Save money and cut fuel consumption with a digital tyre inflator
You may wonder why a digital tyre inflator is a green gadget – and the answer might surprise you! Driving is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions but unfortunately for many people it’s a necessity. While we should all be cutting back on car use where we can – most of us could easily walk to the shops if we had to – those for whom a car is simply essential to getting around can still make changes that reduce their fuel consumption and therefore make their driving habits more eco-friendly. One of these changes is simply to keep your tyres correctly inflated: some sources estimate that up to 50% of cars have under inflated tyres, which increases the rate of wear (and therefore means you have to spend money replacing them more often) and decreases fuel efficiency. This digital tyre inflator is super easy to use: you simply pre-programme it to the desired pressure, plug it into your cigarette lighter and it will switch off automatically when the tyres reach that pressure. The inflator comes with an LED worklight so you can always see what you are doing, and it’s small enough to store easily in your boot. So you should check your tyres are correctly inflated every couple of weeks and use the inflator to correct any under-inflation. By keeping your tyres inflated to the correct pressure, you will increase their longevity and your fuel efficiency, which will both save you money and reduce your carbon emissions. We can’t all stop driving – but we can all take small steps to reduce the impact that driving has on the planet, and the digital tyre inflator will help you do that.
The PowerPlus Piranha Dynamo wind up shaver is perfect for eco grooming
If good grooming is one of your New Year’s Resolutions, the PowerPlus Piranha Dynamo wind up shaver could be just the thing for you. This handy shaver is not only rechargeable, it has a wind up dynamo so you can use it wherever you are – making it perfect for grooming on the go! Simply wind up the dynamo for one minute to get two minutes of shaving time. This means the shaver is cheap to run and saves energy, and can be used where there is no access to mains power. (Alternately, if you do use a mains charger the shaver can be fully charged in eight hours, and the Piranha also has a charging indicator for efficiency, so you don’t leave it plugged in too long! (Remember, simply remembering to switch off items at the mains when fully charged saves energy). The Piranha Dynamo wind up shaver is made by PowerPlus, a company which specialises in eco-friendly, wind up or solar powered radios, torches and other gadgets, so you can be sure of the quality of the product as well as its eco credentials. The shaver has two separate shaving heads that follow the contours of your face to give a close, quality shave and comes complete with a separate trimmer, plus mains adaptor and cleaning brush, so is everything you need in one compact package.
The Eco-Eye Elite energy meter helps you keep your costs down
At this time of year it’s tempting to crank up the heating and damn the expense, but with ever increasing fuel prices, this can leave a nasty hangover in the New Year – which is where the Eco-Eye Elite comes in. This easy to use electricity meter has a large, clear display which shows how much energy you have consumed – and how much it costs you! This gives an excellent incentive to make sure you are being energy efficient, both in terms of reducing your carbon footprint and your bills. The Eco-Eye’s large, clear display gives at-a-glance information and can show by the hour, day, month or even year, and has a memory function so you can make comparisons and see how much you are saving once you start your energy efficiency campaign. Seeing how much energy you are actually using – and your resulting CO2 emissions – will hopefully make it easier to reduce your energy usage by doing things such as switching off lights, using draught excluders at doors, not leaving items on standby, or using energy efficiency boosters such as the radiator energy saving kit. These are simple steps we can all take to maximise our energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint, which is good for our wallet and the planet.
Electrickery and Revolve turn old circuit boards into great gifts
We live in a world where we are constantly encourage to upgrade our electronic equipment to something newer, smaller, shinier – and that can have a terrible impact on the environment. Waste from electronic and electrical equipment is growing year on year as we replace items faster and faster – an estimated 50,000 tonnes of printed circuit boards alone are scrapped every year. One company is helping reduce landfill by using old circuit boards and recycling them into unusual and stylish gifts. Electrickery are based in Fulham, London – so no air miles to worry about! – and have been recycling circuit boards since 1999. They produce a range of fun products including recycled circuit board cuff links, recycled circuit board lamps and recycled circuit board business card holders, and because they use such a range of boards, no two items are the same – ensuring completely unique gifts. Meanwhile, on a similar theme, Revolve takes items destined for landfill and turns them into fun and contemporary gifts. These include recycled circuit board coasters, recycled circuit board notebooks, and recycled circuit board mousemats. Like Electickery, Revolve is a UK company – they are based in Huddersfield – so as well as ensuring that you are saving items from landfill, you can also be assured that your products don’t clock up the air miles. Also like Electrickery, Revolve create products based on their supply of destined-for-landfill circuit boards, so every product is different, giving each its own unique charm.
