Goodbye Standby 13 Mar 07
Today, we heard that the UK’s Chancellor, Gordon Brown, would (amongst other things) like to see the Standby button removed from all electrical appliances, so that they are all either on or off with no energy consuming, grey areas in between.
It seems only fitting then that today I should stumble across the OneClick IntelliPanel, an ingenious little gadget that not only acts as a surge protector for electrical devices, but can also intelligently turn off devices which are not in use.
The IntelliPanel works on the basis of identifying a “Master” device which effectively dictates when the other devices are required and when they can be switched off. Take, for example, a typical computer system where all of the peripheral devices (i.e. monitor, printer, scanner etc.) attached to the computer are not needed when the computer itself is switched off. By detecting when the computer, plugged into to the “Master” socket, powers up and down, the IntelliPanel can determine when power to the peripheral devices can be turned on and off. Alternatively, the IntelliPanel could be used to switch off your DVD player, video recorder, digital box and (if you’re lucky enough to have them) surround-sound speakers when you switch off your TV.
At just under £30 (plus £2.95 P&P), many people may prefer just to switch off all of their devices themselves instead of having an IntelliPanel do the job for them. However, I still think its a great idea and, with our home computer having all its plugs and cables in a difficult to reach corner under a desk, I could even be tempted to buy one.
Posted by Nev in Going Green , Technology with tags electricity, energy, green
