Posted Friday, August 17, 2012 by John Ennis in News

USB Outlets Save Power, Looks Awesome

If you have a new(er) phone, you might notice a notification that pops up when the phone fully charges. “Remove the power cord from the outlet to conserve power.” What this means is even though your phone is fully charged, leaving the cord plugged in still uses power. In fact the plug is still using power even when the phone isn’t plugged in, it’s costing you money every second that it’s plugged into an outlet. This is often referred to as “Vampiric power drain.” AC Adaptors, TVs, and other devices that never truly turn off still use power when they are turned off. These devices are often citied as wasting up to 50% of the power they draw.

USB power adaptors are a great way to conserve energy, and do you part to reduce your electric bill. The power adaptor has a regular plug, and also has USB ports. The difference is these power adaptors often shut off when there isn’t anything drawing power from them. So when your phone or tablet is fully charged, the adaptor knows to shut off the power, and waste is kept to a minimum.

Cooper’s USB Charger and Tamper Resistant Receptacle offers convenience and safety all in one device! It features 2 USB charging ports and a Tamper Resistant Receptacle. The Cooper Wiring Devices Combination USB Charger with Tamper Resistant Receptacle quickly and easily provides consumers with the ability to charge their electronic devices directly from a standard outlet without bulky adapters that can be lost or misplaced. Additionally, they contain UL approved Tamper Resistant Shutters for child safety and to ensure compliance with the 2011 NEC Article 406.12 that requires all 125V receptacles in dwelling units to be Tamper Resistant.

Installation went smoothly and it looks pretty awesome. Makes me wonder why houses are not built with these already in place. Maybe one day it will happen, but until then, you can replace them yourself and cheaply too. Seems to charge as fast an AC adaptor, and even my finicky Nexus 7 likes the charge that’s provided by this outlet.

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John Ennis

Sr Editor at Android Does

Editor
When the USAF dropped this New Jersey boy off in Louisiana, he had no idea that the fun was just beginning. John has turned wrenches on jet engines in a Combat AGE team, raided Molten Core in the day, pwn n00bs in Battlefield 3, and can speak iOS and Android.

John has a BS degree in Culinary Arts, and is working on a Master’s in Education. Married and a father of 4 boys, John gets his screen name, Broadwayblues, from the NHL team the New York Rangers, loves the NY Giants and admits that he likes the NY Mets too. He cuddles his Galaxy Nexus at night.