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If you have any questions or want more details - I'll try to help with anything I can. I'll say this much about this product, I'm using them on one of my machines now to control peripherals that I used to just leave on 24x7 and I've already seen a cost savings on energy consumption - and I've got plans to use them in an expanded role to synchronize starting and shutting down systems for remote backup to my NAS while I sleep - something I've always wanted to do but I didn't want to have systems just running unattended at home when I didn't need them to be. I can envision the same kind of application for these devices in a SMB or as a consultant engineered solution.
This is great, I have some computers which hang and needs reboot. The Watchdog model can solve the issue.
You mention that you can control TV. So can I turn off my TV while not at home so my kids dont watch too much while I am away. Same will go with the Wii, is it possible?
So, yes, one of the goals of the Watchdog is the ability to schedule times when a device can be turned on or off, and this can be extended to all of the controlled outlets on the strip. With the right programming, you could easily set a schedule time when a device would or wouldn't power up. Now, a smart kid will just unplug the devices from the strip and plug them right into the wall... but if you make it difficult enough to get to the power-strip, that might not be practical. At any rate, this will achieve what you want to do. Pick up the Watchdog, configure it properly, and you can schedule the amount of time the device is available and when the schedule applies.
I checked the manufacturer's website for documentation. (Not sure if I can mention their site here or not but it is listed on the picture from your article). Watchdog model can actually monitor the computer when it is hung and can automatically reboot it. No need to make the schedule. And smart can monitor the TV watch time as it has a built in power meter. It can measure the consumption and if you dont want your kid to watch more than 30 minutes of TV. it will automatically shut off after 30 minutes in one go or 5 minutes each 6 times. Pretty cool. I think this device is good for power automation as it comes with API, power saving is just added benefit.
Right - it actually monitors a heartbeat between the device and the PC and if the heartbeat fails, it will recycle the power to the device. I did cover that in the article, but it might have been confusing.
This is how most clustering/failover solutions work. If you're not familiar with high-availability, the thing about heartbeat monitoring is that you *can* get false positives. Frequently the heartbeat is an RPC monitoring service - and if the RPC service gets overwhelmed or becomes unresponsive, it can trigger a false fail-over which can cause lots of problems like "split-brain" where two machines are both active and accessible and they each think they're in control. In this case, a false positive could result in a power-cycle when the intended services or applications being hosted by the server are still available, disrupting users. I'm not sure how the heartbeat for the Watchdog is implemented at the API, but regardless of what method they're using, there is still vulnerability to a false-positive where the strip loses communication with the PC and initiates a restart.
That shouldn't stop you from implementing a solution like this if you have a critical server you need to automate hang recovery on. In fact, this is probably one of the most accessible methods to achieve rudimentary high-availability for a server I've ever seen. But you're going to want to do some testing and tweaking of the configuration before you implement in production, or be prepared for angry users if they do lose data when the system spontaneously reboots on them while they're working.
This is how most clustering/failover solutions work. If you're not familiar with high-availability, the thing about heartbeat monitoring is that you *can* get false positives. Frequently the heartbeat is an RPC monitoring service - and if the RPC service gets overwhelmed or becomes unresponsive, it can trigger a false fail-over which can cause lots of problems like "split-brain" where two machines are both active and accessible and they each think they're in control. In this case, a false positive could result in a power-cycle when the intended services or applications being hosted by the server are still available, disrupting users. I'm not sure how the heartbeat for the Watchdog is implemented at the API, but regardless of what method they're using, there is still vulnerability to a false-positive where the strip loses communication with the PC and initiates a restart.
That shouldn't stop you from implementing a solution like this if you have a critical server you need to automate hang recovery on. In fact, this is probably one of the most accessible methods to achieve rudimentary high-availability for a server I've ever seen. But you're going to want to do some testing and tweaking of the configuration before you implement in production, or be prepared for angry users if they do lose data when the system spontaneously reboots on them while they're working.
(snip) I believe that the power savings by turning off vampire devices can pay back for the strips in a short time. (/snip)
Rather than relying on belief, your article would have been much stronger if you had included some concrete numbers on power savings. A table with some simple assumptions:
- some typical electricity prices across the country
- Power use metrics for some new and old devices (both powered on and sleep mode)
- assume some time regimes, ie on for 9 hrs per day at work, on for 5-6 hours at home (ie 6pm to midnight)
- calculate the costs and payback period.
