When I opened the Chacon package and discovered the 4 products, I wondered what the purpose of unconnected, or even mechanical, sockets could be for one of them. After laughing about it with my son, I told myself that I would certainly find a use for them!
Product discovery
No need to present the French brand Chacon anymore, it is available in many DIY stores, supermarkets, electronic stores… As long as I can remember (that is to say thirty years), I have always crossed this brand in stores, it is part of the landscape and the collective consciousness. However, I had never seen connected products from this brand, either in stores or on the internet. However, Chacon created its connected products brand, DiO, in 2008.
In 2018, the Belgian brand Chacon was bought by a French group, VEOM Group (formerly Awox), a specialist in connected technologies. The company is present in 3 segments with its different brands, Cabasse for “Luxury Audio”, DiO for “Smarthome” and Chacon for “Electricity & Security”.
The 4 products I received to test are:
- A consumption meter
- A mechanical programmer (yes, it exists)
- A digital programmer
- A Wi-Fi programmer
The consumption meter
My connected sockets already act as an electricity consumption meter, but for this model, there is additional information that I had never even heard of and which is, for the moment, not very useful to me.
Apart from measuring electricity consumption, this socket also calculates consumption using a 1 or 2 tariffs, which can be entered. This is very practical for those who monitor their consumption or who want to become aware of it.
The screen provides a large amount of information. Even in broad daylight, the screen is difficult to read, so when it is dark or the socket is placed in a poorly lit place it is unusable. I had to use the flashlight on my smartphone to be able to read the data in real time. Too bad the screen doesn’t benefit from backlighting.
Testing this product made me want to measure the consumption of my devices, but also their standby consumption. The least I can say is that I was damn surprised (yes, I wanted to use that word).
By measuring all my devices, Audrey told me that I had become borderline paranoid about wasting electricity.
These analyzes completed, the taking no longer has a lot of meaning for me, but I will lend it to my partner and my parents so that they can do the same thing at home.
The socket only costs €20.90 on the Chacon website or €16.92 on Amazon and can be profitable in 2-3 months after analyzing your consumption.
Some examples of consumption and savings that I make by slightly modifying my use:
- My milk frother consumes 1.4W in standby mode (which is huge). From now on, when I’m not using it, I put it next to its base.
- My television consumes 230W. By adapting the settings (notably the backlighting), I lowered the consumption to 170W.
- My Samsung S5E tablet consumes 4W in standby (when 100% charged). Instead of constantly leaving it on charger, I unplug it when it’s charged.
- At the end of charging my scooters, the consumption does not immediately drop to 0W, but drops from 40W to 2W in 1 hour. When they are charged, I immediately unplug the charger.
- My different chargers, in standby mode, consume between 1 and 2W when not in use. The number of chargers I left plugged in constantly, multiplied by 1-2W, is a lot of money flying out the window (not counting the ecological waste).
Square mechanical programmer
What is immediately obvious is its rather impressive volume. On a power strip, it takes up at least 2 places!
This product allows you to program the socket to turn on or off in 15 minute increments. In terms of configuration, it’s not great, but difficult to do better for a mechanical timer.
The advantage is that it can be plugged in anywhere (in a garage without an internet connection for example), or in a cellar (to turn a dehumidifier on/off).
This socket, which costs only €7.90, fulfills its role.
Digital timer with display
Behind this quirky name hides a product which does the same thing as the previous one, but which also has a screen. I strangely find the configuration more complicated than on the mechanical model. I would have hoped that we could define more precise periods using the screen, on the contrary, it is only possible to define periods of 30 minutes. As a result, I find the product not optimal for acting as a presence simulator or for periodic activation of a device, but sufficient for switching a socket on and off during the day.
The socket is less bulky than the mechanical model and, depending on the power strip, only takes up a space or two.
This product is not revolutionary, but does the job well. It is to be used in a place without connection (cellar, garage, etc.) or among people who are not connected, such as the elderly.
Its price is €15.90 on the Chacon website. If you’re looking for a programmable socket with no features, this is a good product, but for a few dollars more you can get a more complete product.
Chacon Wi-Fi Timer
This is the only “technological” product that was sent to us. The packaging resembles that of other brands that I have tested, in my opinion the product factory is the same.
When I opened the box, I immediately appreciated the compactness of the product and the fairly heavy weight, a guarantee of the quality of the components. Take in hand similar products, but from unknown brands, and you will realize, by the weight, that the components are not of the same quality. When it comes to electrical products, it pays to put your hand in your pocket for peace of mind.
Installing the socket was done without difficulty thanks to the My Chacon application. Once installed, I went into the settings to see everything that could be done and compare it with my Konyks sockets.
How disappointed I was to see that it was only a time slot programmer (like the other two products) and not a connected socket!
Unlike the two non-connected products, this one allows you to precisely define the operation of the timer, to control it by voice with an assistant (Alexa or Google) or when you are not at home. But that’s all.
Although there is a “Rule” tab in the application, it is not possible to create one.
After the bellows settled, I started to think (yes, this happens to me) asking myself “Of all the smart sockets I have, how many do I have rules set up on and what is their main function?” “. The conclusion was clear, for practically all of my devices, I only control the switching on and off using Google Home. I never or very rarely use the programming options.
The price of this socket is €14.90 on the Chacon website, a reasonable price for its usefulness. If you want a connected socket with more features and quality, for €10 more, you will find one in the competition.
If I had to completely equip my apartment with smart sockets, I would buy a majority of inexpensive sockets, like this one from Chacon and a few with advanced functions.
Conclusion
Each is a French brand, present on the market for many years, known to the oldest but probably not to the youngest.
The quality of their product is good and inspires confidence. I note a real difference between Chinese products not necessarily intended for Europeans and those which are, and whose quality standards are higher.
Oddly enough, I enjoyed testing non-connected products, it opened my eyes to the non-necessity of only having connected products.
The product that interested me the most was the electricity consumption meter. Realizing the consumption of my devices in operation and in standby was an eye-opener. Even if it’s just a few watts here and there, with the impressive amount of electrical appliances I own, that’s a few kW per month, and that much money wasted.
If we add up the watts lost from devices on standby, plus the consumption awareness of electrical devices (in the living room, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom), I save between 10 and 15 euros per month.
Once is not customary, I have nothing negative to say about these 4 products. Their price corresponds to their function and quality. Obviously a connected timer has fewer functions than a connected socket, but it’s practically half the price.
Even if it’s not the brand we immediately think of, Chacon seduced us with the products it offered us.
CHACON
WE love
- Known and trusted French brand
- Quality products
- Small manual provided for each product
We like less
- Surprisingly, nothing (we’ll see over time)
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