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Belkin has introduced an outlet surge protector that it claims will eliminate wasteful standby power to electronic devices, helping to reduce energy consumption, save money, and lower the overall impact to the environment.

The Belkin Conserve features a wireless remote control device allowing home owners to control which devices are drawing power from the unit. The remote will allow users to completely shut off the power to devices that consume standby power, such as TVs and audio equipment, when they have finished using them.

The surge protector will be available in the UK third quarter 2008

The surge protector also features two “always-on” outlets that will allow the user to leave devices that typically need to stay on – such as set top boxes and modems.

“Our Conserve surge protector addresses the issue of standby power, which is increasingly important because of rising energy costs,” said Chris McGugan, vice president of product management, Belkin International.

Devices left on standby is expected to one of the major growth areas of energy usage in the next few years – according to the UK Energy Savings Trust.

The California Energy Commission estimates that standby power losses in the average household to be as much as 15% of household electricity use.

The product is expected to be available in US from this summer with UK and European versions becoming available in the Autumn.