50 Green Gadgets We Love

Sierra Club Green Home has compiled a list of 50 Green Gadgets You Can Use To Help Save The Planet! Did you know there is a Fully Automated Solar Powered Lawnmower, a Solar Powered Grill, or even a Solar Powered Nintendo Wii System? See all of the goodies gadgets here.

Jennifer Schwab and Sam Champion explore E-Readers vs. Real books.  Good Morning America (GMA).

Outdoors

Electronics

The Water Powered Alarm Clock creates a constant supply of energy, using a electrochemical reaction between the electrodes and the water. The best part is that you only have to fill it with water once every three months. In addition to telling time, the clock will also give you a temperature reading. The Motorola Renew is more than just a solar-powered cell phone. From beginning to end, this phone is Eco-friendly. It was made out of recycled plastic and it comes with a prepaid envelope for having the phone recycled once you are done with it. Sony introduces a new LCD TV that comes in the sizes of 40 and 46 inch. The Sony Bravia WE5 Eco TV offers full HD 1080p images, retaining picture quality while cutting energy costs. This new television includes the first microtubular HCFL backlight that will lower power consumption by more than 50%. With its Smart Presence Sensor, it will actually switch off the power when the TV is not being watched. Orange has come out with the world’s first solar powered Bluetooth headset, the Iqua BHS-603 SUN. This headset is completely wireless and allows for 9 straight hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby. The Iqua BHS-603 SUN is also completely compatible with the iPhone. The Baylis Eco Media Player is a wind-up MP3 player that features video playback, FM radio, voice recorder, text reader, expandable memory and a flashlight. In addition, you can even use it to charge your cell phone. Although there are many Eco Media Players to choose from, the Baylis seems to get the best reviews. The Sharp BDHP21H Blu-ray Disc Player is offering all the features that most Blu-ray players are including: HDMI support, Dolby True HD, and quick start. However, it is the first one to claim to be low energy. It consumes 27 Watts of power during operation, and 0.5 Watts on standby mode. Now kids can go play outside without leaving their video games. The entire setup is just over $1400.00, so you might have to get a part-time job to get it. But the system should be well worth the sacrifice, as you will never have to stop playing your video games again (and you will help the environment). This incredible fan generates its own electricity using the heat of your stove. It contains a thermo-electric module that acts as a generator. When it detects heat, it will produce electricity. This fan puts out 100 CFM to help circulate warm air though your room.

Computers

Dell’s new 24-inch G Series LCD is said to be one of the greenest LCDs, as it proudly sports an EPEAT Gold rating and utilizes halogen-free laminates in circuit boards along with chassis plastics that contains 25 percent post-consumers recycled plastics. Other specs include a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution panel, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 250 nits of brightness, VGA / DVI connectors and a 5 millisecond response time. Marvell’s SheevaPlug PC can handle almost every basic tasks that a modern day notebook could. The computer plugs right into an AC outlet, and is basically a headless PC containing a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of flash storage, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. The most amazing benefits are that the power draw is extremely low and that it is build on a Linux operating system. Keeping with the current fads of computing technology the Dell Studio Hybrid offers low power and it is small in size. The Hybrid even comes with a “recycling kit” that allows you to ship you old system back to Dell to be recycled. DigitalTrends.com equated the HP’s Firebird as the computer equivalent of getting the performance of a Ferrari with the gas mileage of a Festiva. The HP Firebird is a high-powered machine that runs only a small 350-watt power supply, which is a large contract to the gaming computers that require 1,000 watts. Many have called the Asus Bamboo Laptop the Holy Grail in laptop computing. This notebook features Core 2 Duo processor, 12.1 in screen, full-sized keyboard and Vista Home Premium. Furthermore, they decided to make the laptop as green as possible, no more noticeably than by encasing the entire machine in bamboo. The Hand-Powered RITI Printer is one of the most innovative green gadgets available. It actually uses coffee instead of ink. In addition to recycling your grounds, the printer also uses good old-fashioned elbow grease to move the grounds cartridge back and forth, saving power with each piece of paper printed. The HP LaserJet CM2320n is the first color laser engineered from the start to be a power saver with redesigned motors, power supply and fuser. The scanner is illuminated with low-power LEDs. Together, these components cut the printer’s power draw by half when it’s churning out pages. The printer only uses 5 Watts when it is idle, which is a third of the average printer. D-Link Corp.’s DGS-2208 8-port gigabit switch hardly wastes a watt, shutting down LAN connections as they stop being needed. For most home networks, the network will only be used for about half the day so it can make more of a difference that you might imagine.

