Chris Pirillo » power

How to Save Electricity

Chris — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:14:48 +0000

How to Save Electricity is a post from Chris Pirillo

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If a device is plugged into the wall, it’s using electricity. Even if it’s not turned on, it’s still draining your wallet by running up your power bill. You may want to look into a device that can help you cut that bill down, and save on your energy usage! There’s a way to do it easily by using TrickleStar’s devices.

Using either the TV TrickleSaver or the PC TrickleSaver, you can cut your energy consumption quite a lot. Using them reduces the standby electricity used by devices. There’s a built-in relay that switches off devices that consume standby current.

The TrickleStar TV TrickleSaver reduces the standby energy consumed by TV accessories. The product has inbuilt current sensing circuitry to sense when a TV is on or Off. When the TV is on the product will switch On all peripheral devices. Conversely when the TV is Off, the product will switch Off all accessories.

Conversely, the TrickleStar PC TrickleSaver reduces the standby energy consumed by PC Peripheral equipment. The product connects to a PC via a standard USB connector and detects the power status of a PC via the USB port. When a PC is powered up, the product will switch on all peripheral devices. When a PC is switched off, the product will switch off all peripheral devices.

Why not make the Earth a friendlier place by cutting down on the amount of electricity you use? Heck… you’re saving yourself money as well, so you really have no excuse!

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How Much is Electricity Costing You?

Chris — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:36:11 +0000

How Much is Electricity Costing You? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Elektronova is a company that presented at Live Pitch 2008 in Seattle recently. Elektronova is dedicated to helping consumers monitor their electrical consumption. This will not only allow people to save money. It will also help promote a more energy-efficient lifestyle.

Elektronova

Business Category: Tech Startup
Founder: Lawrence Winnerman and Kaley Davis
Inspiration for Product/Service: We were interested in the renewable energy space, but quickly realized that the first step… consumption awareness and reduction… is something that there is virtually no information on. The idea for Elektronova quickly followed out of that core realization.
Target Customer/Audience: Everyone who uses electricity, and is interested in saving money by reducing their electricity consumption.
Synopsis of Product / Service: We are creating small, networked devices that plug in between any electrical appliance and the wall socket. The data is aggregated by a master unit, and sent to our servers. Consumers can then view their electricity consumption, set reduction goals, and view tips and tricks on how to save both energy and money.
Main Company Contact: Lawrence Winnerman

What do you think about this business idea? Leave your thoughts!

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How to Save Energy

Chris — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:21:13 +0000

How to Save Energy is a post from Chris Pirillo

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The cost of energy these days is outrageous. Many of us cut corners wherever and whenever we can. Ryan_Leaf sent in some excellent tips to help all of us conserve energy. How many of these do you already do?

See how much power you are consuming You have to start somewhere, and by knowing how much everything consumes you can tell what you might want to remove or replace. You can use something like the Kill A Watt, which will display how much power you are consuming. Take a pencil and paper, and write down what you’re testing, and how much it draws. I was told that the “VA” mode gives the actual amount of energy that you are paying for. If you forget to hit the “VA” button on the Kill A Watt, and don’t want to redo the whole process again, plug it back in and hit the “PF”, or “power factor” button and then use the formula ‘Watts / PF = VA’.
Adjust your computer’s settings This is a simple and free way to cut back on consumption. In Windows, you can set the monitors and hard drives to turn off after a certain length of time. However, if you set it to four hours before they turn off it is almost pointless. Set it to around 30 minutes. Windows also allows you to put your computer into Stand-By or Hibernate mode. Consider telling it to put the computer to Stand-By mode after approximately 45 minutes to an hour. If you are working on something at night and don’t want to re-open all of your work when you return, enable Hibernate mode and ‘hibernate’ it overnight. This draws no power at all, so it’s optimal if you’re going to be away from your computer for any length of time.
Turn it off Do you really need to have the television on while you listen to music? Is it necessary to leave your computer on overnight, idle? By turning off items you’re not using, you can conserve a lot of power. Consider plugging items into a power-strip or surge protector if you don’t already. Many televisions and other consumer electronics still draw a considerable amount of power when they are ‘off’. By turning off the power-strip you stop it from drawing power completely.
Try to replace the biggest consumers If you still have a CRT on your desk, replace it with an LCD. Not only will this improve the clarity of the screen, but it also will draw much less power for the relative screen size. In addition, if you still are using incandescent lightbulbs, replace them with compact florescent bulbs. Also, if you have an older computer that draws a lot of power, consider replacing it with a newer, more energy-efficient one. New computers not only improve performance, but many, if not all, include better power-saving features. I personally switched to a Mac Mini recently, and was shocked it only drew 23 watts on the desktop, and 1 watt in ’sleep’ mode.

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Wireless Power

Chris — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 23:23:44 +0000

Wireless Power is a post from Chris Pirillo

Is it just me, or is this invention a game changer?

It may sound futuristic, but Powercast’s platform uses nothing more complex than a radio–and is cheap enough for just about any company to incorporate into a product. A transmitter plugs into the wall, and a dime-size receiver (the real innovation, costing about $5 to make) can be embedded into any low-voltage device. The receiver turns radio waves into DC electricity, recharging the device’s battery at a distance of up to 3 feet.

Fewer wires? Fewer proprietary power cables? Fewer batteries? Fewer headaches? OMG. Finally, a piece of technology that nobody will be able to live without.

Actually, even though I’m looking at this link today (March 30th) – the page title is “Powercast’s technology cuts the electric cord – April 1, 2007.” Is this an AFD joke that was published before AFD?

Cutting Cable and Cord Clutter

Chris — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:46:37 +0000

Cutting Cable and Cord Clutter is a post from Chris Pirillo

My latest CPU Magazine article is out: The” title=”http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/c0703/44c03/44c03.asp&did=2111&aid=37991\”>The” target=”_blank”>www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/c0703/44c03/44c03.asp&did=2111&aid=37991″>The Power Of Power.

I recently moved into a new house in the Seattle area. Moving is anything but fun, especially when it happens to coincide with the same time frame as your wedding/honeymoon. Well, the movers we selected did an absolutely rotten job at packing our stuff. Cords were separated from their respective devices, and I’ll be damned if I know which ones match up. Some manufacturers were nice enough to stamp their name and the corresponding device onto the power supply and cord, while others were completely generic and without labels. Am I really to blame for this mess?

It’s a trend that must be reversed. CPUser “Randy” had a comment that deserved to be seen, if only by the hardware hackers of the galaxy:

While I agree that there should be some form of standard, when dealing with power adapters. There is one very significant point. There are many devices out there. Each one, usually for good reason, is designed to charge and/or run on a given voltage/amperage. The reason for not having extra circuitry, with which to convert some incoming standard towards something that will work with the needed circuitry, is that this “circuit” would require a certain given space. In today’s world, every consumer wants more of everything fit into a device except that they want it to be smaller. If you could design a tiny circuit, say .1 to .3 mm cubed, that could convert some universal standard, say standard home 115VAC and automotive ~12VDC to whatever we need to run the circuitry. Let us know. It would be greatly appreciated.

So is such a thing possible? What say you, power people? I promise to give ‘er a good “plug” or two. Pun intended.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.