The manufacture should include an online version of the savings calculator so people can plug in their local numbers.
Rather than relying on belief, your article would have been much stronger if you had included some concrete numbers on power savings. A table with some simple assumptions:
- some typical electricity prices across the country
- Power use metrics for some new and old devices (both powered on and sleep mode)
- assume some time regimes, ie on for 9 hrs per day at work, on for 5-6 hours at home (ie 6pm to midnight)
- calculate the costs and payback period.
The manufacture should include an online version of the savings calculator so people can plug in their local numbers.
Though I miss the day when all printers turned on and off on their own.
I suspect this bar burns more power than the small power your PC uses when always plugged in and the phantom power of the printer and other devices.
You could probably save more power by unplugging your microwave and coffee maker when they are not in use.
I suspect this bar burns more power than the small power your PC uses when always plugged in and the phantom power of the printer and other devices.
You could probably save more power by unplugging your microwave and coffee maker when they are not in use.
Are a well documented phenomenon and claim to be a significant impact on electricity costs in the average American household.
If you can reduce 3 consistent drains per strip, and you put several of these in your business our household, on typical devices that suck a lot of energy even when they're not off - I'm sure that the power savings would exceed any extra draw from the device itself. The sole exception might be the LCD on the Smart device - but even then, it is a non-backlit LCD display... use it to power-down your Wii and BlueRay DVD's glowing display when not in use, and you're probably going to come out ahead.
If you can reduce 3 consistent drains per strip, and you put several of these in your business our household, on typical devices that suck a lot of energy even when they're not off - I'm sure that the power savings would exceed any extra draw from the device itself. The sole exception might be the LCD on the Smart device - but even then, it is a non-backlit LCD display... use it to power-down your Wii and BlueRay DVD's glowing display when not in use, and you're probably going to come out ahead.
My regional rate is $.5, but we play a flat rate which means we pay more when our consumption is less, and less when our consumption is more - so I really couldn't develop true *HARD* numbers in the short period of time when I tested the devices. At those kind of numbers, when using relatively low-power devices, the savings are gradual - you'll see the benefits over a year, not a month.
But it would be interesting to run a long term test in an environment where the cost savings could be substantial - and an online calculator on the manufacturer's site would be a good idea. I'll suggest it to my contact there.
Also, covering 4 devices and explaining the features as a high-level over-view was the goal of this article. I had a lot of ground to cover and the format of Tech Republic calls for relatively brief articles. Let me just say, there are extensive logs written to your PC and fairly robust metrics gathered by the device. You can download the documentation for all 4 products at the manufacturer's website in PDF format prior to purchasing. If you're interested in understanding the logging and report generating capabilities of these devices, I'd recommend downloading the docs.
But it would be interesting to run a long term test in an environment where the cost savings could be substantial - and an online calculator on the manufacturer's site would be a good idea. I'll suggest it to my contact there.
Also, covering 4 devices and explaining the features as a high-level over-view was the goal of this article. I had a lot of ground to cover and the format of Tech Republic calls for relatively brief articles. Let me just say, there are extensive logs written to your PC and fairly robust metrics gathered by the device. You can download the documentation for all 4 products at the manufacturer's website in PDF format prior to purchasing. If you're interested in understanding the logging and report generating capabilities of these devices, I'd recommend downloading the docs.
PowerUSB Digital IO is a good idea for small PLC projects. I have used NI 24 IO card when I just wanted 2 inputs to my PC. This product should provide me digital inputs with power control .
A typical desktop uses about 200-300 watts. This strip would have a logic board and either electro-mechanical relays or solid state components to control the switched outlets. How can that consume anything close to 200 watts?
This is a far less expensive option than a switched PDU such as what is commonly used in data centers. They can easily cost more than $1000. If you don't have a lot of devices to control I believe this would be a good inexpensive option. I do agree, however, that some power-saving stats would have been helpful.
This is a far less expensive option than a switched PDU such as what is commonly used in data centers. They can easily cost more than $1000. If you don't have a lot of devices to control I believe this would be a good inexpensive option. I do agree, however, that some power-saving stats would have been helpful.
It uses roughly the same power that a watch battery can produce.
