Finance Travels

Earlier this month, I took the $30 plunge and picked up the SmartStrip from Amazon. This device is essentially a powerstrip that senses when power has been turned off to a “main” device and then turns off the electricity to the rest of the outlets on the strip. I’m using the SmartStrip to turn off my stereo and Nintendo Wii when power to the TV is turned off. Once I turn on the TV, the SmartStrip again senses that the power has been turned on, and switches the power back on to the “dependent” devices. Additionally, the SmartStrip has 2 outlets that are constantly powered on, for use with devices that you do not want to power off and on with the primary device.

I did an analysis using my Kill-A-Watt and determined that having the Wii in standby mode and the stereo turned on use $.0042/hour to power. For the $30 SmartStrip to pay for itself, I’ll need it to keep the stereo and Wii turned off for 300 days (about 10 months), which isn’t a too-bad return on investment, considering that the SmartStrip should last at least 5 years.

I’m thinking about picking one up for my PC as well, as I figure that it uses even more electricity when in “standby” mode, considering that I’m running 2 external hard drives, a sound system, and a few USB hubs.