Archive for the ‘Green Gadgets’ Category
Monday, October 20th, 2008 |
<-125x125 Button - left->
My recently purchased Olympus digital camera is an alkaline batteries eater, there’s no doubt about it, as the device can be revived with four AA batteries. Imagine I’m very enthusiastic about taking pictures therefore I threw away dozens of these power sources. I know, it this new green era we live in, it’s almost the same as chopping down like five old-growth oak trees or something, but throwing them away was handier, if I may say so. It was so damn easy.
But if you get to think about it for a couple of minutes, you’d realize that there isn’t much to do with those dead batteries. Yes, they are really bad for the environment if we don’t dispose of them properly. The right thing to do is to send them to special recycling centers, but this would mean too much of a trouble, right? Because we’re all too indolent to just have a couple of minutes to properly recycle alkaline batteries. So hundreds of tons end up in landfills where their toxic innards seep into the earth.
But you know what? Those batteries you’re throwing away may not have enough energy left to power your gadgetry, but it does have enough juice to light up a low-energy LED. This is the idea South Korean designer Sung Woo Park and Sunshee Kim based their conceptual Energy Seed on. This is a stylish street lamp powered entirely by discarded batteries. The whole point is to encourage people to throw their batteries away into the Energy Seed. There’s a slot for nearly every size battery. They are then stacked upon each other and the combined power works together to power a street lamp.
Americans, for example, purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power their gadgets, many of them being tossed after a single use. And this is bad, don’t you think? Nevertheless, Park thinks this is only a temporary solution, saying: “Of course once the bins are full, we’re left with the same original problem. Somebody has to collect all those spent batteries and recycle them”.
Energy Seed is a cool idea, undoubtedly, but it’s not terribly practical. Hopefully, this isn’t sustainable either, because with a little bit of luck, we won’t have alkaline much longer. Still, until that moment, Energy Seed is a way for us to recycle alkaline batteries, or at least makes us conscious about the consequences involved.
Seriously now, this idea makes a lot of sense, don’t you think? Let’s just hope that Energy Seed will overstep the bounds imposed by its conceptual character. Someday.
(Source YankoDesign.com)
Posted in Green Gadgets | No Comments »
Friday, October 17th, 2008 |
<-125x125 Button - left->
Being on the threshold of winter should make us think a little bit more about the way we’re going to provide our homes with enough heat in order to create a cozy environment. But another issue we should be concerned about is the fact that, with the gas prices still unstable, it’s very important to monitor our thermostat. This isn’t a very pleasant thing to do, whatsoever, but thanks to all the smart home systems developed by ingenious manufacturers and available nowadays on the market, we can easily relieve this burden.
These smart home systems I was earlier talking about are a great helping hand when it comes to reducing energy costs by giving us real information about our home’s energy and making it easy to conserve. The only disadvantage of such a full home integration is that they are pretty expensive.
How about taking some smaller steps in order to make a big difference with the new Ecobee Smart Thermostat, a cool device that not only has a nice futuristic look compared to your current thermostat, but it also helps you save money on the power bill. This is a programmable thermostat that went to the next level and got even smarter. Ecobee has an integrated programmable smart thermostat provided with a WiFi-enabled touchscreen that automatically sets your household to conserve energy at the press of a button.
The thermostat is actually very easy to install and program, as you can use the touchscreen or the Internet. This way, you can get updates via Internet anytime, anywhere, so you can adjust you heating and cooling settings to fit better your energy-saving patterns. In addition, you’re connected to your utility company, which allows you to obtain alerts, updates and ways to reduce your bill by reducing your energy use.
This part of online functionality is what makes the device a whole lot more interesting, because when you’ve run out the door and suddenly realize you’ve forgotten to turn the heat off, just log onto their website and change your settings there. All you have to do is to register you Smart Thermostat on the Ecobee website in order to access its control panel from a web portal.
There’s also a “Quick Save” button, where the thermostat will automatically change the settings to optimize energy conservation, which means that the system will run based on what settings are optimal and efficient.
This device features a 3.5 inch color touch screen LCD display and promises to reduce 20 percent of energy consumed. Another option is the ZigBee (a home networking system standard) expansion slots in case you want to use the system for home automation in the future.
President and CEO Stuart Lombard said that “The Ecobee philosophy is ‘green made easy’! We can make a positive environmental impact if we make conservation a simple and easy choice”.
Ecobee is available for pre-order, with a delivery of estimated time of arrival of early 2009 and can be purchased for an amount of $385. The company says you’ll earn your investment back in energy savings within the first 12 to 18 months. There’s no doubt about it, this Ecobee device will complete your collection of smart home systems.