Standby solutions save you energy
Leaving devices on standby – instead of switching them off – wastes energy and costs you money, but it’s a habit that many of us have fallen into. The Bye Bye Standby Energy Saving Kit is aimed at reducing your energy bills and your carbon footprint by simply cutting the power to devices that are plugged into it when they are not in use. The device is easy to use – simply plug a Bye Bye Standby Smart Socket into a mains wall switch and plug your electrical appliance such as a DVD, TV, stereo or TV into it. You then just make sure your remote control (included in the pack) is set to the same ‘house code’ as the Smart Socket and you can switch off your devices from up to 30m away. Working on the same principle, the Intellipanel for desktop computers allows you to plug your PC into the master socket and all peripherals into the other socket, so that when you power down your computer, power to the peripherals is cut at the same time. There is also an Intellipanel for laptops available. Another smart eco-solution – designed for both PCs and laptops – is the Ecobutton. Pressing this clever little device puts your computer into energy saving ‘eco mode’, saving you energy – and when you want to start working again, you simply press the Ecobutton and your PC or laptop is reactivated at exactly where you left off! With all of us worrying more about energy bills, as well as our carbon footprint, these standby solutions offer an easy and eco-friendly way to save energy and money.
Wind-up Eco Media Revolution Player
A wind-up media player might sound like a joke, but in fact it is a cutting edge eco-solution. The Eco Media Player Revolution combines the latest in media technology with the energy efficiency and power-on-the-go freedom of wind-up power. The Eco Media Player Revolution is powered by winding the integrated handle and offers 24-bit Hi Fidelity playback of all the major music formats including Apple AAC, Microsoft WMA, mp3, and OGG Vorbis. You can also watch video clips and movies, as the device supports formats such as MP4 and Windows WMV and it includes a stereo FM radio and built-in photo album and e-book reader. You can even use it to recharge your phone if you’re stuck without a charger – use the attached connectors and the Revolution’s hand-crank.
The Eco Media Player Revolution is the latest green solution from Trevor Baylis Brands. Trevor Baylis OBE is a former stuntman who, moved by the plight of AIDS victims in Africa, recognised that radio broadcasts could be a useful tool in promoting health education and halting the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, the need for batteries or electricity – everyday items we in the West take for granted – made radios too expensive for many people. Trevor’s solution was to develop a prototype wind-up radio. Initially met with universal rejection, the idea was brought to wider recognition via a showcase on the BBC programme Tomorrow’s World in 1994. The following year, BabyGen Power Industries was set up in South Africa, employing disabled workers to manufacture the groundbreaking Freeplay wind-up radio. In 1997, with the realisation that a wind-up radio could also be successfully sold to Western consumers increasingly looking for energy efficient products, a smaller and lighter model was developed. It was later updated to include a solar panel, making it an even more eco-friendly option.
Innovative SolarVoice 908 solar charged Bluetooth handsfree headset
SolarVoice 908 is a new solar-charged Bluetooth handsfree headset created by i.Tech Dynamic offering a wireless and eco-friendly solution to a number of everyday problems. Whether you happen to be in your car on the way to work (assuming, of course, that cycling is simply not an option!) or making your way through a crowded high street, holding a mobile phone to your ear is not always convenient or sensible. You may want to listen to some music whilst on a bus or train but your headphones might be uncomfortable or the wires might get in your way. The SolarVoice 908 is useful in these respects because it supports Bluetooth A2DP, which means the device can wirelessly connect to your mobile phone or mp3 players (or some other Bluetooth enabled device requiring a headset). Also featuring noise-cancelling technology, the SolarVoice 908 makes an excellent headset device providing clearly audible communications in difficult and noisy environments. Because the SolarVoice 908 features solar-charging, it is eco-friendly in the sense that it can be powered up by the freely available energy from the sun – there is no need for toxic batteries or an electricity mains connection to make this gadget work, although both mains and USB connections are included as an alternative. Furthermore, the included base or cradle unit comprises optimal positioning for increased sunlight exposure, with a maximum charge time of around 15 hours. Whilst the headset itself boasts talk time of around 5 hours, this is considered to be sufficient for typical everyday use. The SolarVoice 908 is currently only on sale in the US. However, while you may have to wait to get your hands on one of these, there are a number of eco-friendly ways to recharge your current portable electronic devices so that you can start being more eco-friendly – and save money – today. Solar powered chargers that are suitable for mobile phones, iPods and similar equipment are available in the UK – for example the Power Traveller Explorer Power Charger, which retails at under £50.
