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[lingtrin]

Can I connect a power strip that has the microwave and coffe maker, among other stuff (blender and such) to an appliance module?

What I wan't to do is that when i'm at work to have all this appliances shut down in order to save some energy, and have a macro turn them on on the evening, and turn them off at morning when i'm gone.

Would the appliance module work for this or the load would be to much? there's hardly two appliances turned on at the same time, coffe maker in the morning, and microwave at evening for most of the time.

Thanks for all your answers

[Puck]

Can I connect a power strip that has the microwave and coffe maker, among other stuff (blender and such) to an appliance module?

Not many microwave ovens today are less than 1000 Watts and the AM466 Appliance Module is only rated for 500 Watts. So that module is inadvisable. I do believe there are heavier duty Appliance Modules available.

What I wan't to do is that when i'm at work to have all this appliances shut down in order to save some energy, and have a macro turn them on on the evening, and turn them off at morning when i'm gone.

If you did a measurement, I would be surprised if the clocks on these appliances drew more power than Appliance Module's idle current. It's a good idea, but with these types of appliances in their off state I don't see a great potential for savings there, even if they do draw a little more.

Would the appliance module work for this or the load would be to much? there's hardly two appliances turned on at the same time, coffe maker in the morning, and microwave at evening for most of the time.

If you do attach more than one appliance to an Appliance Module, always assume the worse case scenario and add up all maximum wattages and make sure the Appliance Module exceeds that rating.

[steven r]

As long as you don't exceed the rating of the appliance module, there shouldn't be a problem.

Of the items that you've mentioned, the coffee maker is the only one might be likely to be accidentally left on. The only other item that might use any power in standby mode is the microwave and that would be for the clock in it. Personally it would be more trouble for me to reset the clock ever day than to just leave it plugged in.

[edit: Per Puck's point as to the power requirement for the microwave and the fact that it isn't using any significant amount of energy in standby mode, I'd skip the idea of putting it under X10 control.]

I do have my coffee make plugged into an appliance module because my mom has been know to leave it on when she visits.

As Puck noted, I don't believe you will really save any significant energy shutting them off. You might save a fire if you shut off the coffee pot, however.

[lingtrin]

Thanks, I thought that would be the answer, but just wanted to make sure.

[Oldtimer]

All of our kitchen appliances; toaster oven, coffee maker, mixer, Cuisinart & regular fan except for the microwave; are on a single outlet strip controlled by an X10 wall outlet.  We did this, not for energy savings, but so we'd be sure they were all OFF when we left the house.  We use AWAY and OUT macros to turn these off along with a lot of other circuits.  Great for our peace of mind.

[lingtrin]

I will try it as Oldtimer said he is been using it, with the microwave oven off the power strip

Thanx to all

[steven r]

I will try it as Oldtimer said he is been using it, with the microwave oven off the power strip

Just make sure when you add everything up, particularly the toaster oven, that you don't exceed the rating.

[JeffVolp]

One other thing to consider:

Nowadays most kitchens have at least 2 independent 20A general-purpose circuits.  Permanently installed appliances like the fridge, microwave, and dishwasher have their own circuits.  It is a good idea to split high current loads such as coffeemaker and toaster oven between the two general-purpose circuits to prevent overload when both are on simultaneously.

Jeff

[steven r]

...Nowadays most kitchens have at least 2 independent 20A general-purpose circuits...

i.e. It might be good to use at least 2 appliance modules

Another thing to consider is appliance placement. e.g. I have the coffee pot, hot water pot and the microwave on the counter to the left of the refrigerator. The toaster oven and blender on another counter are on the right of the stove. To the left of the stove and right of the sink, I have 3 other appliances. Then there's the miscellaneous items that aren't used much that stay under the counter. When I use them, I often use another part of the counter that is to the left of the sink. Needless to say, at least in my case, there would be no safe way to plug them all into the same surge strip even if it didn't overload the appliance module. i.e. I wouldn't want wires across the floor, the stove or the sink.

[AutomatedOutlet]

The only problem I see with that is that now the clocks on those devices will always be blinking!

[HA Dave]

Nowadays most kitchens have at least 2 independent 20A general-purpose circuits.  Permanently installed appliances like the fridge, microwave, and dishwasher have their own circuits.  It is a good idea to split high current loads such as coffeemaker and toaster oven between the two general-purpose circuits to prevent overload when both are on simultaneously.

[A trick my Dad showed me many years ago]

Because most kitchens (generally) have 2 circuts but often only one good area for using small appliances. A nice and relatively simple fix is to wire a double outlet (two 2 plug outlets side-by-side - for four plug-ins) with a different circut on each side. This allows a user to run two heavy use appliances (coffeemaker and toaster oven) side-by-side at the convenient area.

It's a great idea to keep in mind if upgrading a kitchen, with the addition of a 2nd circut, too.