Smart Strip Hits Store Shelves
The Smart Strip has finally entered the retail market in the U.S., and is soon to be found in shelves in Canada as well. We've added a store finder to our website (which can be found here: Smart Strip Store Finder) to help you find a store that sells Smart Strips near you. As of the time of this writing, we're available in the U.S. in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Ace Hardware, Costco, and in about 60 days we should be available in both the U.S. and Canada in True Value stores, Target, and Canadian Tire. More stores are being added rapidly; to find out the current lineup, visit the store locator link.
Dept of Energy Expo 2008
The Department of Energy's 9th Annual Small Business Conference is June 24th-26th & will be in Houston, Texas this year. With the new government requirements on energy savings products (see EO 13221), we expect to see a tremendous amount of activity and innovation happening. Bits has a new, 3rd Smart Strip product line, with voltage usage so low that it can't even be measured with a P4460 anymore, and we'll be promoting it and our other products. Hope to see you there.
Smart Strip featured Oprah Winfrey Show
The Smart Strip was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show: Going Green 101: What You And Your Family Can Do Today!" The show aired on Friday, April 20, 2007 & orders poured in. Our staff worked through the weekend so that the over 500 orders that came in during the first 24 hours could be shipped on Monday. More Smart Strips were shipped then any other day in the history of BITS Limited. DHL, UPS & USPS sent dedicated trucks to our warehouse to pick up the Pallets of Packed orders. This was by far the most exciting event for BITS Limited!
Smart Strip getting rave reviews
Over the past year with saving energy & global warming all over the news, everyone is now looking at the Smart Strip. With reviews on Five limes, Gizmondo, PC world, Retroblast & more then 5 different reviews on treehugger.com, Smart Strip Sales are exploding. Not to mention the loyal Arcade Cabinet Builders that have been purchasing them from day one & blogging about it. We are proud that so many places love the Smart Strip. Know of an online review that we missed, send a link to us through our Contact page. If meets our guidelines, we will add it to the list above & send you a free Smart Strip of your choice including shipping.
Dept of Energy Expo 2007
The Department of Energy's 7th Annual Small Business Conference is June 26-28th & will be in Washington, DC this year.This will be the most exciting DOE expo yet. With many government organizations & contractors moving ahead full stream with energy savings, it will be an excellent opportunity for BITS Limited to display its energy saving inventions including the world famous Smart Strip. Our booth last year was far more popular than we expected, because we were one of the few booths with an actual demo of how to save energy. The opportunity to meet with others from across the industry was certainly another one of the great benefits of the expo.
Smart Strip highlighted on the Early Show
In October 2006, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance & the CBS early show both highlighted the Smart Strip as one of the best ways to save energy in your home.
What else can you say? When Kiplinger’s says it’s the best, it’s the best!
After all, who knows money better than those guys? Click on the link above & watch the video clip.
Smart Strip highlighted at IDF 2006
Intel recognized the Smart Strip as one of the best ways to save energy with your computer. Intel took the Smart Strip on the road with only a small handful of other products by other companies around the world during IDF 2006 (Intel developers Forum). Imagine saving money in an area you thought had savings locked out. No matter how new or efficient your system may be, with the Smart Strip, you can still save.
Smart Strip is highlighted on CNN
CNN on their Sunday talk show highlighted the Smart strip as the easiest way to save energy in your home, and of course, they are on to something. The Smart Strip is the easiest and the best way to save energy in your home? How much more really needs to be said? We hope to have a copy that you can watch from the web site soon.
Federal Government Use: Executive Order 13221. Is there technology that meets that standard?
On August 2, 2001 , President Bush signed EO 13221, energy efficient standby power devices, stating that the government must buy devices products with a standby of no more than one watt, when available. One is available! Look at the case of a computer with a monitor and speakers (the GSA study). An Energy Star monitor (EO 13221 required) like the Acer AL2017 20" LCD monitor (.93 watts standby) and a small amplified speaker that is included with the computer( .5< watts standby). The Smart Strip would save 1.15 watts when the system is off. Any other strip listed would actually use more energy (.57 to 1.57 watts). Read this comparison chart.
New Green Technology Blog By Bits
Bits has begun a new blog to track new environmentally friendly trends and products, with an emphasis on high-technology. The website can be found at http://bitslimited.us, and we're calling it the 'Going Green' blog. It's separated into two general areas: Green Homes, for general consumers, and Green Business, for busy business decision makers that need good information. We've been planning this website for a long time, and we're proud to finally be running.
Third Generation Smart Strips Unveiled!
Several new models have now completed testing. These strips will be unveiled at the National Hardware Convention in sunny Las Vegas. These new models each have unique features that make the Smart Strip line usable on even a wider range of consumer applications. Up to this point, some home theatre appliances and energy sipping computer systems were incompatible with the Smart Strip, due to changes in the way they consumed power. These units consumed less power while ON then most computers used in the sleep mode. The newest models of Smart Strip address all of these issues while still maintaining the same quality of protection that the current line has. These new models are a new breed that have 2 methods of being triggered so stay tuned for more info.
