Now we’re talking. In the past three to four years there has been a wave of unsatisfying devices aimed at energy conservation or power management that, frankly, seem designed more to exploit a popular trend than do any real good. Each year I come across solar-powered gadgets and energy switches that perform like proof-of-concept prototypes than finished products. They rarely work as advertised and instead make things more complicated. Popular accessories maker Belkin has stepped up this year with a full line of conservation gadgets that are polished, have been properly thought through, and most importantly, reasonably priced. Unfortunately, we’re not going to see them in stores until September.

Conserve Insight

$30

The Insight is an energy use monitor. You plug it into an electrical outlet, then plug a gadget into it, and it tells you how much wattage it’s consuming. The idea is to help you realize which items are the real power hogs in your home so you can be more vigilant in keeping them off when not in use. But unlike other monitors on the market, you can punch in your own billing rate and it will calculate how much money each device is draining too. You can also punch in the CO2 emission rate in your area and it will work out that figure too. You can use it to perform a quick check on each device in your home or leave it connected to one major appliance and it will use its tracking mode to work out the performance over time.

I’m fond of the design, not just the clean, white form, but that it has a six foot cord making it easy to place the display on a nearby table, you don’t have to crouch down with a flash light to read the display.

Conserve Valet

$40

The Valet is a USB charging station. It can charge up to four gadgets at the same time as long as they use either USB, mini-USB, or micro-USB connections to charge. There’s no fancy wireless system, it merely offers four charge cords and a convenient flat surface to lay your devices on. The twist is that the charger will automatically turn off after it detects that the last gadget has reached its full charge.

Most chargers will stay active as long as they are plugged into the wall and long after your device is done drawing its power. Belkin says their charger draws zero power when not in use.

Conserve Socket

$15

Wait, did you leave the iron on? The Socket adds a timer to your electrical outlet. Plug it into the outlet in the wall, then plug in your iron, curling iron, or other hot device into it, and then flip the switch to 30 minutes, 3 hours, or 6 hours. When the time limit is reached, it cuts the power. If you forget to unplug your device, no need to worry, it’s taken care of.

Conserve Smart AV

$40

Belkin’s dabbled with this idea before, a power bar that can turn off devices when they’re not in use, to eliminate the trickle of electricity they draw even when “turned off”. Personally the idea has always made me nervous, I’ve felt the sickening feeling of losing all my saved data because my computer or game system has suddenly lost power far too often to be completely comfortable with it, but this year Belkin’s found a smarter solution.

Their Smart AV a master outlet (coloured in light green) designed for the television. The rest of the outlets next to it are saved for all the devices connected to your television. When you turn off your TV, it automatically cuts the power to the rest of the outlets next to it. So when the TV’s off, so are all the other boxes next to and around it. And, if you’re paranoid about losing data or programmed functions, the last two outlets on the bar remain active for just that reason.

A Promising Shade Of Green

While I’ve had the chance to look at each of these devices, I’ll have to wait until their launch in the fall to really test them, but in design and concept they show great promise. Most of the success in the green movement within consumer electronics has been in changing the way new computers, televisions, and game systems are made through more efficient power usage, environmentally-friendly materials and packaging, and software updates that allow devices to be programmed to power on and shut off when needed.

Where there’s room for new devices is in offering solutions for old gadgets. What if you have an old television, stereo, or computer? Chances are if you do you might not be able to afford to replace them with a newer, greener model, even if they do draw less power. Belkin’s solutions, because they seem well-made for a low price, just might be the answer.