CREST ELECTRONICS

What is Standby power?

Standby power is the energy consumed by an appliance while it is not performing its primary function. It now accounts for around 10% of the energy consumed in Australian homes, costs consumers over $950M per annum and generates more than 6.5M tones of carbon dioxide emissions in 2005.

The average standby consumption for 2005 was found to be 92 watts per household, or 800 kWh per year. The main contributors to standby power use include computers and peripherals and home entertainment equipment (almost 50% of standby use).*

In 2002 the Ministerial Council of Energy (MCE) initiated a ten year policy on standby power to lead Australia towards achieving the goal of "One Watt" for all consumer appliances and office equipment by 2012.

* Standby Power - Current Status, Rpt #2006/10, Oct 2006, by Energy Efficient Strategies.

Does everything plugged into the Earth Smart Power Board save energy?

Only devices that would normally be left on or draw an idle "standby" current even after they have been turned off.

It will save energy on almost all computer peripherals and home entertainment products. Computer systems tend to have the greatest energy savings when used with the Earth Smart Power Board.

How does the Earth Smart Power Board save energy?

It saves energy by electronically disconnecting all of the devices that are plugged into the "Peripheral outlets" when the device plugged into the "Master outlet" is turned off. This stops them from drawing any current without the need to turn them off or unplug them. Some devices still draw the same amount of power even when turned off (e.g. Standby Power), therefore using the Earth Smart Power Board or unplugging them is the only way to prevent them from wasting power.

The Earth Smart power board features advanced circuitry that not only offers excellent power surge protection & line noise filtering, but is actually able to sense the flow of electrical current so that when the master device is turned off, all power is eliminated to corresponding peripheral devices preventing them from supplying idle standby power.

How much energy does it save?

While everyone's computer is different, the average home office computer system can waste the equivalent of a 60-watt lamp when the computer was turned off and all the computer peripherals were left on.

In a standard office environment where the computers are left on 24/7, the Earth Smart Power Board can achieve a 73% energy saving. Almost all ADSL Modems, Cable Modems, Routers and computer speaker systems do not have an energy saving mode or a power switch but save energy when plugged into the Earth Smart Power Board.

Example: An Estimated Power Saving Calculation

From the above example well over 6000 hours of wasteful standby could be saved annually with an Earth Smart power board.

It has been estimated by the Australian government that the average Australian households energy bill is made up of 8-10% standby power usage. This can be reduced by either turning the products off at the wall or using the convenience and protective benefits of the Crest Earth Smart power board. Remember the Earth Smart power board will continue to save power and money long after the initial year by removing the human factor of having to remember to switch everything off.

Why do I not see a difference on my electric bill?

A normal electricity bill can vary each month due to total usage patterns so this needs to be taken into consideration. The average savings an Earth Smart Power Board can produce is $5-$20 per month and may easily get hidden in the above month to month variations.

Why do you call this power board Earth Smart?

Quite simply, the Earth Smart power board effectively saves power by automatically turning off peripheral devices controlled by one master device. Saving power in turn saves the earth from greenhouse gases that are generated in the process to create electricity in the first place. The Greenhouse Effect is the common term given to the natural build up of greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere that prevent heat from the sun's rays from escaping back into space.

The Earth Smart power board has been developed to target the two most "energy hungry" areas, namely computers and their attached peripherals and home entertainment systems. These two zones in the average household contribute to almost 50% of the wasted standby power consumption according to a report in 2006 commissioned by the Ministerial Council of Energy (MCE).

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

With gas emissions from the production of electricity and there subsequent build up in the lower atmosphere effectively trapping in the heat is similar to the way a greenhouse works - hence the term 'greenhouse gases' and 'greenhouse effect'. This natural process is crucial for maintaining balanced temperature conditions that are necessary for life on earth.

However, when the balance of greenhouse gases is disrupted, more heat is trapped and the earth gradually heats up. The growing problem we face today is that human actions are increasing the concentrations of these greenhouse gases well above natural levels, creating the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect, which leads to the associated problems of global warming.

Is it good to shut off my computer peripherals or AV component?

Yes, when any electronic device is left on 24/7, the heat inside is constantly building up without any chance to cool down. This heat eventually weakens the electronic components and causes failure of that device. Devices today are designed to be turned off and/or go into a low power sleep mode without shortening its life span.

Does it work with the sleep mode of my computer?

If your computer has a true energy saving sleep mode, then it will turn off the peripheral outlets when your computer goes to sleep. If your computer only shuts off the video and or the hard drive when it goes to sleep then no it will not work. In this case you will need to adjust your Power Option Icon on your control panel to either System Standby or Hibernate.

What is sleep mode & how do I use it?

Most computers and AV equipment have a sleep mode but not all of them actually save very much energy. When your computer goes into this mode, it remains ready to use with a touch of your keyboard or movement of your mouse but uses less energy than if it was fully on, as it then shuts down the Monitor and Hard Disks.

Under control panels or preferences of most operating systems is a "Power Options" icon that allows you to change the setting of your sleep mode. When your operating system is installed generally deep sleep is disabled. Simply open the "Power Options" icon in the control panel and change this setting to enable "deep sleep" mode.

