Office works is selling PC Trickle Saver for $7.91 only.
It was previously around $50 or $60.
PC TrickleSaver
TSPC150AUW
Features:
Saves standby power.
Helps to reduce your energy costs.
Cuts greenhouse gas emmissions.
Works with PC periphal equipment.
So, you plug this device up to 1 device, or a power board, and it will shutdown everything connected to it if it detects via USB that the computer is off.
I really hope they have some software/driver controlling the USB, and not just +5V detection. I've seen a lot of modern motherboards advertising the ability to charge via USB even when the PC is off, so this device would be useless for those - unless it has a driver or similar.
My motherboard has that feature but I believe that is only for the front USB ports. You would just plug your power board into this for all other devices…
I'm not so sure this is worth it.
My PSU uses a very small amount on standby, and I'm sure this device would consume power itself.
Something this is actually useful for are older Plasma TV's etc, things that use a lot of power in standby.
It's good for PC's with multiple peripherals attached eg. printer, speaker, external drives etc.
I doubt that older Plasma TV's would have USB ports to connect this to.
It also won't save power from your PSU in standby because your computer needs to be powered on in standby so that you can switch it on.
Basically this device is for connecting everything else to like printers, usb hubs, external drives, monitors etc. Then, when you power down your PC, everything connected to it is disconnected from the power saving the standby power drain. When you power up your PC again, everything connected to it is also powered up.
I purchased one of these previously….it didn't work for any of my computers (desktop or laptop), as power is still being supplied to the USB ports when the system is in standby.
I returned it and got the TV Trickle saver (no longer listed on the Office works site) and it works perfectly for desktops using standby.
That is only the case with some systems, eg. mine shuts off USB power when in standby.
I bought 3 of these recently as well when they were $12 or something.. Connected them up to 1 pc, and it doesn't work.. Power to the powerboard never gets shut off.. I was going to return them but i'm over it now… I also bought a TV trickelsaver, but have yet to hook it up.. whats the bet that doesn't work either..
For something that normally coated $50 to $60, i find it very hard to believe that the savings provide by shutting of the power trickle would pay for the cost of the unit.
Even for the sale price of $7.91 it's would be what a couple of years to pay itself back??
but it's green!!!
don't questions the logic or practicality!!!
Do you want our kids to live on a desert planet where people fight nuclear wars over water????
We live on a mostly desert island anyways, so what the difference????
Pretty pointless device, really.
There isn't anything connected to my PC except a scanner. My scanner has it's own power management. My network printer has it's own power management. My NAS has it's own power management. Everything else isn't plugged in unless I want to use it.
I don't WANT to switch on my printer or any other device simply because my computer is switched on. I only want those kinds of devices to switch on if they are needed.
I think people need to carefully evaluate whether this kind of device would actually DO anything at all. It will depend on what devices are switched on when the computer isn't.
i wouldn't go as far as saying pointless, some people might have accessories which could be turned off (inkjet printers, powered speakers, etc). modern laser printers are supposed better left on 24/7.
it's like a poor man's green energy saving power board
residents of brisbane can get the free ezygreen 8-way energy saving power board with surge protection (but i takes about 6+ weeks to get delivered).
This is the one I'm using, its awesome :)
When did people get so lazy to not be able to turn devices on/off as they use them? Makes you wonder why they have power switches ;-)
I have a couple of similar products but purchased through Jaycar. It turns power off when the USB port attached to it loses power.
It's GREAT for my bedroom! I used to put the computer to sleep or shut it down and have about fifteen little glowing or blinking LEDs sitting around - Printer, speakers, backup hard drives, amplifier, a few other things. The speakers used to hum just a little if the computer was off, so many a night I was almost asleep only to be kept half awake by a humming, and have to get up and physically turn off the speakers. They were frustrating and annoying. Now I don't even think about them.
Joy when I found my new LG TV set had a USB port! I hooked up another one of these powerboards and now it turns on my VCR, DVD player, decoder, powered speakers when I turn on the TV! Haven't measured the power savings but it's just good knowing they're not on all the time. Consumer grade switchmode power supplies do wear out over time if you leave them on 24/7 (usually dry capacitors) so it puts less wear and tear on everything.
The powerboards were $25 each on special, so $7.91 is a BARGAIN! Hook up a $4 or $6 powerboard and it'll have the same functionality.
This could pay for itself in a year or so by cutting power to my laser printer and speakers I suppose.
Except I think that the PC maintains 5V out on USB while in sleep/suspend mode, so it would not work.
Much more interesting: this could be hacked as a computer-controlled power switch for lighting or whatever.
A use for that old serial port!
This won't work for some PCs that always power their ports. Some PCs have settings in BIOS that controls power to the USB ports while asleep, suspended, hibernating or shut down.
It wouldn't work with an old Mac's built-in USB ports, but worked when I added a USB2 PCI card. No idea about the new IntelMac stuff.
I bought this before, and it doesn't work with my seasonic PSU for some reason. The USB ports get no power on standby, so you can't even turn on your computer…
? Not sure if you're joking. You don't plug your computer 240V plug into this, only your peripherals (monitor, printer, speakers, whatever).
The only bit that goes into the computer is the USB plug which is used to detect if your PC is on or not.
Bought a power saver board for my entertainment system yesterday due to wife's nagging. I think that stopping the nagging is probably the only real saving, but this will definitely be worth it.
I feel for you, I had a girlfriend once that was a hippie sort and she had the remote controlled energy vampire saver thingy attached to her living room equipment. She'd go nuts when I didn't use the remote to turn everything off, but I stopped that after i measure the power usage from the plug and worked out how much money she'd save per year by turning it off. In the end it'll take her more than 7 years to pay off the cost of the device.
motherboards often have a jumper, that allows you to configure whether usb ports remain active when the computer itself is shutdown. check your manual
Some motherboards have an option in the bios.
Went to Officeworks in Fremantle. Took them over 1/3 hour to find these. They also have the TV version as well for $11.07. This works off a master plug and then cuts power to a slave plug when the master unit is switched off. Seems to work OK for our kids LCD and various consoles.
Thanks, great find!
For all the people doubting the savings. Grab yourself a power meter and have a look at what your devices are using in standby. Some can be pretty thirsty (especially large monitors and plasma's). Also, remember that power prices are set to rise significantly over the next few years.
Here is how it works:
The PC TrickleSaver™ power controller is the simplest and most effective way to automatically reduce the standby power that is consumed by PC accessory devices. The Product operates on a simple Master / Slave principle where the PC is the “Master” and the accessory devices are the “Slaves”. The product connects to a PC via a standard USB cable and using current sensing circuitry, senses when a PC is On or Off and switches the accessories accordingly.
PC On = Accessories On Automatically | PC Off = Accessories Off Automatically = No Standby Power
The TrickleStar™ PC TrickleSaver™ reduces the standby energy consumed by PC Peripheral equipment.
The product connects to a PC via a standard USB connector and detects the power status of a PC via the USB port. When a PC is powered the product will switch On all peripheral devices. Conversely when a PC is switched Off, the product will switch Off all peripheral devices. The product is easy to install and provides simple automation to reduce wasteful standby energy consumption. The product is suitable for residential and workplace PC applications.