(Source Gizmodo.com)
Posted in Green Gadgets | No Comments »
Saturday, October 4th, 2008 |
<-125x125 Button - left->
Pollution has become one of the major problems of the century. In order to diminish the unexpected level it reached during the last years something has to be done. This is the reason we should take responsibility for our actions and try not to treat superficially the matter.
There’s no surprise for anyone that manufacturing electronic devices is a source of a certain amount of pollution. This is where Dell wants to interfere urged by the desire of making things right. The company understands that design and technical features aren’t enough anymore and there’s a great necessity of fusing the green element with current technology and style. When Dell commissioned a design contest for green computers, called Dell Regeneration Competition Design, Luis Luna, a Mexican industrial designer, thought of a concept that treated the term “green” literally. The result was the “O” Project, inspired by the oxygen and the cycle of photosynthesis and designed to reduce that tiny amount of CO2 that computers generate during their production and life use.
The main idea of this project is to design a CPU taking more into consideration the “green thinking” and “life style” and therefore having a decorative piece which is meant to eliminate the abundant visual noise that regular PCs create.
The O Project is a design concept featuring a couple of round PCs that take Dell’s bamboo-clad Studio Hybrid to the next level, adding a place to grow a small plant inside. We must agree the fact that the idea of such a “plant” is quite interesting, but imagine a focused fellow completely metamorphosed every time he hears the words he loves most “EA Sports, to the game!” could remember to water the plant instead of running desperately after a ball. In the best case, he’d remember, but rushing to get his job done, he’d spill drops of water over the PC. Therefore, the O PC would better be waterproof, if it wants to live a peaceful life!
The PC features a biodegradable polymer skin based on cornstarch and bamboo, while the computer’s components can be easily recycled or re-utilized in case you change your mind and don’t want it as another accessory in your house.
Maybe it’s not something we are to see in the near future, but if the O Project gets us thinking green for a little bit and we become aware of the harm we involuntarily do to the environment, then a purpose has been reached.
(Source Dvice)
Posted in Green Gadgets | No Comments »
Saturday, September 6th, 2008 |
Here’s yet another car prototype which makes use of some electrical way to power the whole design. According to DVice, it’s called the GYM car and it practically integrates exercise equipment which is supposed to help you do your daily workout and, in the process, make the car move. Simple plan. Want to drive the car? You have to strengthen your biceps and triceps a bit.
Of course, there’s always an alternative for those who are not fit enough to provide the needed power. Thus, you can plug the car into the wall for easy charging, albeit waiting for several hours for a full charge. But the car gives you the opportunity to stay fit without going to the gym. Just jump onboard and start using the stepping machine, struggle for some minutes with the bench press, row your way into the driveway and accelerate like crazy doing a set of pull-ups.
The back of the car could also be stuffed with all sorts of barbells and special machines that are supposed to make you look like Arnold in no time. And off you go, driving and at the same time performing a warm-up for the real deal at the gym.
Posted in Green Gadgets | No Comments »
Monday, August 11th, 2008 |
I suppose people will soon find a more efficient way to power vehicles, but until then, we could use bicycles and solar-powered vehicles. Many European countries as well as Asian ones are already recommending the use of bicycles in crowded cities, hoping that pollution would be drastically diminished. The fact that bicycles are not that fast compared to other vehicles and require the rider to spend certain amounts of energy in order to activate it might not please most of us. How about an electric bike, instead?
The Pi 8 Speed Electric Bicycle looks a bit extravagant, and although looks might define many devices we see on the market today, what sets this bicycle apart is its double functionality. According to Red Ferret, you can either use it in full electric mode, and go for 30 miles at up to 20 mph or switch it to pedal assist and increase your range to 100 miles with a 3 to 5 hour re-charge. Powering the electrical components are Lithium Ion batteries buried in the tube frame, capable of around 1500 mpg.
The electric bike was designed by Marcus Hayes in San Francisco. Powered by a 750-watt electric motor housed in the horizontal chain and motor assembly that provides 1 hp, the 8-speed automatic transmission is actually capable of four modes of operation, all controlled by a thumb toggle on the handlebars: a setting for rapid acceleration, a low gear setting for inclines (but slower acceleration), and a setting for manual gear shifting that disengages the motor to preserve battery life.
It’s pretty cool and you can order one from Hammacher Schlemmer for $5,500.00.
Posted in Green Gadgets | No Comments »