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OneForAll Energy Saver remote

Will this green up your home cinema
rig?
by Chris Hall published on 20 June 2008

OneForAll have been producing universal

remotes for some time and are one of the most
recognised brands in the business. They think
they can help you green up your TV setup with
their Energy Saver remote. But how does it work?
We get watching to find out.

The Energy Saver remote has two basic aspects,

the universal remote and a remote controlled
plug, which we will deal with in turn.

Out of the box, the remote supports up to four

devices, defined as TV, STB (set-top box), DVD
and AUDIO. The first stage in setting-up the
remote is to program in a code to allow it to take
over the function of your devices.

In the box you get an extensive catalogue of code

numbers, and it is simply a case of locating your
model of TV, for example, then trying the given
codes. After a few tries we found the code and
were pleased to see that we had taken over
control of the TV, then the STB, and finally the
DVD player, except in our test set-up we were
using a budget DVD player from a supermarket
that did not appear to be supported. If the code is
not provided, or they don't work, you can
manually search through all the codes till you find
one that works. If you are using a mainstream
product, from one of the big companies, you
should have no problem.

So, having discarded two remotes, we settled

down to some TV watching, enjoying the full
range of functions that we always had. Ok, that's
not quite true. It is becoming increasingly
common for remote controls to feature additional
shortcut buttons which may not appear on the
AllForOne. Yes, you get your numbers, channel
change, volume, standby, text, AV, guide/EPG
and menu buttons, but if you have become
accustomed to changing the screen aspect, or

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http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/3234

...cont.
At a glance
upscaling levels on your DVD player, you won't
have those features by default, but they can be What is it?
programmed in manually. Universal remote

There is also a clever macro mode, so you can Good

set-up shortcuts for particular sequences of Single off button, solid remote, huge number of
button presses, perhaps to change your TV and devices supported
amp to watch a DVD, or similar. You can also
upgrade the remote codes via the Internet by Bad
entering the system and searching for your The big selling point could be replicated buy the
device: it is all very simple. flick of a socket switch

So where does the Energy Saver come in? Well, Verdict

in the box you also get the remote controlled plug, The reality is, perhaps, that you want a universal
which you can put into a wall socket before a remote, rather than a remote controlled socket,
multi-way extension. Then you simply press the but if this reduces the number of devices you
green button on the remote, the plug switches off, have on standby, then so much the better
and all your devices are off. Effectively, it reduces
all your standby devices down to one - the plug. Price £39.99
The box boasts this might save you up to £37 a Our score Your score
year, save 90% of used energy in standby
modes, meaning you can breathe a green sign of
sweet relief. Alternatively, you could walk over to
the wall and switch off the socket, thereby saving
7/10 ?/10
yourself 100% of used energy in standby modes.

There is a little quirk in that the green button itself

doesn't turn off the plug, but pressing the button
turns the channel changer into an on and off
selection for the plug. This means that you can
then allocate the numbers to additional plugs, so
if your AV rig feeds from more than one power
source, you can still use the same remote and
turn off two sockets for example.

A word of warning though: it is worth checking

how your devices work, as some TVs lose their
clock, some set-top boxes download upgrades
during "off peak" hours and so on. If you regularly
use your TV as an alarm clock, then remember
that if you turn it off, it won't come on, and you'll
be late for work (ahem).

VERDICT
An interesting concept, and a universal remote

Pocket-lint.co.uk, the premier gadget news and reviews website in the UK Copyright Pocket-lint Ltd 2003 - 2009
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/3234

...cont.

that works very well with no problems. The

Energy Saver element is something of a
convenience. The reality is, perhaps, that you
want a universal remote, rather than a remote
controlled socket, but if this reduces the number
of devices you have on standby, then so much
the better.

