Put USB Ports On Your Wall Without Wiring

Title had me a little excited....until I saw the kickstarter add
 
What Steve,

Never seen wireless charging using an induction field?
 
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
 
Would rather just buy the wall jack replacements that have usb integrated into them already.
 
cageymaru said:
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
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Because people who trivialize simple concepts don't really understand the limitations and issues associated with them. Just saying. I applaud your vision though...probably only a few other million people have had it as well.
 
Trepidati0n said:
Because people who trivialize simple concepts don't really understand the limitations and issues associated with them. Just saying. I applaud your vision though...probably only a few other million people have had it as well.
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wow, what crawled up your ass?
 
Zarathustra[H];1041519008 said:
Looks like it just draws power via contact with the screws on the side, not via induction.
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I wouldn't feel too comfortable having that many end users install such a thing. I wonder what their death per installation rate will be.
 
Great idea any good electrician knows to TAPE the screw terminals on an outlet to prevent someone from accidently touching the terminals if they ever remove their plate... so this would not work in that case.

And the electrical outlet will have to be installed the right way, meaning it's not upside down, which would be out of phase. And I'd imagine not ALL electrical outlets are the same, having terminals line up.

And it will only work on side terminals, a lot of newer terminals have them out of the back and use the "push in method"

But def. a good idea.
 
That is a neat idea. I wonder if it would lose contact though on highly used outlets. People tend to wiggle the cord as the pull them out, sometimes twisting the receptacle in the process.
 
cageymaru said:
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
Click to expand...
Because Utilities are awesomely innovative and self-motivated.
 
Adam said:
Great idea any good electrician knows to TAPE the screw terminals on an outlet to prevent someone from accidently touching the terminals if they ever remove their plate... so this would not work in that case.

And the electrical outlet will have to be installed the right way, meaning it's not upside down, which would be out of phase. And I'd imagine not ALL electrical outlets are the same, having terminals line up.

And it will only work on side terminals, a lot of newer terminals have them out of the back and use the "push in method"

But def. a good idea.
Click to expand...

Yup, I see taped terminals all the time.

Phase wouldn't matter though. Regular wall chargers can go in either way, and this would be no different. What's funny is that outlets have been installed upside down pretty much forever. You always see the ground terminal on the bottom, when it should actually be on top. Pretty much all newer outlets are labeled now with the ground pointing up. Not sure when the change was made.

Also, the outlets with the push in terminals on the back (never use those btw, they suck) still have normal side screws that are connected.
 
DocSavage said:
I wouldn't feel too comfortable having that many end users install such a thing. I wonder what their death per installation rate will be.
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I read an article a few months ago, that approximately 60 electrocutions a year from small appliances and power tools . Could not find any reported deaths from outlet tampering, but average of 7 children per year treated for minor burns from outlet tampering and some 3000 emergency visits each year that are electrical related.
 
i960 said:
Yup, I see taped terminals all the time.

Phase wouldn't matter though. Regular wall chargers can go in either way, and this would be no different. What's funny is that outlets have been installed upside down pretty much forever. You always see the ground terminal on the bottom, when it should actually be on top. Pretty much all newer outlets are labeled now with the ground pointing up. Not sure when the change was made.

Also, the outlets with the push in terminals on the back (never use those btw, they suck) still have normal side screws that are connected.
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As an electrician I agree. Also what about the threat if those prongs come in contact with a grounded box....this doesnt seem so harmless to me.
 
Bone_Enterprise said:
Personal preference?
Also a 1-amp port is kind of weak, most devices now days want 2.x+ otherwise it is going to take forever to charge shit.
Gaining another USB port is also a plus.
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1 amp is not very future proof when some devices are already using 2+ amps. if you're using a power hungry device and plugged into a 1 amp source, all you would do is slow it from draining, you wouldn't be charging it.
 
Bone_Enterprise said:
Would rather just buy the wall jack replacements that have usb integrated into them already.
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Agreed. I'd rather just replace the actual outlet. It will allow me to also check the wiring to make sure it's still good and replace any outlets that are still 2 prong. Yeah my house is rather old and there are still some outlets that were wired in the 1960-1970 long before I moved in.

I would also recommend anyone who buys this get one of the 3prong testers at a hardware store and make sure your outlets are properly wired and grounded. I assume if this thing gets hooked up to incorrectly wired outlets you'll run a good risk of destroying your device.
 
