Comparisons between models.
Currently there are 5 types on the market, the following table is a quick comparison between them:
| Models |
Manufacture |
Power (Watts) |
Idle Current (MA) |
Power Factor |
Federal Government Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smart Strips |
BITS limited / Coleman Cable |
0.28 |
8 |
.61 |
Yes |
Essential SurgeArrest |
American Power Conversion Corp. |
2.0 |
120 |
.18 |
No |
EMF-515MC |
Philips |
3.0 |
50 |
.48 |
No |
Surge Smart |
Philips |
3.0 |
60 |
.41 |
No |
DATA guard Smart |
Hobbes & Co. |
3.0 |
60 |
.41 |
No |
What Does it mean?
Power: The lower the Better!
Since these products are suppose to save energy, how much energy do they use saving energy.
Idle Current: The lower the Better!
Some times called vampire current, or current you pay for, but doesn't do anything for you.
Power Factor: The closer to 1 the better.
Power factor in not much of a concern to the consumer, but a big concern to the power company. It determines their loses in getting the power to the product.
Federal Government Use: Executive Order 13221, can the government buy it.
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!
Let 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).
You pay to use it!
Test conditions:
Units plugged in and the main power switch is on.
Measurements made with a Kill A Watt EZ model P4460 from P3 International (www.p3international.com).
The power used by the BITS limited Smart Strip was too low to be measured with P4460, so a Fluke 87 true rms multimeter was used in its place.