Pocket-lint.co.uk, the premier gadget news and reviews website in the UK Copyright Pocket-lint Ltd 2003 - 2009
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Technical Details
Fully cuts powe r to your e le ctrical de vice s at the flick of a switch
R e duce s your m onthly e le ctric bill by turning off e le ctrical de vice s le ft on standby
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Easy plug-in installation
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From the Manufacturer
Use the Bye Bye Standby to he lp curb e ne rgy consum ption and re duce e le ctricity bills. Bye Bye Standby is an e a sy-to-
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e spe cia lly use ful for de vice s that are fre que ntly re sting in standby m ode .

Product Description
Bye Bye Sta ndby is a brand ne w e ne rgy saving solution de signe d to re duce the daily e n e rgy consum ption of e le ctrical
de vice s. Bye Bye Standby work s by com ple te ly cutting powe r to the de vice s plugge d into it whe n the y're not in use , thus
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Product Details
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Customer Reviews
7 Reviews
5 star: (6) A verage Customer Review Share your thoughts with other customers:
4 star: (0) (7 custom e r re vie ws)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 pe ople found the following re vie w he lpful:

Say Bye Bye to Power Vampires, Nove m be r 6, 2008
By Sherrye S. Fuentes "A yla Fan" (USA) - Se e all m y re vie ws

I have ha d m y Bye Bye Standby for se ve ral m onths and think it's
just GR EAT. I only wish I could find additional outle t adapte rs to
use with the re m ote control switch I got - it will accom m odate up
to thre e zone s, but only com e s with two outle t adapte rs. I am
ge tting a nothe r se t and will just k e e p one re m ote control upstairs
and one downstairs for those nights I m ight forge t to push the
button be fore re tiring. I ne e d a couple m ore outle ts so I can
switch off m y office e quipm e nt in one fe ll swoop. I have n't
actually m e a sure d how m uch e ne rgy I am saving, but I DO k now
tha t just powe ring off one printe r alone will save 5-6 dollars a
m onth, a nd we have 2 printe rs, 3 com pute rs, and a fax . . W e
curre ntly use BBSB to k ill the juice going to the TV, VC R , & DVDs
in two room s, but can still le ave the DVR on to re cord. It's gre at Most Recent Customer Reviews
and the re m ote work s all ove r the house - I che ck e d.
This thing is awesome
C om m e nt | Pe rm alink | W as this re vie w he lpful to you?
I hook e d up all the christm as lights to
(Report this) the se and the y work gre at.. work s
through 2 walls and 50ft!
Published 10 hours ago by Austin Guy 2005

2 of 2 pe ople found the following re vie w he lpful:

Smart, easy and convenient.
I love this thing!!!!, Nove m be r 16, 2008 Functions pe rfe ctly. I have a good
By B. Thomas (Louisville , KY Unite d State s) - Se e all m y re vie ws surge prote ctor powe r strip with 10 or so
com pute r are a e ne rgy use rs (m onitors,
printe r, com pute r, scanne r, com pute r
I bought thre e se ts of the se so I could use the m all ove r m y spe ak e r syste m , phone ... Read more
place . The y work gre at. You could use a doze n of the se toge the r Published 18 hours ago by Joel D. Dalton
if you ne e de d since the y could be program m e d to diffe re nt
fre que ncie s. Pe rfe ct function. I love the m !!!!!
great item
C om m e nt | Pe rm alink | W as this re vie w he lpful to you? I think this is a gre at ite m . Save s
(Report this) e le ctricity without having to constantly
unplug ite m s. you just use the re m ote
and turn off the e ntire outle t.
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I liked it so much I just ordered 2 more,

De ce m be r 23, 2008 Where is the third outlet?!
I love this product. It work s we ll and is
By E. Petersen (San Die go, C a) - Se e all m y re vie ws gre at for lam ps, christm as lights, and
e le ctronics. I do have two issue s with it
W e use it to switch on difficult to re ach lam ps, and m ost though:
im porta ntly the C hristm as lights. No m ore walk ing out to the
garage or clim bing unde r a C hristm as tre e to pull out the plug. #1 The re is a little re d light...
Read more
I have orde re d m ore so that I can k ill the phantom load or Published 22 days ago by Green Designer Lady
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 TV Saver – Solving the TV Standby Problem
Galen Brown

