Smart Power Strips: A Key Solution for Your Home Office
Power strips are a staple in every home office, providing an extra dose of power points for multiple electronic devices like computers, printers, routers, and peripheral devices. But a regular power strip doesn’t offer energy savings or protection from power surges — factors that are crucial for both cost-saving and device longevity. This is where Smart Power Strips come into play, offering intelligent power management solutions.
What are Smart Power Strips?
Smart Power Strips, also known as Advanced Power Strips (APS), are a leap forward from traditional power strips. They’re designed to conserve energy and protect electronic devices from voltage spikes. Unlike traditional power strips, they have built-in features to intelligently manage power consumption and can be remotely controlled via smartphone apps, offering convenience, energy savings and device protection.
Benefits of Smart Power Strips
These intelligent devices offer a plethora of benefits, with primary advantages being:
1. Energy Conservation: Smart Power Strips conserve energy by shutting off power to devices that enter standby mode, or aren’t active for a certain period. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 5-10% of residential energy use is due to idle devices, referred to as ‘vampire’ or ‘phantom’ loads. Smart power strips combat this loss effectively.
2. Cost-saving: By reducing ‘phantom’ loads in the home office, smart power strips lower utility bills. A typical office setup with a computer, monitor, printer/copier, and speakers, when plugged into a smart strip, could save between $25-$75 a year.
3. Surge Protection: Traditional power strips offer basic surge protection. Smart power strips, however, come with advanced protection circuits that detect and negate dangerous voltage spikes, preserving your valuable office equipment.
4. Remote Access: Smart power strips such as the TP-Link Kasa HS300 can be controlled remotely via smartphone apps or voice-controlled through smart home devices like Amazon Alexa. This allows for not only convenient power management but also increased productivity and efficiency.
5. Security: Advanced power strips like the Belkin Conserve Switch can sense when a device is in standby mode and cut off its power supply, making it harder for cybercriminals to hack into idle, networked devices.
How to Choose a Smart Power Strip
As smart power strips come with various features and price points, choosing the right one for your home office demands careful consideration of the following aspects:
1. Number of Outlets: Assess how many devices you need to connect. Most smart strips come with 6-12 outlets divided into ‘always on’, ‘control’ and ‘switched’ categories.
2. Energy Monitoring: Some smart power strips, like the Eve Energy Strip, allow users to monitor energy consumption via an app. These are beneficial for those looking to fine-tune their energy usage and cut unnecessary costs.
3. Compatibility: Check whether your smart power strip is compatible with your smart home devices, like Alexa or Google Home. Integration with other smart devices enhances your control and convenience.
4. Budget: Smart power strips range widely in price. The more features, the higher the cost. Thus, analyze your needs against your budget to balance cost and value.
5. Quality and Brand: To ensure you get a product with maximum longevity and protection, opt for a reputable brand with positive consumer reviews.
Examples of Excellent Smart Power Strips
1. TP-Link Kasa HS300: This model features six independent outlets, three USB charging ports, and can be controlled via an app. It also supports Google Assistant, Alexa, and Microsoft Cortana.
2. Belkin Conserve Switch: It offers eight outlets—two always-on and six controlled—accessible through a remote. Its significant perks include superior power management, standby mode cutoff, and surge protection.
3. Eve Energy Strip: With three independently controllable outlets and premium power protection, it’s compatible with Apple HomeKit and offers real-time energy cost reporting.
4. APC Smart Plug Surge Protector: With six “smart” outlets and two “dumb” ones, it harmonizes well with Alexa, giving it the power of voice control.
Wrapping Up
Smart power strips are a necessary innovation for any home office, facilitating energy management, protecting pricey gadgets, and offering remote control functionality. By analyzing your needs, you can select the right power strip to optimize your home-office setup. With a smart power strip, not only are we saving operational costs but also taking a step towards an energy-conserving future.
