As Kermit the Frog so memorably said, it’s not easy being green.
When we’re trying to lessen our environmental impact, the home and office quickly become obstacle courses.
New dilemmas present themselves, revealing ordinary objects and activities to be fossil fuel hungry, inefficient, or just plain wasteful.
Thankfully, the booming green economy is here to help, and below are ten of the top eco friendly gadgets offering a solution to our sustainability needs.
Using sustainable power sources has to be the ultimate way to reduce your carbon footprint, but few of us have the time or space to install a full solar solution. Voltaic’s Solar Charger Kits are the answer: with a range of outputs from 1 to 18 watts, you can select how much power you want according to your home or office needs. They can charge everything from mobile phones to laptops, and the lightweight design means portability won’t be a problem.
Check out Voltaic’s Amp Solar Charger on Amazon.
There are apps for everything these days, and that includes greening the home. Touted at 2014’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Alarm.com has turned its focus from home security to home sustainability with its new smart sensor system.
This clever app allows users to control central heating, air conditioning, and a range of appliances remotely from their phones. With Alam.com’s energy management app you will not only be dialling down your power use, but saving money too.
We all needing a helping hand when it comes to living more sustainably and Water Pebble is the perfect shower companion to help us cut our water usage.
Pop it near the shower plug and lather up; it’ll measure how much water goes down the drain and use it as a benchmark to help fractionally reduce your water usage in each future shower by flashing at you when it’s time to dry off.
Coffee lovers out there don’t need to cut down to save electricity, thanks to the eco-credentials of the Rok Espresso Coffee Maker. Using no electricity to make the perfect morning pick-me-up, this eco friendly gadget uses a clever piston mechanism to produce the ultimate eco-espresso. Even better, it can be used with any coffee so purchasers aren’t locked out of going FairTrade.
Check out the ROK Espresso Coffee Maker from Presso.
On average, British families throw away the equivalent of 6 meals per week, and bananas take the top spot in the ‘most discarded food’ parade. Ingenious in its simplicity, the Banana Store has the solution: by balancing conditions for the perfect amount of air and insulation and whipping away rot-causing ethylene, this simple bag keeps bananas fresh for up to a fortnight.
Check out Eddingtons Banana Store.
With its new DV457 tumble dryer, Samsung has raised the stakes in energy efficient laundry appliances. These machines are some of the most energy-intensive in the home, meaning the 36% energy reduction provided by the DV457 could have a real impact on energy usage and bills. Not only that, but it can be controlled remotely from smart phones, enabling savvy customers to take advantage of off-peak energy tariffs.
If green behaviour change is going to stick, it’s got to be simple to implement, and that’s why the Eco Button continues to win awards for its simple solution to powering down. When computers are left running idle, they use up precious resources.
By hitting the Eco Button when you step away from your desk, you’ll send your computer into its most energy efficient mode and save up to 135kg of carbon per year in the process. Companies can even get their own branded Eco Buttons for that corporate feel.
From the futuristic Voltaic Solar Amp Charger to the simple common sense of the Water Pebble, these eco friendly gadgets will help us embed sustainability into our lifestyles. As major companies vie to be industry leaders in the growing green sector, it’s surely only a matter of time before green homes and offices become the new norm.
Emily Kenway works in the third sector promoting responsible practices by companies and investors. Prior to 2011, Emily was a professional opera singer before following her passion for sustainability into this new career. Her particular interests include the circular economy, environmental impacts, and the food industry.