Belkin's new power-saving products glimpse of future

Belkin has unveiled new additions to its Conserve range of power-saving products, which are a taste of future "smart power" devices from the company.

Belkin has released four devices starting with the Conserve Socket (AU$19.95), a power timer with three settings for shutting off devices after a certain period.

The Conserve Insight (AU$49.95) is a power meter that can extrapolate the power usage over a whole year on any gadget you plug into it.

The Conserve Valet (AU$49.95) is a USB-charging station designed for portable devices that features a cord-tidy and a handy platform for storing the various devices on.

The last of the four is the more traditional Conserve Smart Power (AU$$79.95), which is a power board featuring a "master" socket. If that device is turned off, it automatically shuts off the other devices on the board. It joins the existing Belkin Conserve Surge Protector (AU$199).

Last year, Belkin acquired Zensi, a company that developed a technology that could sense when any appliance or light was turned on in your home.

Alan Sparkes, Belkin's vice president for APAC, says the new range uses technology acquired from Zensi and is quite excited about its potential future products.

He says that every appliance and light fixture in your home emits a particular frequency when turned on, and a system based on Zensi is smart enough to be able to detect what each appliance is, and even what brand it is.

He said the technology could be used for smart metering and remotely powering your household appliances on and off. Another spokesperson from Belkin said the technology could also apply to utilities such as gas and water.