The Multi-Purpose USB Solar Charger
Numerous devices that use the sun’s free renewable energy as their source of power are available on the market. In fact, solar powered gadgets are becoming increasingly popular as the technology has made vast improvements to the efficiency of solar cells. Furthermore, solar powered devices can often be used for months without exposure to direct sunlight because, when the sun does shine on the cells, the energy is harnessed and stored in its battery. However, many conventional electronic goods continue to use standard non-recyclable battery packs, so there is still some way to go if the situation is to improve. Nevertheless, the introduction of the ZYRUS Compact USB Solar Charger is set to widen the scope of conventional electronic gadgets as they can now utilise a solar power source. Indeed, the ZYRUS Solar Charger features USB connectivity, which is standard for most electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and mp3 players. Normally, the USB port on such gadgets would be used to transfer files, photos and audio tracks onto a personal computer. However, the ZYRUS Solar Charger is able to connect to most such devices via USB in order to charge up their internal battery packs.
In fact, the ZYRUS Solar Charger, which has been branded the ‘Sun Drive’, can offer up to 100 minutes of talk time for the majority of USB enabled mobile phones. Furthermore, on average, it can power up such a device for around 30 hours on standby. The Sun Drive ships as a standalone charger or, for an additional cost, can comprise 4GB of internal storage.
The Green PC on a Diet
It is often a contradiction in terms to brand certain electrical gadgets as eco-friendly because such devices are inherently bad for the environment in the majority of cases. Indeed, from toxic hardware components to excessive power consumption, personal computers, although undeniably useful, are anything but eco-friendly. However, the Fit PC 2 is set to change the way computers are made.
Well, this may be a slight exaggeration as Fit PC 2 is certainly not the first personal computer of its kind. Nevertheless, the Fit PC 2 is an undoubtedly more eco-friendly computer than conventional systems on the market. Measuring 11.5 x 10.1cm with a depth of just 2.7cm, the Fit PC 2 is considerably smaller than rival computers and is highly portable. Whilst a smaller construction would usually mean that components become excessively hot when in operation, the Fit PC 2 is remarkably easy on electrical consumption. In fact, this gadget is so energy efficient that it can do away with an internal fan, which are staples in the majority of overly hot computers. Featuring a peak load of 9 watts, the Fit PC 2 is ideal for environmentally conscious consumers and those who worry about their electricity bills.
Furthermore, the Fit PC 2 does not compromise too heavily on technical specifications. The computer offers reasonably good system details, which includes a processor up to 1.6GHz, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 160GB SATA Hard Drive, which is standard for most computers. Also featuring LAN, Wi-Fi, USB and DVI capabilities, the Fit PC 2 will connect to the internet, other computers and cameras.
Charge as you Ride
With all the pay as you go fees affecting mobile phone call rates and similar tolls imposed on cycling through congested UK cities, it is refreshing to note that university students in Kenya have invented a smart eco-friendly device that powers up mobile phones via the bicycle. Such ingenuity is essential in a country such as Kenya because the predominant methods of charging up mobile phone devices involve visiting specific shops that charge a fee for the service, which is often powered by a solar panel device. Furthermore, as many villages do not have a source of electricity, anybody wanting to power up their mobile phones might have to travel long distances to reach the relevant shops.
However, with the introduction of the bicycle charging device, which comprises a small dynamo-power unit invented by two electrical engineering students, villagers will now be able to fully charge up their phones by
cycling for up to one hour in total. Indeed, the device mimics a standard feature of bicycles in Africa, which are often sold with dynamo units that power front and back lights. Nevertheless, with this smart modification of existing technology, the students may have unwittingly produced a product that could be viable on the global market.
Indeed, whilst dynamo chargers may not be entirely original, they are relatively novel when used specifically to charge up mobile phones. Cyclists in cities such as London would be able to avail of any such device that charges their phone as they travel to and from work. Furthermore, with the rise in popularity of Fair Trade products, it is likely that consumers would buy this African technology.
