$72.00 (reduced from $99.95)
Free shipping
No credit card surcharge
Accepts American Express
Looks like a good deal, most places are selling it at $99.95 excluding shipping.
they had a kit in aldi for about 40-50 i cant remember , really good you get 4 power adapters to plug into mains sync them with remote then it will turn off/on mains power for you , great if you have powerboards connected wth multiple devices etc but alas no monitoring
But it's only useful if the connected devices have toggle switches. Some electronic switches don't turn on automatically when the mains supply is back.
i don't get why these things need batteries…
would love something like this if you could connect it it with your wifi network and monitor usage from a computer.
It's probably just that you didn't allocate enough time properly read and think about it :D
i don’t get why these things need batteries…
The senders are mains powered, the receiver (which is not physically connected to anything) requires battery power.
i guess they dont work when power is turned off, i have a similar unit at home although it is only one and it is not wireless you leave it plugged into the mains and check the lcd display very good for testing how much power etc the plasma or htpc are using and i guess the battery backup is to maintain a log over several months/years.
Alert Me has better SmartPlugs that allow you to view energy and turn on and off applicances, its just a shame they have US plugs. They need to start releasing in Aus.
http://alertme.com/products/accessories
Update…
Jaycar also sells this power meter for $99.95, so I went to take a look, turns out the build quality is very poor, made of cheapish looking plastic and the control buttons feel very fragile:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MS6116
While I was there, I've noticed they have the regular power meter on sale for $19.95. I guess that's very good value to satisfy your curiosity about the running cost of your appliances:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MS6115
It's even cheaper if you are at Melbourne, because Radio Parts has it for $14.95:
http://www.radioparts.com.au/ProdView.aspx?Product=11900001
Dan's Data has an article about this particular power meter which I think it's worth reading. Even if you are not buying it, just for general knowledge it's a good read:
http://www.dansdata.com/quickshot041.htm
May be you can post your experiences on using the power meters over at the forum.
ooh I want one of these. Would be a done deal if it had a function to switch off whatever device was connected to it.