A Greener Home Office: Belkin Smart AV And Moneual Sonamu G100

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Want a fast and easy way to minimize your power profile? How about a smart power strip or an eco-friendly case from Moneual? If you're trying to reduce your carbon footprint and your electric bill, we explore how much energy you can expect to really save.

Belkin Conserve Smart AV

There are a limited number of power strips that purport to be "smart" available. At $25, Belkin's Conserve Smart AV is probably one of the most expensive eight-outlet power strips you’ll ever purchase, despite its popularity.

Belkin actually intended its Smart AV to be used in the entertainment room. However, it's just as relevant anywhere in the house where devices get powered up and left in a standby mode, including a den, kitchen, or bedroom.

The master outlet is the switch mechanism, and the five power outlets to the right are slaves. The two outlets to the far right stay on for devices that you don't want switched off automatically.

The way the Smart AV works is simple. Power is supplied to the master outlet. So long as amperage is above a certain value, the dependent slave outlets receive power as well. As soon as consumption on the master outlet drops below that trigger point, the associated slave outlets are  switched off. Without a a reference load, we weren't able to determine the exact trigger point Belkin uses. However, after measuring the draw from several devices in standby with our power meter, we're guessing that point is somewhere between 4 and 5 W. For the strip's power-saving mechanism to function properly, your system has to have a low-power state that ducks under the trigger (and that shouldn't be a problem for most folks)

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20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • compton
    I'm no eco-terrorist, but I do consider power efficiency of my PC as one metric of it's performance -- one I do try to make lower in general. I have a 80+ gold PSU. I'm using a 2500k and SSDs. Even with my GTX 460, Asus Essence STX soundcard, ect I max out at ~208 watts at the wall during intensive games.

    If you really want to save some electricity and have more fun doing it then build a more efficient PC. These two products are just a little too gimmicky. At least in a PC with efficient components you get less heat (and noise) as well as a lower utility bill. The energy cost to make and distribute these two products will far, far exceed any energy or power savings realized.

    Still, it's good to see a different style of review. I'd like to see more in the series (like the GPU energy cost article). I know there are some products out there that can make a difference when it comes to lower energy bills.

    Good job.
    Reply
  • alikum
    Disappointed with Belkin's customer support
    Reply
  • newnow
    yes,it look wonderful
    Reply
  • ngazi
    Really nice to know to avoid these things.
    Reply
  • Olle P
    There are other, more elusive and difficult to assess, factors involved as well:
    - Environmental impact during production of the equipment.
    - Environmental impact of storage and transportation to your home.
    - Environmental impact once the equipment is taken out of service.

    To reduce these effects one must use the equipment for as long as possible, and then possibly re-use it for less demanding tasks.

    Personally I use one of those "smart" power strips to kill everything but the 5Vsb line when the computer is off.
    Reply
  • JohnMD1022
    How about those of us who believe 'green' is a crock?
    Reply
  • MU_Engineer
    JohnMD1022How about those of us who believe 'green' is a crock?
    It's only a crock to people who have a basic grasp of math or any clue as to what manufacturing a product entails. For the rest of the people, it's an excellent and highly effective advertising strategy because it's an emotional argument and not a logical one. "Our product uses less power and are environmentally friendly." "Don't you want to save the environment?" The sheer number of highly non-environmentally-friendly to manufacture and uneconomical Priuses out on the road will tell you the "green guilt" ad strategy works very, very well.
    Reply
  • It's a crock sometimes, sometimes it's not. Just like most other things.

    Using a more efficient PSU or driving a Ford Fiesta instead of a Humvee is perfectly reasonable both for the environment and for the savings provided.

    But yes, not all green products are actually green. Not all low fat products are actually low fat, and so on. Are you really surprised?
    Reply
  • huron
    I do hate when everyone jumps on the "Green" bandwagon and uses it primarily for marketing, but I look forward to a day when I don't have to pay for heat or electricity, or at least as much...that'll be a great day in my world.

    The interesting thing about PCs and electronics in general is that they are always getting greener for the most part, right - newer generations use less power, produce less heat, and offer greater performance.

    I am an enthusiast, so I get that high-powered GPUs and CPU overclocks are not as green, but for the same power output, I have a significant jump in performance vs a machine only a few years old. Wouldn't it stand to reason that if I wanted the same performance, I could get it at less power = GREEN?
    Reply
  • jonahkirk
    Sticking these on smartly built, newer peripherals probably would never pay-out. However, if you have an older monitor, 5 yr. old Logitech 6.1 surround sound which your 3 kids never kill at the power button, older printer/scanners or an entertainment system with a variety of vampire appliances including powered subwoofers and gaming systems which only get put in stand-by, then these strips might save you some cash.
    Reply