Two Prongs Make a Right

Ask Umbra on smarter outlets 9

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Q. Dear Umbra,

I recently spent several months in New Zealand and was impressed with the simple energy-saving electrical outlets they used. Every outlet is equipped with a small switch allowing you to “turn off at the wall” whatever device you have plugged in. I want to replace my current outlets with ones such as those in NZ but I’ve never seen anything similar being used in the States and cannot find a retailer. I’m sure they have to be out there somewhere—any ideas?

Casey F.
Austin, Tex.

A. Dearest Casey,

outletsNo outlet?Since telling Jonathan he might kill himself by using GFCI breaker buttons for this very purpose, I have been gripped by a small obsession with plugs. Not only does New Zealand appear to have these sensible switch-off buttons on outlets, other fine nations such as Australia, Fiji, perhaps the U.K., and more I have not yet discovered do as well.

I can’t find any outlets with on-off switches for the U.S. either. I have found a series of devices which are almost such a thing but not quite, and we will see if any of them sound useful.

Currently our two mainstream choices for avoiding phantom power draw from overeager appliances are power strips and manually unplugging the appliance. Each of these has an unwieldiness and cord-tangling potential that makes it a wee bit annoying. Ideal substitutes would be on-off switches at each individual outlet, a master switch that turns off multiple outlets in a room, or, of course, devices without a standby mode. (Or how about less stuff?)

It is possible to buy a two-prong plug with an on-off switch (here is one such; there are others out there), which is itself plugged into the wall outlet and receives the plug of a two-pronged device such as a coffee maker or wall wart. A variety of these are available for under $10. I’ve never used and do not endorse them, but they seem straightforward.

At the next level are a series of similar interlocutor plugs which are wired to turn off the outlet through remote control. You plug them into the outlet, plug the appliance into them, then sit back and impress friends and visitors with a wave of your wireless remote. One product provides multiple wireless plugs with a programmable remote, so that with a series of masterful clicks you can turn off power to multiple outlets. The remote requires a battery, but to me the more daunting requirement is keeping track of yet another vital small object in the home. I’m kind of losing it already with just my car keys and a few pacifiers.

Yet another step up from these mere over-the-counter objects is a whole-home system you can hire a company (GreenSwitch and perhaps others) to install. It, too, is a wireless system with a remote, and some master wall switches as well. This is far from an endorsement, just something I found that might work.

My current residence is wired in a way that I have found annoying up to now: in some rooms, wall switches control the power to the outlets. It can be a little confusing if you forget which switch is which and accidentally turn off an appliance you are using. But now that I pause to think, this system could be used as a way around power strips. Something to consider next time we have to rewire our homes.

Shockingly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

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  1. SteveH Posted 7:56 am
    05 Aug 2009

    The home I grew up in had nearly all of the top outlets wired to the switch in the room, while the bottom outlet remained always powered.  I sure do miss that.

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    1. hank Posted 12:49 pm
      05 Aug 2009

      These are receptacles with one socket and a switch:http://www.doityourself.com/icat/switchreceptcombo

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  2. hank Posted 10:58 am
    05 Aug 2009

    See the warning I posted in the earlier thread -- look for _metal_ not plastic power strips.http://www.firemarshals.org/mission/residential/fuels-in-the-home/consumer-electronics/ You can find metal power strips with a switch for each outlet.  How?  Clicky:http://www.google.com/search?q=metal+power+strips+with+a+switch+for+each+outlet  

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  3. rivergal Posted 11:29 am
    05 Aug 2009

    When I was growing up in Australia, our wall outlets did not have these switches.  However, I have a feeling that the reason they are now being used has something to do with the fact household current in Australia and NZ is about double the voltage of that found in most of N. America and Europe.  This makes it extremely lethal if you poke a paper clip into an active wall socket in NZ or Oz.  But presumably it's possible to add switches to US outlet boxes.  Just be aware that anything mechanical can and will fail on occasion!

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  4. spaceshaper's avatar

    spaceshaper Posted 12:29 pm
    05 Aug 2009

    Here's one by Cooper: http://tinyurl.com/n8e98fand another by Leviton:http://tinyurl.com/lgzcxaBoth of these are also GFCI. Install as lead outlet in a GFCI string to control all the downstream outlets too. 

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  5. neosapiens Posted 12:49 pm
    05 Aug 2009

    I use power strips and the plug-in two prong switches.  I have bought but not used an outlet replacement that has a switch in place of one of the pair of outlets, but that would, of course, cost you one outlet for each switch you install, so I haven't used one yet.  It does seem like a pretty straightforward notion to have a three-pronged switch or built-in outlet switches, but I haven't found anything satisfactory yet.Remote control sensors on outlet switches are themselves vampires, so that might defeat the purpose, if having a switch is meant to slay the vampires. 

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  6. electrical guy Posted 1:01 pm
    05 Aug 2009

    umbraPass and Seymour makes a Decora combination switch and receptacle.Part # TM818...  various colorsI didn't check the other manufactures, Hubbel, Leviton etc, but they might also. If Homedepot or Lowes doesn't have these in your local town, check with your local electrical distributor, they will or can order it.p.s. great job, love all your info.

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  7. bailsout Posted 5:36 pm
    05 Aug 2009

     JUST PULL THE PLUGFor me it is just as easy to pull the plug on my power strip as it is to turn the switch on/off.  I had noticed that my  converter box for my dish satellite stayed warm even after I had turned it off, so I unplug the powerstrip that controls the dvd player, the tv and the satellite converter box when I turn off the tv at night. Probably reduces the chances for fire as well. It also means one less thing to buy. I've been doing this for a couple of years now. I'll see how long it takes before my outlets get tired and lose their strength to hold in a plug. I doubt that the metal is getting stronger with the excercise.

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  8. alaskamom Posted 8:07 pm
    05 Aug 2009

    Just the other day, I happened upon a report about the products at this web site, smart strips, which are supposed to stop phantom power draw. I'm thinking of investing in one as we have a large screen TV. http://catalog.bitsltd.us/power_strips/

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