Belkin 8-Outlet Conserve Switch Surge Protector, 4ft Cord and Remote, White

I bought this energy-saving outlet for one specific purpose - my flatiron. As you may guess, I did not do this because I was concerned so much with saving energy (though that's nice too), but rather was concerned with safety. Although I quite like my flatiron, it is not one of those that has a timed off setting, which means I can accidentally leave it on (and have done so twice). Even when I haven't left it on, sometimes I can't remember if I've turned it off, which means that I usually end up turning my car around and running up to my apartment to check, which is frustrating and is almost always a waste of time. This gadget has saved me that misery.I now have it constantly set to the 30 minute setting. Since I have long hair, it usually take me around 20 to 25 minutes to flatiron my hair, which means that even if I do happen to leave my flatiron on, within five to ten minutes of finishing my hair, this Belkin device will cut the power. Fabulous! This gives me peace of mind. Why don't I just get into the habit of unplugging my iron every time? No real answer, I just can't seem to get into the habit.This device is ridiculously easy. There is a switch on the side where you can set it to 30 minutes, 3 hours, or 6 hours, depending on how long you want whatever is plugged in to receive electricity. Then there is a button on the top that you press to activate the charging time and the button glows green to let you know it's on. Until you do this, whatever you've plugged in will not charge or power on.There are a couple minor downsides. This is pretty bulky, so expect it to take up the majority of your outlet. I have to unplug it to plug anything else in the other outlet. Annoying, but certainly not a deal-breaker; after all, you'd imagine that something like this would have to be somewhat bulky. Second, the green light on top is very faint and I usually have use my hand to shade the button to see whether it's on or off. This could be a good or bad thing depending on where you plan on using this. If you're using it someplace you plan on sleeping, you may like this feature. In the age of DVRs, computers, external hard drives, etc. that always seem to emit some sort of light, even when not being used, sometimes it's nice not to have another glowing object in the room.Overall, excellent product that works well and is priced fairly.

I really can't stand having complete silence in the house, so I always leave the TV on when I go to bed. It helps lull me to sleep, and acts as a nice background when I wake up and get ready in the morning. Unfortunately, I'm really absentminded so I end up leaving the TV, lamp, and all other manner of things when I leave for work. So this outlet has been a LIFE-SAVER (for my wallet).I also like to sleep by the heater in the winter, so it's saved me some peace of mind about fires....It's super lightweight (almost hollow feeling) but doesn't feel cheap. It's as stylish as an outlet can be. It has the easiest to open packaging too.CONS-The major con for me is that once you press that button up top to start your energy countdown, the only way to turn it off or change the timer is to pull the whole socket out of the wall. I wish you could just press the button again.-The size doesn't seem very bulky to me (I guess that's kudos to the designers) but once you plug it into an outlet, it doesn't leave room for anything else. (I guess that's another way to save energy) If you plug it in on the top notch, there's only enough room on the bottom if you're plugging in a slender two pronged plug. (Though, you can tell the bulk from the pictures.)TL;DRLil bulky, but simple and awesome. Works as advertised, only really worth it if you tend to leave things on all the time.

I've been using this Belkin timed switch for two years now, with faultless performance. I use it on an automatic coffee brewer to turn it off after 1/2 hour (my coffee maker otherwise would keep my coffee on permanent "warm", boiling off the oils). I also use it on a couple of appliances that lack internal timers: a hot pot and a turkey roaster. These are cheap but excellent appliances; however, each lacks an internal timer.On the Belkin timed-switch, you set a simple lever to 30 minutes, 3 hours, or 6 hours. You press a button. Juice flows for that amount of time. It has worked every time in almost daily use for two years.I also have timers with clocks inside (Stanley). While these work well, they take a lot more time to program than the simple Belkin that offers three timed settings. This simplicity helps a lot when you care more that the switch shuts off after a fixed amount of time (e.g. hot pot) than that it turns off or on at a specific time (e.g. night light in the living room). As a general issue, this timer allows you to buy cheaper products that lack internal timers. Where appliances have internal timers, in my experience, the timers often fail before the rest of the machine. This external Belkin timer addresses that problem well. If it fails, I need only replace the Belkin timer, not a whole appliance.I've reviewed some of the Amazon "1" ratings. There are many reports of failure by justifiably annoyed users. I can only say that the two that I bought have worked faultlessly for two years. Moreover, I'm using it with appliances that draw a reasonable amount of juice (coffee maker, hot pot, turkey roaster). Maybe Belkin has a quality control problem. I'd still recommend buying, but maybe worth doing an immediate time check on delivery to confirm that you got one of the good ones (For extreme accuracy, just plug an electric clock into the Belkin outlet, note the time, and read the clock after it stops).