EcoStrip 1503E 2.0 USB Energy Saving Surge Protector and Power Strip, White

Bought this to close down my TV streaming devices during certain times using the TV Timer and USB port.Say someone is watching (streaming) TV late at night and falls asleep. Well, the TV keeps on streaming and using data, which could cause data overage. The TV timer kicks in at 1 AM and shuts off the TV and the power to the USB port, and then this power strip shuts down the streaming devices that are plugged into the USB controlled outlets. The TV is plugged into the master outlet and still has power.Quality is great, has a heavy-duty power cord and certified markings on the base.

When you turn on the PC, everything plugged into the Ecostrip powers on nicely. The problem with the Ecostrip is with Windows. After Windows boots up, it has this need to briefly power down all of the USB ports and powering them back up, hence powering down and back up everything plugged in to the Ecostrip. This is a problem with devices like monitors and hard drives. Windows assumes they are not there and...well the resulting actions can be unpredictable, not to mention hard drive failure, data loss, and such.The idea of an energy saving power strip is a really good one. I thought of this concept of a relay controlled energy saver power strip about ten years ago. Necessity is the motherhood of invention. So, I decided to build one of these for my PC and its 20 or so power hungry peripherals. The one I built use the 12 volt power from the PC's power supply. I installed a plug in an empty slot cover and ran a wire to the power strip. I built many of these for friends. They worked great.Later on, I did built a 5 volt version using the power from a USB port. When the PC is powered up, several seconds later, the USB ports powered up. The problem with this one was the announce of Windows briefly shutting down all of the USB ports for about 10 seconds and then powering them back up. Windows does this so each device can check in. The issue was the monitor settings would be lost. Well, I ended up use the USB power saver for the TV, DVD and such.Just recently, I decided to use a laptop as my primary computer. However, there is no readily available 12 volt source. So, I decided to look on the web before building a time delay 5 volt USB powered switch. After reading all of the reviews, I decided on the Ecostrip. Save me some work. Well, the Ecostrip 2.0 acts just the same as the 5 volt version I built. No delay and the monitor settings and desktop icons still get messed up.So, it's off to the Radio Shack and other places to build my own version of the Ecostrip, this one with a one minute power down delay.

It works as advertised but it's not what I was looking for. I was hoping to be able to control the USB power by a logon script but either that's not possible or I haven't figured it out yet. This is not a fault of the power strip.

Pros:This USB operated power strip neatly fixes a problem with "smart" power strips that are not smart enough to compensate for computers that use more "off" power than others. You plug it into an unused USB port and it powers up as many as five devices plugged into it. When you turn off the computer the strip switches off.Cons:While it works fine with nearly all computers running Windows or other OS, a few computers cycle the USB ports off and on again. If you use external hard drives or any other component that needs to be powered up while the computer is on, make sure the USB port you are using stays on when your computer is on.Some computers have USB ports powered up whenever the computer is plugged in, defeating the purpose of the EcoStrip. These computers might have a setting in the BIOS to turn off the USB ports whenever the computer is powered down.Check your computer to make sure it will work with this device. Then it will do exactly what it claims!

I ordered the EcoStrip without really knowing much more about it than what was provided in the three reviews that existed at the time (not much to go on). When I received the EcoStrip and installed it, I ran into a problem with the outlets remaining powered; so, I contacted EcoStrip via the internet and asked for their advice. While awaiting a reply, I continued to investigate and troubleshoot the issue.EcoStrip responded via e-mail in a very timely manner and, without having the ability to check the product or my installation, immediately offered to replace the EcoStrip without any questions. Almost at the same time, I determined that the USB ports on my PC were remaining powered when the PC was shut down. My ASUS Sabertooth X58 MOBO allows for the charging of USB-rechargeable devices when the PC is turned off; therefore, the USB ports remained powered and the EcoStrip was "fooled" into acting as if the PC was running.That's when I learned a lot more about the European standard for "energy using products" (EuP). The MOBO supports the EuP standard and, when enabled in the bios, turns off the power to the USB ports when the PC is shut down. If EuP is not enabled, the ports remain powered. A simple change to the bios was all that was needed to gain the full benefit of the EcoStrip.I shared the results of my troubleshooting with EcoStrip. They were sincerely, and tangibly appreciative of the information. I am confident they will now use it to assist others who may run into a similar challenge. So, not only is the product an excellent implementation of a great idea, the company management has proven to be both supportive and considerate. My hat's off to them for both.A note for other shoppers -- it appears that many of the newer MOBOs are designed with EuP in mind and its implementation in computer bios is something to be aware of. If you can charge devices when the PC is shut down, check your bios and you should be fine (the minor tradeoff being that you might have to give up the always-on hot-port charging in favor of a really great energy saving tool); if you can't charge in such a manner, then there should be no problem and no tradeoff.I strongly recommend this product to anyone wanting to save energy by stopping the draw of "vampire" loads. I'm using mine for the monitor, DSL modem, router, speakers, and a separate pre-amplifier I use in converting old vinyl LPs into digital music.