Background – the Problem

An enormous amount of energy is wasted powering devices such as televisions, VCRs, DVD
players, game consoles, digital set-top boxes, etc, while they have been left in a standby state.
This wastage is increased by many of these devices only being able to be switched fully off at the
socket. An average colour television may consume around 40 watts of electricity when fully on but
will continue to draw 10 watts while on standby. For an average VCR this standby energy usage is
even higher at around 15 watts. While many people do not fully switch off even their television
when it is not in use, those who do rarely switch off the associated devices such as DVD players
and VCRs.

It is useful to refer to the combination of a television and all associated equipment as a home
entertainment system (HES). The associated equipment may consist of a DVD player, VCR, game
console, digital set-top box, signal amplifier and/or other equipment. Table 1 shows the standby
energy usage of the author’s HES. Note that the figures given were found first by measuring the
standby power of each device and then by referring to the technical specifications in the
instructions for each device.

Device Standby Power (W)

Television 10
VCR 15
DVD player 8
Digital set-top box 7.5
Total 40.5
Table 1: Energy usage of a typical HES on standby

Where most or all devices in an HES are left on standby all or most of the time, this results in a
large amount of energy and money being wasted annually. Table 2 shows an estimate of this
wastage. Note that the money calculations were based on a price of 8.49p per unit (Scottish and
Southern Electricity standard prices in March 2006). Since then electricity prices have continued to
rise and as such the amount of money wasted will be higher than the values given in the table.

Device Time device is Energy wasted per Money wasted per

switched on per day year (kWh) year
Television 3 hours 77 £6.54
VCR 1 hour 126 £10.70
DVD Player 1 hour 67 £5.69
Digital set-top box 3 hours 57 £4.84
Total --------------------------- 327 £27.77
Table 2: Estimate of money and energy wasted through devices left on standby

As many households own more than one HES, and certainly more than one television, the energy
usage and price is multiplied by the number of HESs in the household. The energy wasted
nationally (with the associated environmental damage) by devices being left on standby has
recently been widely emphasised.

The Solution

The TV Saver was created to address the problem of televisions and associated devices being left
on standby by switching off a television and all associated devices when the television had been
left on standby for a number of minutes.

The design specification specified that the TV Saver must not create an inconvenience for the
user. As such it must have a means to switch all the devices back on again when required, with no

TV Saver – Solving the Standby Problem 1

more effort required from the user than would be if a remote control were used to switch on a
television from standby. The television must ‘continue to be operable solely from a sofa’!

Also specified was the need for the user to have a method to override the TV Saver, so that when
the television was switched onto standby the devices would not all be switched off. This was
important as all devices, including the television, are switched on and off together, and the user
may wish to record using a VCR or DVD recorder without the television switched on.

Two main approaches to solving the design problem were developed. Both involved creating a
multi-way extension lead connected to a controlling box and making use of a latching relay to
switch on and off all the sockets of the extension lead. Both approaches used programmable
microcontrollers, although these were programmed in different ways to reflect the different
approaches. Different circuitry was also required for the different approaches. The difficulty then
lay in how to determine when the HES could be safely switched off without either damaging the
equipment or inconveniencing the user, and also when the HES must be switched back on again.

The first approach involved programming the microcontroller to learn and store the digital infrared
signal emitted from the television remote control’s on/off button. The TV Saver then recognised
this signal whenever it was received in future. On receiving the signal it responded by switching on
or off the HES depending on its current state.

However, there was a major problem with the first approach. There would always be the possibility
that the television would receive and respond to the signal, but that the TV Saver would not (for
example, if the signal was blocked by an obstacle in front of the controlling box). This would place
the television and the rest of the HES out of synchrony with the TV Saver and would therefore
need to be reset, causing an inconvenience to the user and violating the design specification. The
second approach solved this problem and has been adopted as the preferred solution.