Energy Meters, Detectors, and Monitors

The Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector helps take the guesswork out of finding energy leaks in your home. This small device makes it easy to identify hidden leaks coming from windows, doors, floors, electrical outlets, walls, pipes – virtually anywhere that energy loss occurs. Not bad when you consider that plugging leaks and drafts in your home can save up to 20% off your heating and cooling energy costs. The first step to cutting back on your energy usage is to know how much you are using. The Energy Detective offers real-time monitoring, on a screen, of the wattage your house consumes at any given moment. You can even view your monthly utility bill as you rack it up. According to NewScientist.com, Energy Vampires are electronic devices that use power even in standby mode. The solution is to put a pair of sticky-backed lenses over the standby light and turn them into a pair of glowing, sinister eyes. The Wattson unit, is a box that displays a color based on your current energy usage. If you are not using much electricity, it will glow a calming blue color. But if you start wasting energy by running numerous appliances at once, the Wattson will turn red. This is one gadget that you will need if you have children. Having children can cost you extra money each month on your electricity bill because of their electronic devices that stay turned on all day. The Power Hog allows parents to monitor exactly how much time their kids are spending watching television or playing video games. The best part about Power Hog is that it works as a easy-to-use piggy bank to help children visualize and understand that using electricity costs money. In order for the device to run, you must drop a coin into the top of the pig. At that point, each deposit will provide 30 minutes of electricity to power the device. This a fun and educational way to learn about electricity and the cost of it. The Belkin Conserve Energy-Saving Surge Protector can help you turn off all the electronics that are using phantom power. On top of two outlets that are always powered, it has six outlets that are controlled by a hand-held wireless remote control. Flip the switch, and the power is turned off, period — no more phantom power. The Kiwi Fuel-Saving Device will allow you to drive green and save gas! The device plugs into your car’s on-board diagnostic II port to collect driving data. It’s compatible with all 1996 vehicles and up giving you a detailed sensor information about your vehicles speed, RPM, engine load, and oxygen sensor readings. The goal is to obtain the highest possible “Kiwi Score”. By doing so your Kiwi will show you how much money on gas you will save compared to the last trip you took with Kiwi installed. On average, most people notice a 20% improvement in MPG in just a few days. It’s amazing just how much energy is being sucked out by our appliances. The Kill-A-Watt is a get way of helping you to calculate and cut unnecessary costs. It’s so easy. All you do is connect the Kill-A-Watt to your appliances and it will assess how efficient they are. On a LCD display, it will count consumption by the Kilowatt-hour, much like what a utility company does. What is nice about this gadget is that you can then figure out how much your are spending on your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, and even an entire year.