New Smart Strip models
coming May 2008
Several new models have now completed testing. some are on the web site now and some will be unveiled soon. These new models each have unique features that make the Smart Strip line usable on even a wider range of consumer applications. Up to this point, some home theatre appliances and energy sipping computer systems were incompatible with the Smart Strip, due to changes in the way they consumed power. These units consumed less power while ON then most computers used in the sleep mode. The newest models of Smart Strip address all of these issues while still maintaining the same quality of protection that the current line has. These new models are a new breed that have 2 methods of being triggered so stay tuned for more info.
Smart Strip sales out run production Again
By the end of May 2007 1/2 of the Smart strip models were sold out again. Only 3 of the 6 current models had a limited stock. A sudden jump in sales due to "The Oprah Winfrey Show: Going Green 101" combined with excellent reviews from environmental web sites. Now many homes, schools, businesses & government offices find the Smart Strip a quick easy way for real energy reduction. Previously we had our volume of orders more then double in the matter of a month in the 4th quarter of 2006 after the CBS early show. With sales now out running our production schedule for the second time, this was a problem. BITS Limited is more then doubling it current inventory again, already doubled it production schedule & is now preparing for a even larger growth in sales now that everyone is understanding the need to save energy. All of the Models are expected to be back in Stock Mid August 2007. When you have a product this simple, with such tangible, real-world benefits, the word gets out.
BITS unveils a new web site
October 2006 Bits unveils the framework for their new web site. The new web site is just the beginning of vastly expanding our goods
& services. The new site clearly shows the commitment of Bits Limited to the consumer products and services arena. The new web site will contain a variety of products, services & tips all focused on helping the environment, saving energy & making life easier & better for all. It will also contain links to some of the best existing tips web sites out there such as treehugger.com which is filled with very practical green tips. Everyone at BITS Limited feels that making things better does not need to be a compromise of desires versus the environment, just a simple change in understanding or way of doing things can make a world of difference.
BITS opens a new warehouse
In April 2005 BITS Limited opened a second warehouse in Largo, Florida. The new warehouse was an absolute necessity because of the added models that were arriving, the past difficulties in tracking and maintaining stock from multiple fulfillment houses. The new location featured expanded office space & staff, giving Bits Limited even more resources for expanding and improving the way we do business. Since it is in the same time zone as home office, coordinating communication is easy. The new warehouse now functions as the central, unified fulfillment center so keeping track of orders became easier than ever. Just 18 months after opening the new Largo, Fl warehouse BITS had to reorganize it & expand by installing wall to wall pallet racks to get the additional storage space it needed. Now only 6 months after the pallet racks were installed, they are 100% utilized, packed full of inventory & additional space will be needed soon.
Second Generation Smart Strips are here!
Only after 8 months of being on the market, BITS expanded the Smart Strip product line in with two new models. The new models were designed around specialty applications, most notably, home theatre systems which has a variety of power consumption and newer, high efficiency power supplies in some of the very new high end computer systems. The two new models were the LCG3 & LCG4 which looked identical the LCG1 & LCG2 models but featured a new current sensor that was 4x stronger then the original model. a bias circuit to further increase its sensitivity. The new models were adjustable & could trigger on as little as 7 watts while the original models were fixed to trigger at 40 watts. The first 2nd generation Smart Strip was shipped on july 21, 2003. The 2nd generation Smart strips were expanded again to include the LCG5 with both coax & fax/modem protection plus 2 smaller models SCG4 & SCG5 on April 16, 2005. The SCG lineup was further expanded on March 1, 2007 with 2 versions of the SCG3. The second version of the SCG3 we built just for the arcade builders to have a black power cord to match their cabinets.
The Smart
Strip is born.
In the End of 2001 BITS Limited decided to enter the Consumer Products Market after 15 years of sales, service & installation of medical equipment on a worldwide scale. The first product in this new market was the Smart Strip Power Strip with the LDG1 model. The Smart Strip Power Strip was invented while designing a better gradient system for an MRI. Our engineer Bruce Barton got tired of turning off all of the switches on his computer every night yet did not want to waste energy by leaving them on. Another Engineer noticed all of the offices we worked in had the same problem. Soon the LDG1 was another limited production design by BITS Limited. After a lot of requests by family members, friends & customers, we realized that this was the type of products that we wanted to design not more upgrades & new features on MRI's or CT scanner but something that makes life easier & helps the environment. It took more then one year of testing, changes & learning the differences between building a high volume production power strip & a limited production $10,000 Gradient amplifier. The first full scale production of Smart Strip was the LCG1 & LCG2 models which were completed on December 17, 2002 .