The myriad of mobile devices I’ve purchased in the past few years turned my bedside outlet into a harem of various chargers and adapters. Looking to restore some order to this rat king of a power source, I installed TopGreener’s new USB type-C power delivery / Quick Charge 3.0 USB outlet.
Between my phone, Nintendo Switch, Kindle, tablet, and USB-powered bedside lamp, I had a sizable collection of AC adapters always at the ready next to my bed. I wanted to pare them down to just a few, so I bought a multi-port QC 3.0 USB wall charger to accommodate all of my USB devices. It was great at eliminating several adapters, but started regularly falling out of the outlet after a couple months.
I finally decided that replacing the wall outlet was my best chance at a solution, and the specs of the TopGreener USB-C / QC 3.0 outlet seemed to be perfect. It replaces one of the AC outlets with a couple of USB ports, including a USB-C Power Delivery port. At 18W, that USB-C port it won’t power your laptop (at least not while it’s in use), but it’s plenty enough to charge my Nintendo Switch in handheld mode, my Pixel 3, or my ASUS tablet. The QuickCharge 3.0 USB port doesn’t vary from the QC 3.0 standard we know and love. TopGreener also retains a standard 15A/125VAC tamper-resistant AC outlet... which is pretty important for a power receptacle.
You can certainly hire an electrician to install one of these, but I urge you not to be intimidated by what is actually a very simple process. It took me less than ten minutes to replace my outlet (and I was taking photos.) I don’t mean to discount real electrical work or the electricians who perform it, but replacing an outlet in your home isn’t rocket science. You only need some common sense, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. I just used a multi-tool.
Start by tripping the breaker for the circuit that includes the outlet. Test that the outlet has no power by plugging something into it and attempting to turn it on. After you’ve confirmed the power is off to the outlet, remove the face plate screws, then the face plate, and then the two screws holding the outlet in the wall box. Pull the old outlet out and remove wires one at a time, connecting each one to the corresponding screw on the TopGreener outlet as you go. Put everything back in reverse order, and switch your breaker back on. Finally test the outlet, and have a celebratory beverage as your devices fast-charge without all those pesky adapters.
The TopGreener USB type-C power delivery / Quick Charge 3.0 USB outlet is a massive upgrade to something I use every single day. It fast-charges every USB or USB-C device I’ve thrown at it except my Dell laptop that requires 45W. It’s well made, has solid specs, is reasonably priced at $34, and hasn’t failed or given me any reason to worry about it in the three weeks I’ve been consistently using it. I’m installing two more in my home soon, and getting rid of another pile of chargers.