Wall Outlet With Built-In USB Charger

fattypants said:
I have six-way outlets plugged in that have USB ports on them. Would be nice if the house just came that way...I will certainly consider doing this when the time comes to build a custom home.
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That's very short sighted. In 10 years, I expect all my gadgets to be wirelessly charged.
 
Hmmmm..........

Can pronged plugs be replaced with USB/Thunderbolt "style" headers? (Of course ones that can carry the required current and not actually a USB, just the look of one.)

Interesting.
 
I want a modular one that just fits over the regular plug. I have a 2->6 plug "adapter" that you jsut slip over the outlet and swap the screw if you want it "permanent" it would be nice to see some built like that, I literally have 3 AC->USB chargers plugged in bedside (iPod 5v, iPad 10W, and EVO (no idea the V/W on that one)

I do agree with the guy above though, within 10 years everything will charge with a "power mat" so it doesnt seem logical to do this whole-house, but at the bedside or the "dumping ground" for phones, etc, it would be nice to have... but not at $25... I pay $1-$3 dep on brand @ Lowes, I'd pay around $5 for one of these...

and @ the person wanting to hook a multimeter to one: just take a normal USB cable, cut off the end and strip the Power + and Power - wires then touch with multimeter.
 
Magnus said:
So, tell me why plugging into a wall socket which is typically near the floor is easier than plugging into your computer?
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Well if you don't have a computer near every outlet in your house that'd be on reason.
 
Stone Cold said:
That's very short sighted. In 10 years, I expect all my gadgets to be wirelessly charged.
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That would be great if I were custom building a house in ten years. It is probably going to be closer to 1 or 2 for me, and I expect USB ports to still be in use by then.
 
CVNet1 said:
I am not sold on this being a great idea. Unless there is a switch trigger setup in the USB port that only activates the power inverter when something is plugged into the USB port itself.

Otherwise it would be like leaving a wall wart plugged in at all times. I also wonder how much heat the inverter would generate in the confined space of the wall plug since there is no circulation in there.
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Great thing with Warts is that with a Kill-a-Watt, you can easily find out if they're load sending and switching based on that. I have a lot of warts that will switch off when there is no load on them. Have fun trying to find out with one of these things.
 
Stone Cold said:
That's very short sighted. In 10 years, I expect all my gadgets to be wirelessly charged.
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They're wirelessly charged now. And it's full of lovely things like inefficiencies as bad as 35% compared with plugging things in directly, interference (and by law, devices must accept interference, which is why you can hear your GSM based phone tut-tut-tut-blUrrrrrr when it's close enough to the speakers), all issues that come with wireless charging... may be reduced, but can never be eliminated over corded due to one simple reason: physics.

Wireless in terms of WiFi will always be more prone to issues than a Cat5/6 cable. Always. Even in the best of circumstances. The same will always hold true for power. After all, all wireless involves RF. What is RF in a nutshell? Desired interference.

Wireless recharging. Nice? Probably. Impractical? Completely.

For as long as wireless mice and keyboards have been around... you'd think EVERYONE would be using them by now. Hell. Fucking. No. Wireless charging wouldn't even help with the issues inherent to wireless keyboards and mice. It'd actually *make them worse.*
 
techrat said:
They're wirelessly charged now. And it's full of lovely things like inefficiencies as bad as 35% compared with plugging things in directly
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As a techie & electrical engineer, I'm going to cry when I see wireless charging take off for no other reason than the added power draw...
 
So for a Bit of a Mini Review.

I bought one of these about a month ago.

Could of Gotcha's that they don't tell you.

This thing is DEEP, meaning if you pick a Outlet box with a LOT of wires in it. Good Luck trying to get it and all of the wires into the box at the same time.

Directly from their web site.
"16 cubic inch or larger single gang electrical box "

http://fastmac.com/usocket.php


I've only found 1 device that it DOESN"T work with so far and it's my wifes Nook Color. It won't charge it at all :(
 
CVNet1 said:
I am not sold on this being a great idea. Unless there is a switch trigger setup in the USB port that only activates the power inverter when something is plugged into the USB port itself.

Otherwise it would be like leaving a wall wart plugged in at all times. I also wonder how much heat the inverter would generate in the confined space of the wall plug since there is no circulation in there.
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THIS
 
These things are an ok idea. I don't much care for energy efficiency. When these finally catch on in a big way, (new houses all having them) they will probably be pulled from the market after someone's crotch fruit sticks a car key in one and burns the house down.

I imagine there is some sort of cutoff built in for that. It's only a matter of time. I've seen motherboards cooked for the same reason. Cheap board + children with metal objects = more cheap boards.
 
Several companies make wall mount surge protectors with built in USB ports. I've been pretty happy with mine.
 
Since we're talking a USB port here what's to stop someone from rigging one to tap into your device so they can hack into via a small embedded wireless transmitter, or at the very least, butchering one so it sends 120V AC down the USB power terminals and blows out your phone? It's one thing to have one in your own home, but installing these abroad, like in hotel rooms, doesn't seem like such a great idea.
 
CVNet1 said:
Well that makes everything better. I'm sold. I will take .....50.
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Yeah, note how they phrased that..

"Only outputs power through he USB port if something is connected".

They could have meant "only draws power if something is connected", unlike most dongle-based transformers, but that's not what they said.

So the question still remains. Do these transformers draw phantom power when nothing is charging. If not, it would be great to replace every outlet in the house with them (one the price comes down a little). If yes, then you'd definitely see an electric bill increase.
 
I want to echo previos comments here. This thing will suck down energy like a wall wart when not plugged in. No way to unplug that wall-wart.

Nice little clever (read as: intentionally deceptive) note from the mfr on "only outputting power when something's plugged in"
 
Auxon said:
As a techie & electrical engineer, I'm going to cry when I see wireless charging take off for no other reason than the added power draw...
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That's the big problem with wireless charging - it's very inefficent, i.e not very green.
The only thing I use a wireless charger for is Wii remotes. That's only because the remotes where not designed for rechargable batteries, and if you use the silicon covers, it's a pain to swap the batteries. I got tired of removing and replacing the covers every time I needed to swap the batteries.

As for this device, I'd rather just pay a few buck for a plug in USB charger. That way I can unplug it when not in use.
 
Those of you who would rather not use these in their home should consider a surge protector with 1amp USB ports on it. I saw a couple of models in Lowes the other day. I think they were about $20-25 with a six foot cord and I though I saw one with a three for cord. I'd feel better using the surge protector.
 
I never got wireless charging for most devices.

You still have to place the device in a specific place on a specific mat. how difficult is it really to just plug it in?

And for some devices - like phones - the added bulk really is undesirable.

Auxon said:
As a techie & electrical engineer, I'm going to cry when I see wireless charging take off for no other reason than the added power draw...
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Unfortunately it's already happening.

At the recommendation of my dentist, I recently bought an Oral B electric toothbrush (one of these). It came with a charger/stand, but the charger stand has no electrical leads on it that touch the toothbrush. it's all - presumably - inductive charging.

I can see how this would be useful for something that's going to be in a wet place, but its still very inefficient :(
 
i have this one in my bathroom. useful for charging the ipad while im on the toilet.
 
I thought it was against electrical code to mix high voltage and low voltage wiring in one outlet/junction box.
 
I'm actually more amazed at the amount of people who have not seen this or other variations of USB wall outlet before. It's like many rocks have just been lifted.
 
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