Brennenstuhl Energy Efficient Remote Control Mains Socket Set with 3 Receivers

First impressions are good. The receivers are a little bulky, about the size of a nightlight, but feel very solid and hold the piggybacking plug tightly.

The handset and receivers are paired by setting matching patterns on a row of five switches, which will allow multiple sets of handsets and receivers to be used without interfering with each other.

As they use radio rather than infrared, you don't need a clear line of sight for them to work.

I bought these on the strength of T Griffin's review & I thank him for it. The Brennenstuhl sockets are very well made, with a nice transmitter. They are also quite compact, compared with my previous remote-controlled sockets. The transmission range is also good: I can operate the sockets from anywhere in my house. A nice touch is the red indicator that lets you know that the socket has turned on. Some other brands don't have this feature, which is a pity as it's quite useful.

Setting up the sockets is fairly easy, but some people may not agree with this. To set them up, you have to arrange a row of dip-switches on the remote, then remove the covers on each socket & set them up individually. As I am used to setting up electronics, it was easy for me, but I envisage that inexperienced people could struggle for a while. You also need some small Jeweller's screwdrivers (or similar) to facilitate set-up.

It would help if Brannenstuhl supplied the sockets with the most popular setting already programmed in, then they would work sraight from the box. Another point that Brannenstuhl should look at is the 13 Amp socket. With a name like Brannenstuhl, you may guess that these sockets originate outside Britain. When you plug in an appliance, this becomes more obvious, as you really have to apply pressure to get the plug home. This seems to be a slight design flaw, as the UK earth pin is supposed to open the Line & Neutral shutters for smooth access, & this doesn't fully happen with the Brannenstuhl sockets. It isn't a major snag. but, if you purchase these sockets, you should be aware of it.

In summary, these are the best remote sockets I have used to date, & I have reviewed three types for Amazon. Just bear in mind the (very minor) problems. If Brannenstuhl sort these out, they are easily worth 5 stars

Great units! they work anywhere in the house from a controller in any room, so really user friendly.
Beware of the 1000W max loading on them though. Do NOT, like us, plug in a hoover into the multiplug connected to one. We did and it burnt it out!! Pity there is no fuse in the unit, a surprising omission for units that connect to 13 amp sockets to burn out at 4.5 Amps!!
I am buying some more, just to replace that one. Fingers crossed that the new ones are on the same frequency range as the first 3.Brennenstuhl Energy Efficient Remote Control Mains Socket Set with 3 Receivers