As we spread messages and quotes on Earth Day, we come to realize that our gadgets gobble huge amount of energy. Onset of this consciousness motivates us to save energy by adopting several power saving measures such as –
Unplugging appliances when fully charged,
Using power adapters on power strip,
Managing power settings
Powering off laptops to limit battery usage
And many more.
Sadly, this occasional awareness lasts a few days before we resume our frivolous energy consumption habits. Hence, such short-lived practices can hardly make any difference in saving energy, water or our mother Earth. We need adopting prolonged practices which are easy to follow and track progress too. The best practice will be substituting energy-hungry products with eco-friendly gadgets which will minimize power consumption and help us achieve huge savings by Earth Day of next year. Here we have rounded up top 10 green tech innovations that are made to cut down wattage of volts consumed per day, reduce carbon footprint, and curtail energy bills too.
#1 Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector
Why you need it?
You might blame those brightly-hued display panel featured computers, TVs, home theaters, or smartphones for consuming most of the energy resources, but, your heating and cooling appliances are the main culprits of easing energy bills every month. Once you put a check on cooling and heating gadgets, you can attain significant savings on energy bills – that’s why we recommend Black & Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector.
How it works?
This is a thermal detector to monitor and track power-draining drafts of your den.
A 5-step guide to fix energy leaks
Has a thermal leak detector
First, let it scan ambient temperature
Face the gadget toward openings around windows and doors to spot where energy is leaking out
Red LED will blink to show warmer spots and blue for cooler spots in your house.
Infrared sensors measure room temperatures
Can reduce up to 20% heating or cooling costs
#2 IntelliPlug
Why you need it?
Do you often hear a low hum in your house? TVs and amplifiers are not in the standby mode just because they are blinking red LED; however, they are using energy to run some background functions. That’s when you need IntelliPlug.
How it works?
These electronic products are using power and may also trigger the risk of fire in electrical devices that are connected to the home theater or computers. AVC014 IntelliPlug works in
Isolating mains whenever those home entertainment systems or TVs are idle
Resetting the internal software
Automatic shutdown in A/V mode after 1,2,3 or 4hrs
Automatic calibration of equipment with each switching cycle
Customizable for remote pairing and delay adjustment
Saving energy and minimize risks of fire hazards
Extending the life of connected gadgets.
#3 Edyn Garden Sensor
Why you need it?
Even if you are not born with a green thumb, you can still grow a garden around your home. This green tech innovation will make you a well-informed gardener to create a verdant surrounding around your house – it is Edyn Garden Sensor.
How it works?
This gadget will do all the guesswork and hardwork related to weather and soil condition to find the plants and automate the watering process too. The Edyn Garden Sensor device comes with a dedicated app which gives all the information you need for planting.
Tracks light, humidity, temperature, soil nutrition and moisture
Matches information with soil science, types of plants, weather databases to suggest plants that will grow
Syncs with Edyn app to get information on your smartphone
App suggests data on optimal time for planting and plant groupings
Edyn Water Valve regulates water system based on data extracted by Garden Sensor
Regulates water flow according to varying weather forecasts to reduce water use and utility bills
Manual control of the Water Valve enables watering plants from everywhere
Click & Grow: Smart and intuitive flowerpot that reminds you to water it!
#4 Evolve Showerheads
Why you need it?
Apart from the garden, another place in your house that marks substantial water usage is the washroom. That’s why we recommend Evolve Showerheads to check water bill without lowering water pressure.
How it works?
This is the first energy-efficient shower heads product with ShowerStart technology which is proven to cut down up to $246 from your water bill and conserves about 8,212 gallons of water every year.
Enables cold water to run out without restricting water flow to a power-savings mode
Pressure compensating technology helps normalize shower during low water pressure
Full face pattern with 54 nozzle ensures warm water
Strikes balance between great flow-1.5 GPM and coverage
Works with any shower arm with standard 1/2-Inch fittings
Curtails water, energy, and money
#5 Belkin Energy Saving Outlet
Why you need it?
When you are hurriedly readying for the day in the morning, chances are that you forget turn off the power of your hair curlers, hair straightening tools, coffee machines, toasters or lights. But with these smart energy saving outlets by Belkin, you can ensure the power is turned off when you forget.
How it works?
It is so simple – all that you need to do is plugging those appliances to the Belkin power saving outlets and that’s it! There are three variants you can choose from that are Belkin WeMo Insight Switch, Belkin WeMo Light Switch (for lights), or Belkin FC7009 Conserve Socket Energy Saving Outlet.
Belkin F7C005 Conserve Insight Energy Cost Monitor – reads carbon footprints of your devices, evaluates your expenses on energy bills and how you can save more on energy bills.
