This was posted 12 years 6 months 15 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Up to 4 Free Power Saving Devices - Embertec EmberPlugs - Victoria Only

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From their website:

Embertec EmberPlugs are revolutionary Australian product that helps reduce your power wastage and save you money by automatically switching the power off to your entertainment and computer appliances when left unattended or in standby mode.

The Nu Energy Standby Controller Program allows the installation of up to four Embertec EmberPlugs at no charge to you*.

Available in Victoria only

*Embertec EmberPlugs™ are supplied and installed free of charge, while stocks last, in exchange for the customer assigning Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) to Nu Energy.

How it works: http://www.nuestandby.com.au/products/


Saw this in our local paper - might be useful for someone out there in vic.

NB1. It seems when you 'order' a 'Nu Energy rep' will visit you. (Be weary of an upsell?)

NB2. I don't think this is 'revolutionary'……

MOD - please remove 'Freebie' status if required as Nu Energy will exchange the goods for the customer to assign a 'Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificate (VEEC)'. I'm lead to believe that this should cost nothing to the customer.

Cheers.

Related Stores

nuestandby.com.au
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closed Comments

  • -1

    I think its only installation free.For emberplug u have to pay from ur pocket and that will not be cheap that i m sure.

    • +2

      In the description:

      "*Embertec EmberPlugs™ are supplied and installed free of charge, while stocks last, in exchange for the customer assigning Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) to Nu Energy."

    • It is 100 % free , I've got all the paperwork that it says free. Thye get paid the rebate based on the electricity they save

    • Hi Carlenet,

      do you know how these incentives work? eg a friend bought an LCD tv recently. Is this saying they might be able to get some sort of payment from the government?

      • +1

        I have no idea foundit. I just did 5 mins of research after this was posted.

  • +1

    What kind of installation is required?

    • +3

      Plugging it in it would seem. Apparently they have to plug it in/install the product to receive the VEEC's. I've just done a bit of quick research, above. :)

  • +2

    On the same theme but at Aldi this week:

    Remote Control Power Points 4pk $ 24.99
    http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_19396.htm

    6-Way Energy Saver Surgeboard $ 19.99
    http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_19394.htm

    • +2

      Why can't we just buy the units ourselves from Aldi and then give our VEECs/RECs direct to the Govt in exchange for rebates/cash - Cut out the middle man! ;-)

      • Can we do that with the VEECs?

        • Don't know but it seems silly for govts to pay out our taxes to companies for what householders can easily do themselves for less.

    • Thanks for the heads-up!

      Remote Control Power Points 4pk $ 24.99
      http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_19396.htm

      Purchased. It comes with 2 dimmers and 2 standard points. I'll be testing out tonight. The dimming is a bit basic. Unidirectional from the docs.

      This config would leave me with one dimming power point left over all-up, though. Meh.

  • +3

    How much are these guys charging the government?
    Poor tax payer's dollars going to waste.

    • and we wonder why electricity prices have doubled in the past 3 years

  • +4

    You want to let someone into your house to install this? More likely you house will be empty the next day!

    • +1

      Yes, but when they steal your TVs, laptops and games consoles you will use less electricity! ;-)

  • +1

    Its a bit of a annoyance that you have to let them come in your house and "install" it for you.
    Can't they just send it…

  • Are there any other Vendors offering anything better? Sounds good though.

  • I don't know about VEEC, but if they are the new name for Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), you get approx $25 dollars each selling them to a 'REC broker'… so not sure if this is a worthwhile deal, considering you can get a 'master, slave' energy power board for around $30 bucks each.

  • i wouldn't get it, it said "the plug turns it self off when equipments are on standby" what if there is a miscalculation and turns it off when equipments are in use

    • if the standby device will wake up at certain preset time to record tv shows, will it still works?

    • It turns off a running TV if it doesn't detect a IR(Remote) signal in 1hr / 2hr/ or 4hr there is a setting for choosing the time.

  • I reckon this is similar to the free energy efficient light bulbs replacement offered by some companies last year. They supply you with 1 to 4 plugs, obtain a certificate which claims that they have abated one tonne of carbon emission and sell it for a profit.

    • So … some company then buys a bunch of these to say they've reduced their emissions by so 1 tonne per credit? …

      Now you have me wondering, how much do the companies buy these for?

  • +2

    the "AV Plug" apparently saves you 736Kwh/yr
    which is 2Kw/day
    which is 80w/hr

    Now I find it very hard to believe anything uses 80w/hr in standby mode.
    8w/hr maybe, but certainly not 80w/h

    Another business model based on a govt rebate gravy train….oh I wish they'd learn their lesson.
    Just like the batts/water tanks/etc wait for the business to scream blue murder when it gets cut after the media publish a negative story on the waste.

    • They did. Pull a stunt like this, milk it for the publicity, hopefully the media will delay reporting on it till someone else has to clean up (or just pull another stunt again to distract the public) :S

  • +1

    Just had mine installed this morning. Friendly guy came around and plugged them in, and explained how they work.

    He also took photos of the plugs as installed, and then rang to confirm they had been installed. I think the installation process has also been required to ensure that plugs also get installed where they say they are. He emailed photos of the plugs to a government authority (can't remember the name) and then spoke to someone on the phone to confirm they had been installed at the nominated address.

    The plugs are like a double adapter. One plug turns equipment off (as in, turns standby off) one minute after you've powered down from the remote, or turns it off after 1, 2 or 3 hours with no remote activity. The other plug passes through and can remain always on - for routers etc etc.

    They are at no cost to the consumer.

    I imagine the energy savings to each consumer is negligible. However, if 1 million households were to install these things, I reckon the amount of energy saved across the state makes it worthwhile for government to subsidise these things as it cheaper to reduce energy consumption than to commission new power stations….

