Customer Reviews

Smart Strip SCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I ordered four of these for our office and none of them worked as they were supposed to work. They would work if a lamp was plugged into the control spot, but not when the computer was plugged into the control spot, even when the sensitivity setting was adjusted as far as it could go. Their website simply stated that if this was the case, something else should be plugged into the control spot; but the whole point of purchasing them was so that when we turned off our computers, the peripherals would go off as well. I returned all of them.

I needed this thing to work. I really did. But no matter what kind of micro-adjustment I make to the sensitivity, it either does not power things up, or does not power things down. The 'master' is a run of the mill Dell desktop - and the product documentation specifies that this works with computers. I may understand if I plugged in an alarm clock or something as the master, but no - was playing by the book and got burned. The thing is no more useful than a regular power strip. Sounds like some people got this to work - good for them - but if you are the type of person that likes to be assured of purchasing quality goods, pass on this puppy.

I had high hopes for this product to use with my TV, cable, VHS and DVD. Per the company's recommendation, the cable should be left hot to maintain settings and turning the TV on would control everything else. The first SCG4 product arced and left a burn spot. The company would not send me a new one until I returned the damaged one. Given a difficult "built-in" setup, I have to hire someone each time I need to install/dismantle the surge strip so I gave them my credit card to send another one so I could do the dismantle and reinstall in one service call and left everything off until it arrived. (One month later, I have confirmation that they recieved the original burnt unit but they still hold my credit card until they "have time" to look the unit over and see the burn mark for themselves.) The second unit also arced and the TV service tech helping me advised that the unit be disconnected entirely. I just went to get a new surge strip (with more joules) and will need to hire the tech again to install it. With what I have gone through so far, I will just eat the cost as a learning experience .

This item is great! I'm not sure why there are some negative reviews, but I have nothing but good things to say about this product. It easily turns off all devices when the "master" outlet is turned off and it also eliminates devices drawing standby power. Plus it does everything a normal surge protector does for pretty much the same price. This item will pay for itself by lowering your energy bill.

Doesn't work.
It's not sensitive enough to work with a low wattage tuner that draws about 15 watts when on and 2 watts when off. Can be set to turn on the controlled outlets, but will not turn them off. If sensitivity is adjusted to turn them off, it will not turn them back on.

I felt compelled to write in response to the other negative review. We have two smart strips for our tv/dvd/stereo. Ours work fantastic. It's awesome and we loved it!. This is an easy no brainer way for everyone to save a significant amount of dead energy with no extra work!! Seriously.

If you want something to help you save a few buck on your energy bill while also prolonging the life of Equipment, this is the tool for you.

I had an idea what this SmartStrip could do but i really wanted to see it for myself. This guy is as simple as it sounds and just as convient.

You have 1 outlet that you plug your switching device in. The switching device is the device that when you turn on or off turns everything else on or off. You also have 2 Always ON outlets (for DVR boxes or Broadband Modem, etc). And 4 "Controlled" outlets, 1 of which is an extra wide one. Now, the 1 outlet for the switching device is an Always ON outlet.

There is a little knob on the side for helping you tweek the switching setting that power off everything else when you put the main device into a low power state or off. Because some things draw power even when turned off so you may need to tweek it.

I bought this to try it out at work. If you want something to definitely help at home or at the office, this is perfect. At work, i had my Laptop at the switching port. I plugged the Monitor, the Speakers, the Desk Lamp, my cell chargers, any and all accessories into the controlled ports. I tweeked the knob on the side so that when I put my laptop into Standby, that it will also shut off everything else as well. To tweek it, you must put the computer into Standby mode and adjusted the knob until all the devices turn off.

This is great because the moment i shutdown the computer at night, it turns everything off and i don't have to forget about turning anything off. All that littles of electricity its saving is great.

You could easily use it at home. You can have it setup where your TV is the switch, your DVR is in the Always ON, your DVD, VCR, Game Consoles, Stereo, Home Theater, etc are all plugged into the Controlled Ports, So that the moment you turn the TV off, everything else turns off. No more nagging the kids to make sure they turned everything else, no need to round through remotes to make sure everything else is off.

The price is right as well, you are going to pay about the same price for something that also does about the same amount of Surge Protection, so why not get something that will save you in long running cost as well. It could pay for itself in the first year alone.

We have 4 computer stations in our house and they are often left on or the monitors and sound systems are left on, etc. By using the smart switch, the only thing to think about now is to remember to turn the computer off at night or when not in use and then the printers, monitors and sound systems all turn off as well.

Just having the smart switch helps me to remember to shut the computer off in the first place which was something i often forgot.

I did have to adjust the smart switch settings twice until it worked each time and even then, thought it wasn't working when occassionaly things did not instantly shut down when the computer turned off, but then within a half minute, they would all shut off.

Overall, it's great product that definitely helps me stop wasting power.

Does exactly what it promises. Turns on outlets in the power bar when the main outlet device is turned on. You may miss the light show (LEDs). Good to turn off devices that only work when the computer is on: speakers, printers, etc.

This product works GREAT for me. Exactly what I needed. Very easy to set up and adjust. I am using it to power up my subwoofer and wireless transmitter when I turn on my amp. If you set it up correctly, it will work for you too!