When my computer wakes from sleep mode, my Earth Smart Power Board does not work correctly. Why?

Not all hardware device drivers reset the device when your computer wakes up. Try the following solutions in order:

1. Look for and install an updated driver.
2. Re-start your computer.
3. Change the setting in your "Power Options" control panel to disable sleep mode or to turn it to System Standby or Hibernate instead of going to sleep.

When I turn on my computer, it says that power was turned off to my Printer. Why?

See the above note "When my computer wakes from sleep mode, my Earth Smart Power Board does not work correctly. Why?"

I have turned off my Computer but there is still power going to the Peripherals?

Option 1 - First turn OFF the Mains Power Switch on the Earth Smart Power Board and wait for 1 min. Then turn the Mains Power Switch of the Earth Smart Power Board to the ON position.

Option 2-Turn your Computer Tower back ON, then switch it OFF again.

How do I install the Earth Smart Power Board?

A typical configuration is as follows:

1. Make sure the Mains Power Switch on the Earth Smart Power Board is in the OFF position.
2. Plug in your main "master" device to the "Master Outlet" (ie: computer tower, DVD Player).
3. Connect all of the devices (ie: for a computer - modem, printer, scanner, monitor etc.) into the "Peripheral outlets".
4. Switch ON the power board using the Mains Power Switch on the board and then turn ON your Master device as normal. Turning ON your Master device will then enable all the Peripheral sockets to become active and supply power to your accessories.
5. Turning off your Master device should see all the power provided to the connected peripherals eliminated - thereby turning them all off, until such time that you turn on the master device again.

Overview:
The "Peripheral outlets" are automatically switched ON or OFF when the device plugged into the "Master outlet" is turned ON or OFF respectively. Under normal use, the Mains Power Switch remains on and the Earth Smart Power Board does the switching for you - automatically.

What can I plug into the Earth Smart Power Board?

The Earth Smart Power Board can be used anywhere a regular power board is used. While only certain electronic devices will turn on the switched outlets when plugged into the Master outlet, depending upon the amount of Watts the device uses when going from Standby to Power ON.

Do not plug any device into the switched outlets that would be dangerous if it is automatically switched on. It is also not recommended to use a Laptop in the Master Socket as these products already use a smaller amount of power.

Can I plug another power strip into the Earth Smart Power Board?

No. This has the potential to overload the board and will void any warranty.

I plugged my electronic device into the Master outlet but the peripheral outlets never turn on. Why?

The Earth Smart Power Board only senses current from motors, fluorescent lamps and high efficiency power supplies (computers and most but not all home entertainment products). Additionally some computers and audio/video equipment do not draw enough power to trigger the Earth Smart Power Board. In this case first try using the "Knobbing Switch" located on the end of the board just below the Master outlet.

This can then be used to adjust the level of sensitivity the board uses to trigger the Peripherals ON. This sensitivity setting determines at what wattage the Peripheral sockets will go ON, and can be adjusted from 7W to 80W. The reason for this is that not all electrical equipment goes from Standby to Power ON and then back again at the same wattage.

I plugged my electronic device into the peripheral outlet and it does not work. Why?

If the device in the Master outlet has not activated the Earth Smart Power Board, the red "Peripheral ON" LED will be off, along with all of the devices in the switched outlets. IMPORTANT NOTE: Before returning your Earth Smart Power Board as a possible defective device, please try this test:

TEST:
Plug a normal 60 - 75 watt incandescent lamp into the Master outlet.
Switch the lamp on and off repeatedly while slowly adjusting the sensitivity knob from least to greatest sensitivity to see if this activates the peripherals.

If this solves the problem, the device you previously had in the Master outlet may use too little or too much energy to trip the Earth Smart Power Board electronics.

You should now reconnect the original master device and adjust the knobbing switch and repeat the ON/OFF process until such time that the peripherals are activated.

What is Power OK?

This means that your Earth Smart Power Board has been turned ON by the Mains Power Switch and the Master Outlet is now Active.

What is Peripherals ON?

This means the Master Outlet has worked correctly and that all your Peripheral Outlets are now Active.

What does 'Protected' mean?

This means that all your valuable electronic equipment connected to the powerboard are receiving the following protection:

• 144,000 Amps maximum spike current protection.
• 3,444 Joules of Surge protection.
• Your Data/Telephone lines are also protected when using the IN/OUT jacks on the side of the board.
• All backed up by a $150,000 connected equipment warranty.

Why do I have no lights on my Earth Smart Power Board and nothing works?

Check that the Mains Power Switch is in the ON position, if this still does not work then make sure that the Earth Smart Power Board is plugged into a wall socket and that it has been turned ON at the wall. Lastly you can reset the overload switch by pressing it once. The overload switch is located at the end of the board next to where the power cable goes into the board.

Where can I find out more information about Standby power and the Greenhouse gas effect?

• Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE)
• Department of Climate Change
• www.australia.gov.au/climateclever
• www.greenhousegases.gov.au