Save-me-money gadgets

This group of nifty gadgets help reduce your power consumption by controlling lights and other appliances that are often accidentally left on. They're especially useful if you have household members who leave on lights or towel rails.

Programmable light switch

If your house is frequently lit up like a Christmas tree, the IntelliSwitch ($80), pictured, could be worth a look. It can operate in three settings: a normal on-off switch, a controlled timer switch (which allows your light or appliance to be on for between 15 minutes and 3 hours), and in a "towel rail mode" (4 hours on, 8 hours off ... continuously).

The switch can be bought in one of four versions: single switch, double switch, three-pin socket, and a version for wired-in appliances like towel rails. You can legally install them yourself, if you live in the house and own it - but get an electrician to do it if you're unsure about messing with electrical wiring.

The possible savings with the IntelliSwitch depend on the type and number of things the switch is controlling. For a single energy-saver lamp the savings would be slight. But for a ceiling full of incandescent or halogen downlights, or a towel rail, they could be significant (see table above).

We tried it

We decided to try an IntelliSwitch in a basement laundry where previously one family member had the habit of switching the light on, sorting out some laundry, and then walking out leaving the light on. Sometimes the light would burn for over 24 hours until someone else had some laundry to do. Asking the family member in question to switch the light off was attempted (several times) but the attempts failed.

Installing the IntelliSwitch was straightforward: the unit replaced a standard light switch.

The laundry light now switches off after 15 minutes. No complaints and no electricity wastage, although the savings on one light are relatively minor (see table).

Towel-rail timer

Over a five-month winter, leaving one towel rail switched on all the time could cost you between $43 and $57.

Enter the Celsius Heated Towel Rail Timer. This $39 device can control up to five 100W towel rails - but it must be installed by an electrician. It saves power by automatically switching the towel rails on and off. The times are initially set as 4 hours on and 8 off, although the "on" times can be extended up to 11 hours by flicking the switch a specific number of times.

Report by Bill Whitley