[mom2manyboyz]

Has everyone heard of the smart strip? They sell them at amazon.com. They are surge protectors, but they work by shutting off your peripheral devices (printer, monitor, etc.) whenever you power down your computer. They have an outlet for "always on" items, or items that you don't want turned off when the computer shuts down. I would plug my router into this, so my LAN will still work when my desktop is turned off.

They have gotten really good reviews! People comment that they save energy because they might not shut everything down otherwise.

[atula]

well...that's a good idea and I think a good gift to someone who always forgets to shut down appliances....it save the bill s well as energy...

[horselover]

That would be good for me, I have times where I forget to turn off my computer.

[Green-Moo]

I have one which I just flip the switch of in the evening. It's very handy as it saves me from forgetting anything. I have it hanging up, so the red light on it shows up once I've turned the lights off and reminds me if I've forgotton.

[mom2manyboyz]

GreenMoo, I've heard of this as a tip for lowering energy use. Like you mentioned, it doesn't have to be a "smart" strip, any surge protector will due. You plug in all your appliances in an area to the strip and rather than shut off each individually you just shut off the strip.

It is a great idea.

[justontime]

This is a really good idea, I like the option of being able to leave certain things on while turning everything else off.

[ammulu]

Nice thought of a great gift. I hope to find it out one for myself too.

[justontime]

Ammulu, you are right something like that would be a very useful present and it would help the environment too. I am determined to buy useful Christmas presents this year so this would be a really good idea.

[Kitten]

That's pretty cool. I always just use a regular power surge protector, but this would be worth looking into.

[rubybeetle]

We've been living on solar power for quite a while now and nothing ever gets left on. We use regular power strips and they get turned off when devices aren't in use. It's easy to get into the habit when you can watch the numbers go down on the inverter. Little things can make a big difference!