Schneider aims for a power play with new USB wall chargers

Schneider Electric’s new range of home solutions encompass a variety of devices but their wunderkind at Archidex 2016 which is now taking place at KLCC are their new USB wall chargers along with their Vivace switches and ULTI Mini home control solution.

The new USB wall chargers come in different colours and sizes and are meant to replace an existing wall plug directly with a 2.1A USB 2.0 port for fast, convenient, charging for phones, tablets and the like.

The wall plugs all come with protection from a host of potential problems including overheating. The ports are all SIRIM certified and range from RM75 to RM160 depending on which variant you buy. 

Next up, Schneider Electric’s Vivace switches are large-bodied switches that you can activate with almost any appendage on hand including your elbow if so needed, making them rather convenient to use when laden down with groceries, a brew or whatnot. What makes the Vivace switches unique is that they sport a unique range of different finishes – four unique ones – as opposed to the usual black, white and silver paint jobs for almost every other switch made on the planet. They’re not exactly plug and play though, pun notwithstanding.  Needless to say, installing these plugs will require some modicum of knowledge of an electrician’s trade. 

Last but not least, Schneider Electric showcased their ULTI Mini home control system that lets you harness the Internet of Things and control the interior lighting and selected appliances in your home. At launch, they showed how it was able to set the lights, or rather, several of them divided by room, based on a schedule with the ability to also control the timing, intensity and duration with an app on your phone.

The ULTI Mini system hooks up to your home wifi via a special gateway router and has a series of complementary devices around the house that it can communicate with to in turn control the lighting and, for the present, your air conditioning and telly. The bonus with this approach is that you don’t have to tear apart the walls to retrofit it in and getting it up and running doesn’t require an army of workmen and technicians. Quotes depend on the size of your home and what needs wiring up. For more information on Schneider Electric’s range of tech oriented home improvement hardware swing by their official site here.