TV TrickleSaver Review

TV TrickleSaver Review

TickleStar was kind enough to send us their TV TrickleSaver device for review. The TV TrickleSaver is designed to eliminate “vampire power”, reducing your electricity usage and saving you money.

TV TrickleSaver Overview

Let’s take a look at the overview, straight from the manufacturer’s website: The TrickleStarâ„¢ TV TrickleSaverâ„¢ 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 The product is easy to install and provides simple automation to reduce wasteful standby energy consumption. The product is suitable for residental and workplace applications. The product can be connected directly to equipment or connected to a standard electrical powerstrip with a number of connected devices.

TV TrickleSaver Key Features

• In-build relay for switching off devices that consume standby current.
• Adjustable sensitivity for sensing TV status.
• Rear mounting holes for wall, under desk mounting.

TV TrickleSaver product itself

Let’s take a look at the product shall we? The TV TrickleSaver comes packaged in a nice looking box.

TV-TrickleSaver-Review-Box

What’s inside the box?

TV-TrickleSaver-Review-Contents

The TV TrickleSaver box is filled with all the items you might expect. The box contains the TV TrickleSaver itself and some instruction manuals in various languages. Let’s have a look at the TV TrickleSaver device itself, out of the plastic.

TV-TrickleSaver-Review-Itself

As you can see, the device has 3 cords attached. The first cord pictured on the left is the power plug that is plugged directly into a wall power outlet.

The two cords on the right are used to attach devices to the TV TrickleSaver. One of these cords is the “master”, which is designed to be used with your TV’s power cord. The second is the “slave”, where you plug in a TV accessory or a surge protector/power strip full of TV accessories.

TV TrickleSaver tests

I tested the TV TrickleSaver in our living room by connecting our 42″ Panasonic plasma to the master plug and our TV accessory surge protector to the slave plug. A home theater system and a Sony PS3 game console were plugged into the surge protector.

TV-TrickleSaver-Review-Test

The TV TrickleSaver functioned exactly as advertised. When I turned my TV on, all of my TV accessories came to life, with the accessory power switched on by the TV TrickleSaver. When I turned my TV off, all accessories were turned off by the TV TrickleSaver.

The TV TrickleSaver should work automatically with most TV’s, but if it doesn’t function as desired with a particular model, there is also a “trimmer” dial on the device. This trimmer can be used to adjust the threshold at which the accessory devices switch on and off.

TV TrickleSaver review summary

We found that the TV TrickleSaver functioned just as the manufacturer stated. The only downside we could find, is that a TV would no longer be protected by a surge protector when the TV TrickleSaver is used, as the instruction manual recommends that you connect the TV TrickleSaver power cord directly to a wall power outlet.

Other than this minor complaint, the TV TrickleSaver device is a great product to use to cut down on the energy use of your TV accessories and peripherals. Game consoles in particular, are notorious for consuming large amounts of power, even when switched to “off” mode. And of course, there’s always that forgetful person that might not turn off a game console after powering down the TV. The TrickleStar comes to the rescue in that case too.

Some reports have stated that a PS3 game console can suck away up to $250 per year in electricity costs when in standby (off) mode. With costs like that, purchasing a TV TrickleSaver for use with a Sony PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii or another power hungry device seems like a no brainer.

You can purchase the TV TrickleSaver on Amazon or from other electronics retailers.

Disclosure: The TV TrickleSaver device was given to us for this review.

If you have any questions on the product or this review, please let us know in the comments.

About Wes Novack

Wesley Novack is a Technologist working in the software industry, with extensive experience building and managing highly available applications, services, and systems in the public cloud. He has a breadth of experience in online publishing, the consumer electronics industry, and building internet communities. Wes enjoys hanging with his family, skateboarding, hiking, the vegan lifestyle, and a good cup of tea. You can find him on Twitter @WesleyTech.

View all posts by Wes Novack →

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