Belkin WeMo Insight Switch – Syncs with WeMo app to let you turn off, schedule power on and off remotely. Works with home Wi-Fi network, Android 4.0 and higher versions and iOS 6 and higher versions.
Belkin WeMo Light Switch – Similar to the Insight Switch version, this light version works with lights and can be controlled remotely via free WeMo app. Simple to configure, schedule, and regulate.
#6 Lutron Maestro Room Occupancy Sensors
Why you need it?
Belkin sure does help a great deal in mitigating unwanted power consumption by turning off energy of outlets that are not in use. But what if you do not have to remember turning off the power at all! That’s why you need this ‘Maestro’ in your manor to sense when you want to turn on or off the lights, in that matter.
How it works?
Maestro Room Occupancy Sensor by Lutron is an astounding green tech innovation which is designed with sensors which prompt automatic turn on and off.
Comes in Passive infrared (PIR) mode or dual-technology sensing models
Available for Halogen, 250W Incandescent, 200W MLV, ELV, 150W Compact Fluorescent Light, LED Occupancy Sensor Switch
Daylight Sensors
Turns Lights On when anyone exits the room
Keeps lights on when the room is occupied
150 degree motion detector with an angle up to 30 feet.
Manual and automatic control
#7 Monster MP HT 800G Home Theater PowerCenter
Why you need it?
If you need a dedicated power saving outlet for your home network system to take care of the power supply to multiple devices connected to the system, then Monster is what you need.
How it works?
Monster MP HT 800G Home Theater PowerCenter with Monster GreenPower connects all the equipment connected to the home theater system such as DVD player, gaming console, speaker and many more.
Connect TV to the green master plug on the lower right
Plug all the outlets at the left on the same row
Then, GreenPower will turn off all the connected outlets when you turn off the television
Lets you record programs on DVR
Gives 2160 Joules of protection and raises an alarm during power surge
#8 The Energy Detective (TED)
Why you need it?
Once you install The Energy Detective (TED), you will notice and evaluate dollar valuation of your electricity usage and will start saving huge on your household utility bills. TED Footprints will show you which appliances are eating up unnecessary expenses and where you can reduce to cut down overall electricity bills.
How it works?
Install this TED energy management system to take readings of up to four 240V circuits and save up to 30 percent of energy bills every year.
Take reading of electricity usage, voltage, projected monthly bills
Wireless display will let you power on or off appliances
TED Advisor sends customized text message and email updates on electricity usage, when bills exceeding monthly budgets, and raises system usage alerts.
Provides data trends and energy usage in easily readable Microsoft Excel format
Monitor and compare data on energy usage from various locations and buildings remotely on your smartphone
Wireless display placed in a common area such as your kitchen will let everyone in your family to see data on electricity usage
#9 USBCELL AA Rechargeable Battery
Why you need it?
Thrown away batteries stack up the disposed electronic waste materials on our planet. These non-biodegradable waste materials do not decompose but end up polluting the environment in the long run. To save your environment from environment pollution, all you need is to substitute the battery you use with USBCELL AA Rechargeable Battery.
How it works?
Replace your non-recyclable battery and chargers with USBCELL which gets its power from your laptop or desktop computer using its USB port.
USBCELL MXAA02 AA Rechargable Batteries designed with built-in charger
Has NiMH 1.2v 1300mah AA battery
Its external tip works with and powers batteries from any USB port
Can be charged hundreds of times.
Saves expenses and e-waste materials
Can be recharged in 5 hours
Lets you recharge batteries from anywhere whether home, office or on the go
#10 Philips Hue Lights
Why you need it?
Have you ever imagined light bulbs which you install in your house would let you control it wirelessly when you were not around, without needing any third-party controls? Then, Philips Hue Connected bulb is just for you.
How it works?
Not only control, Philips Hue Lights brings you the power to customization so that you can change the color, combination of colors, tweak intensity and a lot more things as per your requirement for light or moods, whatsoever. Once you swap existing bulb units with customizable Philips Hue Lights to usher the future of lighting technology to your house and save energy by adjusting lights. Major features include –
Wireless lighting system comes with various packages starting from basic 3-bulb starter kit
Connected bulbs can be tailored as per brightness and color
Set time and schedule power off and on the basis of day-to-day requirements
Set reminders for power on or off
Reminders for any activity such as cooking, email etc.
Custom light settings will let you increase or decrease intensity when you are relaxing or reading
Uses images such as sunset, deep sea, beach etc., to personalize lighting scenes.
Know more about how to operate Philips Hue lightbulbs
With these 10 best green tech innovations, you can avoid unwanted energy consumption and save dollars from your energy bills without having to lower your regular power and water usage. Stay green and create a better planet to live with these eco-friendly gadgets.