Want to cut your electric bill? Skip these scam 'power-saving' devices - and buy this instead

7 hours ago 3

My happy place -- Deep in testing scam product!

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ZDNET's key takeaways

Scam "power-saving" devices waste money and risk safety.
Smart plugs and power strips actually cut energy costs.
Monitoring usage helps reduce bills and prevent waste.

People are more conscious than ever about their power bills and are looking for ways to save a few dollars each month. And while there are some practical -- mostly free -- ways to save money, the focus on energy costs has brought out the scammers.

They do nothing to save you power

Scam "power saving" devices are rampant online. These devices plug into an outlet and promise to "improve the use of energy," "extend the life of electrical equipment," and even "avoid illegal electrical waste."

Sounds great, right?

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Well, despite the bold claims and the sticker on the front of the unit, they are too good to be true. Many of these units seem to be repurposed cases for rodent repellers, and coincidentally, many of those are also scam devices.

I've bought quite a few of these to test -- and report to the relevant authorities -- and they're all junk. Plug these into your outlet and the best you can hope for is that they sit in the outlet and add a little to your power bill because of the LED lights on the front. The worst outcome is that they set your place alight because they are so badly made.

I'll say it again: despite the bold claims, they do nothing to save you power.

Don't buy them

Here's an example of such a unit, this one aimed at the UK market, but you'll find similar units for sale in all the usual places online. Even the plug itself doesn't conform to UK regulations.

It tries hard to look authentic, with a fake testing number on the back.

That testing number is faker than the Loch Ness Monster.

Even the plug itself doesn't conform to UK regulations. I recorded a video for social media about a similar device a few years ago that explains the issue with the plug.

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Here's what's on the inside. It's rather ugly. Poor-quality assembly, and the wires are hair-thin.

Pretty awful construction even for a scam device.

A small positive is that there is a fuse in this device. Earlier ones I've tested didn't have this, so I am left wondering why it's been added.

I wonder why the manufacturer added a fuse to this fake device? I can only assume the worst!

That capacitor (the big black box), the bit in this fake device that's meant to save you power, is ... drumroll, please ... also fake. It's not even a capacitor (that number should be anything other than zero).

There's nothing in here that's going to save you power. But there's a lot that might go wrong. So, don't buy them.

What to get instead

"But I want to buy SOMETHING!"

OK, a little bit of retail therapy never harmed anyone (well, as long as it doesn't turn your home into a bonfire). My advice for what to buy to save money is a smart plug or a smart power strip. I have a few of these branded Tapo, which is a brand owned by TP-Link, a big name in wireless and home automation accessories.

Take control of your power consumption, no matter where you are!

And they're great.

They allow you to turn outlets off and on both locally and remotely, and allow you to track power consumption, while only drawing a small amount of power themselves. I also get to deep-dive into usage stats.

The Tapo app gives you a deep dive into usage, as well as allowing you to control the outlet.

I know that I could just switch stuff off or unplug it manually, but that's not always convenient.

Take my 3D printers -- yes, plural -- and filament dryers. These are excellent for those. With these smart plugs, I can turn the printers on and off remotely, so I can turn the printer or printers on in the morning when I start printing and switch them off when they're done. This way, they don't have to be running the whole day.

I think of the cost of running the smart plug as a tax -- sure, smart plugs are not free to run, but the cost is negligible, and they're convenient and enable me to save more money down the line.

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They also do a great job of allowing you to monitor the energy consumption of the devices that are attached. There's nothing like seeing in real time how much something is costing you to make you want to turn a device off.

So, forget the "electricity saving box" and get yourself a few smart plugs.

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