MikeRotch said:
1 amp is not very future proof when some devices are already using 2+ amps. if you're using a power hungry device and plugged into a 1 amp source, all you would do is slow it from draining, you wouldn't be charging it.
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Exactly.
 
Adam said:
Great idea any good electrician knows to TAPE the screw terminals on an outlet to prevent someone from accidently touching the terminals if they ever remove their plate... so this would not work in that case.

And the electrical outlet will have to be installed the right way, meaning it's not upside down, which would be out of phase. And I'd imagine not ALL electrical outlets are the same, having terminals line up.

And it will only work on side terminals, a lot of newer terminals have them out of the back and use the "push in method"

But def. a good idea.
Click to expand...

Actually those who use tapes are usually amateurs afraid of power. Exception being when outlets are unscrewed and left hanging from wires during renovation to keep using them, most of us never tape them (I'm an electrician).

Those don't work on Decora socket (what is used in homes that have less then 10-15 years old). And from what I can see the ends of the power "wings" could easily short against the metal box. A REALLY bad concept IMO.
 
Thanks for noticing that 1A limit guys, I nearly ordered one of these to see what they were like. That's barely up to spec with my current devices. Not even worth installing a charger that will last me until I buy something else.
 
I'm not sure what these people are thinking, this is the second product I've seen that replaces the face plate and just makes contact with the side screws. I would never trust one of these things.
 
I like the idea and implementation but 1A is weak compared to what most phones or tablets need nowadays. 2.1A would have been better.
 
cageymaru said:
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
Click to expand...

This works well in a house using a power line that isn't being used. Remember that all wires (minus fiber) is using electrical signals over copper. When you pull power over that copper its using the available "signal room" you would have for internet traffic due to noise.

Essentially if power is being used on those lines your network throughput goes to crap.
 
Lol at the people who are going to try charging their ipads on this thing. Hell my phone already pulls 2+ amps.
 
cageymaru said:
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
Click to expand...

That's a cool concept, but most devices needing charging these days already have wifi, and most homes already have a wifi in them, so I don't know if there is a big enough market to justify it.

from my personal experience - however - (and I may just have lived in a house with shitty wiring) the powerline ethernet was terrible. It would intermittently disconnect or get really slow, pings were bad, and it wouldn't work at all when the vacuum cleaner was running anywhere in the house.

Got pissed off, disconnected it and ran cat6 wires and never looked back :p

Now I ahve 10gig OM3 fiber going from my desktop to the basement! Love the speeds to my NAS.
 
Adam said:
Great idea any good electrician knows to TAPE the screw terminals on an outlet to prevent someone from accidently touching the terminals if they ever remove their plate... so this would not work in that case.

And the electrical outlet will have to be installed the right way, meaning it's not upside down, which would be out of phase. And I'd imagine not ALL electrical outlets are the same, having terminals line up.

And it will only work on side terminals, a lot of newer terminals have them out of the back and use the "push in method"

But def. a good idea.
Click to expand...

I have never seen the screws taped. Who actually does this?

Also, for AC to DC power adapters, polarity matters not one bit. Most chargers don't even have a keyed plug so you can plug them in either way.

Most of the "push in method" outlets I have seen also have the screws available for use.
 
ocellaris said:
That doesn't look UL listed at all...
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Yeah I was looking at that connection thinking "That'll never pass UL". I guess they could go unlisted since UL is a scam anyway. But that connection looks questionable at best.
 
cyclone3d said:
I have never seen the screws taped. Who actually does this?
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I'd say 1/4 of the outlets I've come across over the years were taped up (I'm not an electrician BTW, so my sample size is small). I used to think it was homeowners doing it, but when I had a house built in 2003, all of the outlets were taped. It might just be a personal preference from electrician to electrician.
 
cageymaru said:
Anyone invent USB on a network connected to a power outlet? Would be neat to be able to plug in your device to the wall to charge it and download some files at the same time. I know there is networking over power lines already. Why doesn't the Electric Utility sell us internet access over their power lines?
Click to expand...

Because BPL and other power line networking methods generally create a LOT of RF noise and thus is tightly regulated by the FCC (in the USA at least). Ask any amateur radio operator what they think of power line based networking. You might want to wear body armor.
 
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