USB ports in wall outlets are nothing new. We’ve seen them pop up in said applications for quite some time now as all smartphones can charge via these ports with one cable or another. While these little niceties are great they require a little more wiring work than some people are comfortable with, and if you’re the type of person who prefers to rent or is stuck in an apartment you probably know that modifying the building in any way is generally frowned upon. Shorting the fusebox is the quickest way to ruin your landlord’s day, and that’s just the sort of application that this latest Kickstarter project, SnapPower, has.
SnapPower is a brand new kind of wall outlet covering that replaces your existing wall outlet coverings and provides extended functionality above those standard outlets. SnapPower features a small box that protrudes just a few millimeters out from below the lowest power outlet and features a single USB connection on the right side. The magic behind SnapPower allows it to simply get screwed on as a normal wall outlet cover would and provide the additional USB power without any kind of wires. This is achieved thanks to the small power prongs found on either side of the single screw that screws the outlet cover in, as they attach themselves to the screws also found on either side of the outlet within the wall.
There’s a number of great uses for such a device but among one of the best is no longer having to look for those power bricks that like to get lost behind furniture and in other places in your home. It’s also worth mentioning again that no wiring is required, so renters don’t have to worry about messing with wires they should be touching, and those not comfortable normally working with electricity can rest easy as well. SnapPower comes in two different styles to match your existing wall outlets and each style is featured in 3 colors to match the rest of your decor. You can order one of these by checking out the Kickstarter link below. Right now the super early bird special is all sold out at $12 an outlet cover, but the regular early bird special is still available at $14 an outlet with under 50 outlets left. SnapPower is scheduled to ship out in August 2015.