The Selected Approach

The selected approach works by measuring the power usage of the television instead of relying on
storing and recognising the television remote control’s on/off signal. Therefore, when the television
goes onto standby, the TV Saver senses the reduced power usage of the television. When the
television has remained on standby for a short time (currently set at five minutes) the TV Saver
switches off the HES. The time delay is necessary to allow the user to continue to operate the
other devices in the HES after the television is switched off (for example, to rewind and eject a
video). If the TV Saver receives any infrared remote control signal (see below) during this time
delay, this is interpreted as continued use of the HES and the timer resets itself.

In this method the TV Saver contains an infrared receiver, and the microcontroller is also
programmed to switch on the HES on receiving a signal from any remote control. The television
then comes onto standby and since the user is still holding down the on/off button on the remote
control the television comes fully on. The additional time for which the user must hold down the
button is no more than one second, so there is no long delay between the television coming onto
standby and switching fully on.

When this approach was initially tested, the TV Saver unexpectedly switched on
the sockets to the HES every few minutes. This was found to be caused by false
output signals from the infrared receiver. To solve this problem, the microcontroller
program was modified such that several pulses must be received from the infrared
receiver in a set period of time before the TV Saver turns on the HES.

The TV Saver has been designed and built with two override buttons – ‘Temporary’ and
‘Permanent’ – and a seven-segment display in the controlling box (see photos). Both override
buttons prevent the TV Saver from switching off the sockets to the HES even when the TV is on
standby. This feature was specified in the design specification to enable the user to record a
television programme whilst the television is not fully on. The microcontroller has been
programmed so that the TV Saver may be overridden for up to nine hours, with the remaining
number of hours displayed on the seven-segment display. The override is set by holding down the

TV Saver – Solving the Standby Problem 2

‘Temporary Override’ button until the required number of hours is shown on the display. The
‘Permanent Override’ button allows the user to override the TV Saver indefinitely, with a flashing
alert to stop the user inadvertently leaving it in this state.

The TV Saver also features a ‘Turn On’ button in the controlling box, which switches on the power
supply to the HES, causing all the devices to come onto standby. It does not, however, either
switch the television fully on or override the normal operation of the TV Saver, so if the television is
not then switched fully on within five minutes the TV Saver will again switch off the sockets to the
HES. It is included for times when the user cannot locate the television remote control!

To continue to operate, the TV Saver must receive a continuous supply of electricity from the
mains even when the HES is switched off. However, this power requirement never rises above 0.5
watts. The TV Saver contains a built-in linear power supply to provide this energy.

Future Developments

Future developments may include providing the TV Saver with a switched-mode power supply.
These are more efficient than linear power supplies and would further reduce the TV Saver’s
power consumption. At present this is impractical due to the extra cost and complexity of a
switched-mode power supply weighed against the tiny difference it would make to the average
user’s energy usage and electricity bill. Using a switched mode power supply may only reduce a
user’s electricity bill by a further 60p per year when compared to the current TV Saver with a linear
power supply. The extra manufacturing cost is likely to make this development not worth pursuing.

A more likely and simpler development is to provide the TV Saver with passive power factor
correction. Although this would not affect the amount of power that the TV Saver uses and would
not affect the user’s electricity bill, it may become necessary in future due to regulations
concerning domestic electronic devices. Adding power factor correction may also be seen as
environmentally friendly, as electronic devices with a low (bad) power factor increase energy
losses in power transmission lines. However, as the power consumption of the TV Saver is very
low, a low power factor will not create a big problem.