Vampire drains are usually external peripheral devices like high end printers, hard drives, and other devices that may still consume a significant amount of power even when idle (and even when they go into their own "power-saving" mode.
Additionally, as Sammahmood describes above - you can go a lot further with these devices. As an example I have a Windows Home server NAS. It has an atom CPU and 3 2TB hard drives and runs 24x7. Most of that time I'm asleep and it is doing nothing but burning through energy. This is the kind of setup you might expect in a typical small business if you were working as a consultant. With these strips, you could easily schedule times to shut down the NAS on weekends and outside of regular working hours.
I mean, the cost savings is going to be be dependent on your situation in a case-by-case basis, but I can think of a lot of examples where significant power-savings could be achieved. If you're running a 110v server class device in a small data-closet and you're not using pro-class PDUs or racks - shutting down a server on a timed schedule is going to save you a lot of energy compared to having that device running 24x7x365. If you don't have remote access needs and you're operating on an 8 to 5 schedule, why have those kind of machines burning dinosaur bones when they're not needed?
Additionally, as Sammahmood describes above - you can go a lot further with these devices. As an example I have a Windows Home server NAS. It has an atom CPU and 3 2TB hard drives and runs 24x7. Most of that time I'm asleep and it is doing nothing but burning through energy. This is the kind of setup you might expect in a typical small business if you were working as a consultant. With these strips, you could easily schedule times to shut down the NAS on weekends and outside of regular working hours.
I mean, the cost savings is going to be be dependent on your situation in a case-by-case basis, but I can think of a lot of examples where significant power-savings could be achieved. If you're running a 110v server class device in a small data-closet and you're not using pro-class PDUs or racks - shutting down a server on a timed schedule is going to save you a lot of energy compared to having that device running 24x7x365. If you don't have remote access needs and you're operating on an 8 to 5 schedule, why have those kind of machines burning dinosaur bones when they're not needed?
The manufacturer has contacted me and these are not just strips, they have surge suppression capabilities. I've asked for details specs of the surge ratings and I'll get those added to the article as soon as they've been provided.
Years ago, probably in the 80's I recall a power strip that was made specifically for computers. The strip would monitor the "computer" outlet and when it was turned on the other outlets also came on to bring up the monitor, modem, printer, external drives, etc. It was a short lived product and I never got one.
basically a short extension cord with multiple outlets (with no surge protection)
then it can be added to one of the outlets of a UPS and thus get UPS & surge protection for connected devices
it's combining / daisy chaining surge protectors
and connecting surge protectors to UPS devices that causes problems
if these are just straight though then no problem to connect to another device with protection
then it can be added to one of the outlets of a UPS and thus get UPS & surge protection for connected devices
it's combining / daisy chaining surge protectors
and connecting surge protectors to UPS devices that causes problems
if these are just straight though then no problem to connect to another device with protection
The manufacturer claims that there are surge suppression features in this device. I'm getting the information from them and will update the article as soon as I receive it.
What kind of surge do they protect from? I have seen power flick on and off in a house and never trip a surge protector. I have seen lightning and a faulty voltage regulator on a gas generator explode the surge protector and still pass on the surge.
So what do they do that a simple GFI outlet wouldn't do?
So what do they do that a simple GFI outlet wouldn't do?
It depends on the quality of the surge suppressor. The important details on a quality device are covered here:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/surge-protector7.htm
Most people don't take the time to understand the ratings for clamping voltage, joules suppression, and response time... and the $9.99 surge suppressor generally isn't much better than a power-strip but people can't understand paying $70 for the quality one.
The best ones usually have some sort of insurance policy-like guarantee against equipment damage, as well. *AND* they need to be replaced periodically because they're taking the hit so your devices won't.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/surge-protector7.htm
Most people don't take the time to understand the ratings for clamping voltage, joules suppression, and response time... and the $9.99 surge suppressor generally isn't much better than a power-strip but people can't understand paying $70 for the quality one.
The best ones usually have some sort of insurance policy-like guarantee against equipment damage, as well. *AND* they need to be replaced periodically because they're taking the hit so your devices won't.
Does the company make UK versions with UK standard sockets and the entire product aimed at 230 volt mains?
I've reached out to my contact to ask. I've *seen* images of one with a European style plug (not sure if it was a mainland or UK style plug) - but I can't seem to find any information on if they are actually available.
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