or break them. Then you're stuck with a worthless switch and no remote.
      • One of my sets of remote switches always lost their codes during a blackout, so they had to be reprogrammed to the remote control before they were able to be used again.
      • The switches are usually ENORMOUS and take up two or three wall sockets. I have three connected behind my home theatre and they are very dodgily hanging together at odd angles with double-adapters, because they can't be plugged in next to each other on a power board.
      • Those switches use a small amount of power all the time, so if it's something you rarely turn on you'll waste some power.
      • [Deactivated] on 23/11/2013 - 19:14
        +1

        I agree with the points you have made, although the remote-control ones do have some obvious benefits.
        As regards power consumption, I've owned three different types and even the best of them use about 1 watt continuously.

  • bgazer on 23/11/2013 - 18:30

    Tried ordering four, but the total price came up as $50, so it's 12.50 each instead of 10.00.
    Please fix.

    • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 18:37
      +1

      Which code did you use? ozbnovonly3 is the one you need.

      • bgazer on 23/11/2013 - 18:43

        Thanks

        I used the one in the title by mistake - been one of those days.

        Edit

        Using the correct code it comes to $40, but on proceeding to checkout the amount payable is $41.79?

        I'll try again later

        • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 19:20

          Maybe a surcharge based on your chosen payment method? Looks to be about 4.5% extra.

          Hrm, I've been and had a look and it's not immediately clear what's going on. I didn't know they only took one form of payment until I read the post below, and it doesn't seem to matter which code I use, it always ends up being $1.79 more than it should by the looks of it.

        • Russ on 23/11/2013 - 19:53

          Negging because their pricing isn't as described ("incorrect description" in the voting guidelines).

          On the ordering page, price for four is $79.80 - 39.80 (for coupon code) = $40

          On the checkout page, the price magically becomes $72.55 - 39.80 (coupon) + 9.05 postage (free postage not offered) = $41.79

          It's not described as a surcharge for Paypal, and Paypal is the only payment option.

        • [Deactivated] on 23/11/2013 - 20:30
          +1

          From memory, I'm pretty sure that same price anomaly displayed during the last deal ordering process, but in the final Paypal wash-up only $40 was charged.

        • oz-dxer on 23/11/2013 - 21:43

          Yes it does show $41.79 but when you pass through to paypal it changes back to $40.00
          who knows why???

          Just bought 4, so i know this is correct as i only paid $40.

          @Russ you might want to consider removing your neg if its only because of the "pricing error" issue.

        • Russ on 23/11/2013 - 23:42

          Done, revoked. Glad to know that it was only a webpage stuff-up, but you'd think they would have fixed it after the previous time. Stupid errors like that will only lose them sales.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/11/2013 - 19:03

    Whether or not I end up finding uses for all four of the switches that I purchased last time around remains to be seen, but these are very impressive and solidly built for the price.

    Personally, while I can understand the irony of a product marketed like this having a neon switch, I get the rationale for why they did it, from more than one point of view. Neons in these sorts of things just require a single cheap resistor to run straight off the mains, and I'm personally beyond being too fussed about a ¼ of a watt, or thereabouts.
    Bigger problem for those who actually want the 'on' light, is that neons tend to have a very finite life. Only a few neons in frequently used appliances and powerboards in my house have really stood the test of time.
    Having said that, I reckon quality of manufacture is at play here. We have one double switch in our kitchen that pre-dates our ownership, and the rewiring, of the house. Dual neons, many decades old, still going strong.

  • PinzVidz on 23/11/2013 - 19:40
    +1

    I'm using these at home for a few reasons.

    My home theatre setup is a good example - I use one to kill off everything except the HTPC (so it can record shows). So basically TV, A/V receiver, BD, Wii, XBOX, turntable, cassette deck, subwoofer, VHS, CD, etc. using standy power is null and void. Fire risk is reduced as well. And it's convenient having a switch easily accessible instead of being a contortionist and reaching in behind everything to turn stuff off.

    Also, I use them for my printers and my rows of battery chargers.

    I much prefer these over solid-state type power switches. Back to basics and simple.

  • epicaricacy on 23/11/2013 - 21:04

    I bought them last time, and find them very useful - although not so much in a power saving way. I have one hooked up to my battery chargers (camera, AA etc) so they are only turned on when actually in use, and another on the home entertainment system - with the exception of foxtel - so I can simply switch the lot off at night. I like 'em

  • ShMiCk on 23/11/2013 - 22:28

    I don't know why those 2 users negged this deal…

    • foobar on 23/11/2013 - 22:32

      You can always click the report button under each one and explain why you don't think the neg is valid.

    • pmupsinep on 24/11/2013 - 09:03

      Maybe because the rep is a complete and utter joke. Has never responded to anyones question, ever, only has time to spam his ads then run. He's made absolute ridiculous statements that you save minimum %'s of power once you install this switch. And he always says his boss is telling him to reduce stock, but in the only comment he has ever made on here, he claims the deal is being offered because he is the manager and has the authority to do it ??

      http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/95702#comment-1279753

      Product might be reasonable, but it's a very unethical and unprofessional operation.

      • AssociatedEcoSwitch @ EcoSwitch on 24/11/2013 - 23:58

        Hello pmupsinep,
        We've never claimed "that you save a min %'s of power" nor for that matter a minimum of anything. What we do pass on is "Eliminate standby and the average household's electricity use can be slashed by over 10%, representing savings of at least $120 per year (2005 statistics: *Australian Greenhouse Office)."
        If you have any doubts about the veracity of the claim we recite from The Australian Greenhouse, I suggest you take it up with them.
        Another thing you might want to factor in to your assessment is the profligate increase in the number of household devices that use standby power since the AGO's data in 2005. AND I'm sure the cost of electricity has gone up over the last 8 years.

        • pmupsinep on 25/11/2013 - 13:46
          +1

          We've never claimed "that you save a min %'s of power" nor for that matter a minimum of anything.

          Right there on your website

          "Eliminate standby power and slash your power bill by over 10 percent!"
          "Make your savings investment now!"

          If you have any doubts about the veracity of the claim we recite from The Australian Greenhouse, I suggest you take it up with them.

          It's on your website, you're the one that must ensure it's accurate.

          Another thing you might want to factor in to your assessment is the profligate increase in the number of household devices that use standby power since the AGO's data in 2005.

          Can you give some examples of these devices?

          AND I'm sure the cost of electricity has gone up over the last 8 years.

          How does the cost of electricity affect the percentage of power used by standby devices?

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