A further future development, already in progress, is to modify the microcontroller program such
that it also has the ability to learn the digital signal emitted from a television remote control’s on/off
button, integrating technology developed for the first approach. If the user enabled this feature, the
TV Saver would only switch on the sockets to the HES on receiving this user-programmed signal,
rather than on receiving any remote control signal. This would be an advantage if a device (such
as a CD player) in the same room was controlled by an infrared remote control but not plugged in
to the TV Saver. Without the added functionality of the TV Saver, the HES could be switched on
unnecessarily by the user operating the remote control of the other device. The user must be able
to select this as an optional feature, as they may prefer the simplicity of the original design. In this
case the user need not program a remote control signal into the TV Saver, which will operate as
normal with all remote control signals. This development is a software-only modification, i.e.; it
involves modifying only the microcontroller program and not the electronics of the TV Saver.

Skills and Knowledge Acquired

In order to create the TV Saver I had to develop many new skills. These included:
• Electronic prototyping
• Improving basic skills learnt from school in microcontroller programming (including teaching
myself Assembler from internet resources)
• Power measurement methods (from internet resources)
• Power supply design (from internet resources)
• Infrared remote control communications (from internet resources)
• Soldering
• Printed circuit board production (from internet resources)
• 3D CAD for final design of casings (from professional advice locally)
• Applying all of the above in a safe way.

TV Saver – Solving the Standby Problem 3

Component Sourcing

Some of the components required for the TV Saver were common and could be purchased online
from electronic retailers such as Maplin Electronics. However, others components were highly
specific, which initially created a design constraint. Eventually, more detailed searching located
other suppliers: in one case a component had to be ordered directly from the factory in Thailand.

Building and Testing Prototypes

I aimed to build four working prototypes to allow for distribution for testing and demonstration. The
printed circuit boards were manufactured using a simple manufacturing process similar to the
industrial process (see photos showing printed circuit board construction). They were then fitted
into boxes, which the circuit boards had been designed to fit. The multi-way extension leads were
adapted from existing ones, which is fine for the purpose of prototyping but clearly needs a specific
design before taking the TV Saver to market. Once constructed, the TV Savers all worked and met
all design specifications. I have also developed a full set of user instructions, which are attached.

One of the prototypes has been in use at home for the last four months (to November 2006) with
no problems. It has even survived independent use by my two younger sisters (12 and 6) who find
it easy to use. I have also given one with a full set of instructions to my project mentor, James
Clouston, and have lent them to other school pupils to test, all of whom have reported that it
worked well. It has also been tested on other televisions and found to work fine.

Patent Application and Further Development

I have applied for a patent (application number 0610222.2) for the TV Saver using family funds and
have recently had results of the first search from the Patent Office. There were some superficially
similar patents, which were different in detail to the TV Saver. The next stage is to address these
similarities identified in the first search, but this requires additional finance.

In summer 2006, once the patent application had been submitted, I contacted several large retail
companies including B&Q, DSG and Maplin Electronics regarding further development of the TV
Saver, but I received no response from them. I also contacted the Energy Saving Trust who
indicated that they would be very likely to endorse the TV Saver if I could get it tested for electrical
safety. However electrical safety testing is not only expensive, but can only be performed on the
final design of the TV Saver and not on a prototype.

The final design of the TV Saver would be contained in a specifically moulded plastic box rather an
existing one purchased off the shelf. I am envisaging constructing the final design of the plastic
box using rapid prototyping, followed by larger scale production using plastic moulds. However,
rapid prototyping and creating plastic moulds are very expensive and would require funding.

I have recently contacted Trevor Baylis Brands plc for advice regarding taking the TV Saver
forward, who replied with an offer of free initial service in return for a one-third share of the product.

The next steps in bringing the TV Saver to market are:

• Get an estimate for production cost based on an estimated retail price of £35.
• Find funding – I am planning to approach Highlands and Islands Innovation Centre for advice.
• Address results of patent application’s first search.
• Finalise casing design.
• Produce a small batch for electrical safety testing and for testing the market.
• Get the Energy Saving Trust to endorse the TV Saver.
• Develop website.
• Find retailers prepared to sell a test run.
• Manufacture test run (around 2000) including packaging: probably in China, via local contacts.
• Market the TV Saver.
• Raise extra funding for next larger batch.

TV Saver – Solving the Standby Problem 4