Lincus Smart Strips Installation on CSUSB Campus

      Green Campus interns had the opportunity to sit down with Southern California Edison’s major Account Manager Linda Luft, Lincus Program Manager Nick Spannaus, CSUSB’s Sustainability Coordinator Michelle Dyck-Turner, as well as several CSUSB I.T. employees. The reason behind this meeting was to introduce the Lincus Occupancy Sensor Power Strip. The Lincus power strip is similar to a normal power strip, but it has no official off button because the sensor, which is attached to the smart strip, shuts off after 30 minutes of inactivity.

     The Lincus Occupancy Sensor Power Strip is designed for office spaces and it is used as an outlet for desktop computers. The Lincus power strip looks similar to a normal power strip, but there is an occupancy sensor that hooks under the table. The main port on the Lincus power strip is where the computer plugs in. The CPU port works as a control for the power strip and once that port falls below 26 watts or is idle for 30 minutes the sensor is programmed to turn off all of the other outlets on the power strip.

      The Lincus team has done over twelve thousand smart strip verifications and installations, and they want to begin installing the smart strips on CSUSB’s campus very soon. The installations take about 10 minutes and the Lincus team makes sure that they are unobtrusive; they even wrap up, or “dress”, all of the cords so the space is neat before leaving. The team also leaves an information sheet, which explains how to use the Lincus power strip and what can and cannot be plugged into the power strip.

       Lincus representative, Nick Spannaus explained that the Green Campus team’s role in the installation of the smart strip will mostly be communication between Lincus and the departments on campus, although he encouraged the Green Campus team the partake in the Lincus smart strip installations. Green Campus interns are excited about the energy savings these smart strips will bring, as well as their role working as a buffer to help insure that installation go smoothly.