Alternative Energy

The Solio Mg has been claimed by its manufacturer to be, “the most powerful and versatile hybrid charger ever made”. Solio is an unfolding solar panel that can charge your gadgets, cellphones, iPods, cameras, and other portable devices. One of its amazing features is that the energy it stocks in one hour of sunlight exposure can provide you with 20-25 minutes of phone talking. It has the most efficient technology for solar panels and the highest capacity battery to store power, being able to hold its charge for up to one year. The Eco Charger not only looks like a standard charger, but it works just like one too. However, instead of continuing to drain energy when its services are no longer needed, a simple press of a button will ensure this charger cuts off all power when your phone has acquired all the juice it needs. This is a huge benefit because most phone chargers waste 95% of the energy used when they are still plugged in after the charging is complete. The Voltaic Generator Solar Laptop Charger has solar chargers designed to charge virtually all hand held electronics. Powerful enough to fully charge a laptop from a day of direct sunlight and also charge cell phones, this device will completely amaze you. All Voltaic bags come with a custom battery pack which stores any surplus power generated, so it is available when you need it – not just when the sun is up. The Mini Kin Personal Wind Turbine Charger is a mini wind turbine that you can use to charge your many electronic devices. There are a number of holders this turbine comes with so that you can wind while you are performing many activities. The charger is compatible with a variety of devices that accept standard or mini USB plugs. The nPower PEG is a small, lightweight device that allows you to create renewable energy while you walk or run. Just place the PEG in your backpack, briefcase, or handbag, and plug it into your iPod, cell phone, or GPS. As you walk, the PEG harvests the kinetic energy that you’re already generating and converts it into usable power for recharging your handheld electronic devices. This PowerFilm AA Foldable Solar Charger is lightweight, thin, and recharges AA batteries in a very effective manner. The main feature of this charges is that is works in varying sunlight conditions and the charging circuit does not get confused from the varying conditions. We have all hit the point where our cell phone is running low on battery. Now all you will have to do is take the reel-like hand crank and give it a few minutes of turning and you will be able to talk on your phone again for another 25-30 minutes. This charger also has a built in flashlight so you can find what you need in a power outage. The Wind-Helmet has a windmill in your helmet. Wind flows over the helmet, through the propeller in the rear, and stores energy in a set of rechargeable batteries for later use. Although there are a lot of power chargers out there, the Wind-Helmet allows for you generate power with something you will already be using. The Solio Hybrid 1000 is a charger that lets you power your gadgets on the go. A fully charged device should power your iPod for 10 hours of playback. One hour of sunshine should provide about 15 minutes of cellphone talk time or 40 minutes of MP3 playback on a portable media player.

Appliances

The Eco Kettle looks like any stylish Kettle you might find, except for the fact that it is very Eco-friendly. You are able to fill this kettle all the way up to 8 cups of water, however, you are given the option of how many cups you would like to boil. This way you do not waste energy boiling water that you are not going to use right now. A hair greener than other styling tools, the ceramic ECO Dryer is equipped with a low EMF heating output, negating radiation while drying you hair as any other blow dryer would. The Spin-X Spindryer energy saving capabilities are supposed to save you an estimated $1,100 in three years. In addition, the Spin-X can remove one quart of water from clothes taken out of your machine. The extracted water goes into a storage container. It also removes soap, detergents, perfumes and chemicals into the container. This Eco-friendly refrigerator offers different compartments that can be switched off if they are not in use. The idea is that at certain points your refrigerator may not be full of food and you can turn off the parts that you are not using. In addition, the bottom section is actually cooled by a water reservoir which is ideal for storing fruit and vegetables. The GreenCore 10200 is a solar-powered air conditioner that can actually use the sun that is heating up your home to cool it off. Although it comes equipped with a 170-watt panel, the Green Core can switch to battery power if the sun is not shining. Just imagine if cutting back on all the wasted water from toilet flushing. The PropelAir only uses 1.5 liters of water to flush the bowl, in comparison to the 9.5 liter average. This toilet actually uses air to displace the waste, and just a little bit of water to wash the bowl.

Lighting

Litroenergy is a light source material that can actually emit light for 12 plus years without electricity or sun exposure. Furthermore, the light source is inexpensive, non-toxic, and does not need a power source. If we produce it on a mass scale it could potentially save billions of dollars. Blight Blinds were named from combining the words “blind” and “light.” The Blight Blinds are a brilliant invention that turn you blinds into a solar panel. During the day your blinds will absorb the Sun’s rays and at night you will be able to light up your house. The SolarMature is a solar-powered desktop or bedside lamp. The lamp is completely stand alone and uses internal rechargeable batteries, which are charged via the solar panels. Put the lamp outside during the day, and on your desk in the night. Purely Anion’s energy efficient light builds are both energy-saving and air-cleaning. Our homes are filled with positive ions emitted from electrical devices. This light bulb will remove the positive ions in your home, leaving the air clean and fresh. Related Articles

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