    • +1

      If the energy saving are negligble the govt shouldn't be supporting it with credits.

      I doubt 1 million Aust households would be installing these. Personally I just turn off the power point switch. I wonder how much the govt will give me for that ;-)

      • +1

        and if you're doing that all the time, you're going to be faster and more efficient than these devices :)

  • I got 3 of these at my place last week, some guys came around door knocking.

    so far pretty happy with them,, they also have a small sensor that if they don't detect your remote signal itwill turn off a running TV.

    They also gave one for my home PC and one for my laptop. I am having issues with the laptop one but the cutoff for the TV works perfect.

    • I noticed that my ac adaptor for my laptop plugged into the same powerboard as the telly was stopping it from shutting down. Seems like the ac adaptor draws enough power to keep it awake and prevents it from shutting down.

  • Here's the agreement you will receive if you sign-up. Your right to create VEEC should not be given away so cheaply IMO.

    You have agreed to assign to us your right to create Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) from the installation of the SPCs in your home. More information about VEECs is provided below.

    Background information: Consumers in respect of whom a prescribed activity is undertaken can create VEECs under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007. One VEEC represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) to be reduced by the prescribed activity undertaken by the consumer. Consumers are able to assign their right to create VEECs to an accredited person. In assigning their right to an accredited person, the accredited person will be entitled to create and own the certificates in respect of the prescribed activity undertaken by the consumer. In return, the accredited person should provide consumers with an identifiable benefit for the assignation, such as a price reduction on a product, free installation or a cash-back arrangement. Consumers should be aware that it is their responsibility to negotiate satisfactory terms with the accredited person in return for assigning their right to create VEECs.

    • So if someone puts it in a draw rather than using it the installer should return the VEEC to the householder and the money to the govt! ;-)

    • So is that saying it is specifically the VEECs to do with the plugs?

  • other companies appear to "install" entire power boards with 4+ plugs, getting 2 plugs seems a bit cheap but they do look nicer :) (as in available plugs, it's still limited to 4 units)

    • There seems to be a whole list of credits we can get for different actions. Is this company taking away all our credits, not just ones for reducing electricity consumption?

  • Daydream, i think you may be daydreaming if you think the majority of Australians turn off all their equipment from the wall when they are finished using them. I have 3 kids who continuously leave the TV running or the DVD player spinning for hours after use. I'm not sure how much money i am wasting but a 300W plasma screen TV will cost you a fair amount to run not to mention the other devices, so i dont want it running while its not being watched.

    I think the whole rebate concept is that if it is not installed there are no VEEC's created, thats why the people who come to your home have to take photos of the actual installations for proof to the government.

    I for one would not go and buy one of these devices at a retail shop, would prefer to receive some for free and test them, and if they work then i would be happy to pay for future devices.

    • Strange, I'm not sure why you are attributing that to me as I never implied that. I simply said I switched off the power.

      Interesting you you don't want to spend $25 at a retail shop to save you all the money your kids are wasting on power because they have learnt they don't need to switch off the gear when they are finished. Hmmm my kids would just get no TV to watch, win-win for kid and parent. Govt/tax cost = nil.

      "I dont want it running while its not being watched." These devices don't change behaviour.

      I agree with your second point. I also feel that if people don't take personal responsibility for minimising their household power then the government shouldn't be paying for it with other taxpayers money. Why not charge the owner ~$30 if these will save the householder more that that in the long run. Seems fairer.

      • +1

        "Lucille" is an embertec employee and now visiting the bin for a while

  • Seriously half you people have no idea how the scheme works but are more than happy to go off half cocked saying tax payer money is involved.

    The VEEC scheme places a legal requirement on energy retailers to reduce x amount of green house emissions proportionate to their customer base. (ie bigger retailers have a bigger target). The energy retailers buy the VEECs and surrender them to the government to show compliance with the scheme. Failure to comply results in fines from the government, therefore the retailers are compelled to participate.

    Some energy companies may do this in house, but most will outsource the task to companies such as the one listed in the original post. Under the scheme the devices need to be installed to ensure the validity of the VEECs created. As some have mentioned, it is possible to become accredited and create your own VEECs for energy saving activities undertaken in your home, but for most people this is more hassle than its worth.

    I cant stand people who say 'taxpayer this' or 'government that' when they clearly have no idea. Seriously a bunch of Today Tonight / Current Affair Viewers in this forum.

    • So … who paid for the:
      - original commission that looked into this
      - the planning and design of this system
      - putting the information onto the web and brochures
      - people and systems to record who is accredited
      - people and systems to record movement of VEECs


      But if you do know about what's going on, is Embertec going to take just the credits that apply to what they are doing or will they be taking away other credits that we could benefit from (eg more efficient washing machine, more efficient air conditioners)

      • i'm note sure what you mean about the commission.

        The planning and design of the system obviously came at a cost, the Essencial Services Commission (ESC) administers the scheme and charges all businesses $500 to become accredited. This is the same scheme which provided free light globes and shower heads over the past 2 years, so they are only claiming the VEECs for the particular prescribed activity which is undertaken (ie installing the switches). If in future you wish to undertake another prescribed activity it will be up to you what do do with any VEECs you maybe eligible for.

        The ESC monitors, audits and records movement of all VEECs. They are effectively a currency, would you rather no oversight?

        This is completely different to the government directly paying for a switch that is installed in your home as has been suggested many times in this forum.

  • I took up Nu Energy's offer and had my Embertec plugs installed last week. The installers came to my house, installed the plugs into my TVs and Computer; I signed my VEET certificates over to them, there was no exchange of $$ and we were done.

    Simple!

    The Installers were very helpful as they suggested no hooking up the plug to my Foxtel IQ box as it can impact recording.

    I recommend anyone who wants to take up this offer do so soon before they run out!

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