Standby To Save Money!
Review by Michael Smith
Desktop IntelliPanel Lakeland Ref 21306
We live in a digital age, but it’s still important to switch off from time to time – especially your electrical appliances. We’re told that leaving something on standby wastes a staggering £740 million a year, well waste no more!
These IntelliPanels are recommended by the Energy Saving Trust, and mean that you can say goodbye to standby on your desktop or home entertainment system. Simply plug all the equipment in and every time you turn the screen on or off, IntelliPanel will automatically take care of the rest.
The IntelliPanel Desktop for PCs, the one that I have reviewed here as I do not have a TV or any other appliance of that nature but enough computers, has one master socket – that is the one that controls the system – and 7 sockets for peripherals and power supplies to run peripherals on a PC. When the PC is shut down a relay, for lack of a better word, is triggered and the other 7 sockets are switched off, thus turning off all appliances with nothing draing any phantom power.
The IntelliPanel Desktop, Lakeland Ref 21306, costs 32.29 GBP, and will be available from Lakeland until 31st May 2009 (so hurry), and is well worth it, especially considering that, would you go for the ByeBye Standby option you would pay that money for 3 plug in devices that are remote controlled, meaning you still have to remember to actually push the buttons on the remote. Here you don't have to think about it. Once the PC is powered down the rest follows. Bingo!
The information to this device states that it is compatible with PC, which normally always means just MS Windows, and Mac. The panel does, however, works on PC with Linux Operating Systems, that is to say, Open Source PC Operating Systems – something that has not been mentioned in the information, but that I think is worth mentioning.
For television and audio systems there is the IntelliPanel – TV/ Audio, Lakeland Ref 21307, 35.22 GBP. Lakeland will have this available, like the Desktop PC version, until 31st May only.
There is also a different version for the use with television and audio equipment that can be gotten from Lakeland and that is the Standby Saver TV/ Audio, Lakeland Ref 21995, at a price of 21.95 GBP. This one will be available until end of 2009.
This clever Standby Saver cuts 100 per cent of the standby power used by your TV, DVD player and Hi-Fi equipment. It’s easy to use, all you have to do is plug it in and follow the simple steps to teach your existing remote to control the functions. You won’t miss your favourite programmes either, as two of the sockets are ‘switchable’ and can be left out of standby saver mode for use with a video or set-top box recorder.
Not having seen the latter, the Standby Saver TV/ Audio, I cannot judge as to how they function and how well. I personally think I would prefer, as far as computer equipment, at least, is concerned, the kind like the OneClick IntelliPanels.
I have only had it here for a very short time but I am sold on it already. It is the simplicity in that you do not have to think to turn this off and that and, especially, as with power supply plugs, one does not have to crawl under the desk to turn off the sockets.
Nice one.
Definitely a device to recommend, and the Planet will be thankful if we all would use such devices, especially the offices around, and not just businesses. Too many government offices leave computers and what not all all day and all night all the time. It is not just the money, taxpayer's money, that government offices waste, but the energy and with it the damage that does to the environment.
Devices such as the IntelliPanels do not cost a fortune but sure could save one.
© M Smith (Veshengro), 2009
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OneClick IntelliPanel Desktop from Lakeland - Product Review
