That $60 'energy saving' power strip I bought off Amazon ended up tripping my circuit breaker 3 times in a week

My brother swears by these things for his home office setup, but mine just kept killing the power to my whole TV and gaming corner - anyone else find smart strips are either a lifesaver or a total scam?

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.blair10d ago

Ugh, that's such a pain! I feel you on this one, I got a similar strip for my living room and it kept cutting out on me too. It's so frustrating when you buy something to save power and it just causes more problems, right? I had to unplug half my stuff just to keep the lights on, which totally defeats the purpose. Honestly, I think those things are hit or miss depending on what you plug in and how old your place is. I hope you can figure out a workaround or get your money back, because that sounds like a total headache.

alice9289d ago

Tbh Wendy is right about the wiring being old. I had the exact same setup in my last apartment and the strip kept tripping until I realized my 2000s era house just couldn't handle a PC and a mini fridge on the same circuit. Moved the strip to a different room and it worked fine after that. If your place is older than the 90s your breaker is probably the real problem. Try plugging the strip into a different outlet on a different wall and see if that stops the cutting out. Sucks when you spend money to fix one issue and find another.

wendy_henderson2110d ago

Your breaker probably can't handle modern electronics anyway. Those strips are fine for basic stuff like lamps and phone chargers but plugging in a gaming rig and a 65-inch TV is asking for trouble. Most people blame the strip when the real issue is their house wiring from the 80s.