Hopefully a future version will only kill the lights. That way, my kids will always remember to “bust a cap” into their lamp to turn it off when they leave a room. They’ll have to exert themselves a little more to turn the light on. [Gizmodo]
Kill The Lights With BANG! Lamps By bitplay INC.
February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
http://www.vimeo.com/35973598BANG! lamps: just another cool gadget or gat training for the energy-saving domestic commando? Created by bitplay INC. out of Taiwan, BANG! lamps are turned on/off and the lampshade tilts when it’s shot by the included pistol. It’s only available in Taiwan now but should be coming to the states soon.
K-Tor Pocket Socket And Power Box
February 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Portable chargers like K-Tor’s Pocket Socket ($49) and Power Box ($150) are simple ideas that are packed with awesomeness.
The Pocket Socket’s is a hand-crank generator with a max output of 10w and is targeted toward emergency charging of cellphones, portable lighting etc. The collapsible and portable Power Box is a pedal-powered generator that produces up to 20w of power; enough to re-charge a laptop, tablet and of course, cellphones.
I’d like the see a video of K-Tor’s Power Box in use. If it’s not too loud, it could be the perfect product for anyone looking to sneak in a little exercise while they charge and work on their laptop. [GizMag]
The Consumption Expansion Show (CES 2012) Is Over – Here’s One Reporters Take
January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I’ve never been to CES but I have been to enough trade shows to know what a pain in the ass they are for both the attendees and booth operators. You scum around all day feigning interest in Company D’s products with the hope that you’ll get an invite to their party that evening. At the party, it’s a sales puke sausage fest with hired local talent to entertain you into more interest in Company D’s products. The end result – you’re creating a quantity 1000 purchase order for a product that nobody probably needs but that you now have QTY 1000 reasons for them to buy. It’s an ugly circle that surrounds CES and other trade shows and ultimately, it’s about consumption.
That’s why it was nice to read Matt Honan’s post on Gizmodo about his take on CES 2012. Here’s a portion:
I try to remember all the products I’ve talked about that I won’t even bother to cover—and that nobody’s going to buy. There were some Bluetooth speakers. Or maybe they were WiFi. But there was definitely a helmet cam. And a waterproof phone. And a tablet and an ultrabook and an OLED TV. There was ennui [weariness] upon ennui [lack of interest] upon ennui [boredom] set in this amazing temple to technology.An executive in a really nice suit from an up-and-coming display company tells me they plan to ship a half a million units this year. I try to figure out how much that is in kilograms of rare earth metals, but I can’t.
The full article is a great read and accurately reports the effect of trade shows like CES. It’s all about the “want” in consumption and not about the need of it.
Bracketron’s Mushroom GreenZero, Stone GreenZero and Stone Battery Kill Vampire Power
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Vampire draw is the excess power our devices consume when they are plugged in and fully charged. And according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, vampire draw accounts for 5-10% of the residential electricity we consume. Bracketron would like to be the next company to end this type of unnecessary power consumption with their new GreenZero line of chargers that automatically shut off when your device is fully charged. Here’s a quick breakdown of their new power saving products:
| Mushroom GreenZero: Pressing the “mushroom” on the Mushroom Greenzero immediately activates the charger when connected to your USB powered device. When it’s fully charged or unplugged, the Mushroom GreenZero will automatically shut off and stop consuming electricity. Price: $24.95 to $29.28 |  |
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| Stone GreenZero: The Stone GreenZero is the mobile vampire draw killing USB charger that is built for travel. It folds down and has a smaller button that when pressed, starts charging your USB powered device and automatically shuts off when it’s fully charged. Price: $22.56 |  |
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| Stone Battery: The Stone Battery is a pocket-sized 1000mAmp battery that has an LED indicator to let you know when it’s fully charged and then it will recharge your mobile devices for up to 3 hours. When it’s connected, the Stone Battery will also automatically shut off when your device is fully charged. Two models of the Stone Battery are available – one for microUSB devices and another with an Apple 30 pin cable for iPhone, iPod and iPod Touch. |  |
Hopefully Bracketron’s GreenZone products will find a market with people that are concerned about their power consumption and over time, want to save money. Bracketron is not the first company with products that combat vampire draw but maybe the novel way their Mushroom GreenZone is activated, kicking the outlet, will attract more consumers to their energy saving products.
Why Aren’t People Willing To Recycle Their Cellphones for $$$?
October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sami Grover over at Treehugger.com posted an interesting article about an unsuccessful cellphone recycling program in the UK started by O2, a cellphone network provider. “Brits Get Good Money For Recycling Phones. Many Don’t Bother.” details how earning up to $140 isn’t enough to motivate people to recycle their no-longer used cellphones. Here’s some data on the UK provided by O2:
- 17.5 million of these gadgets are thrown out each year
- One on six (16%) who think that recycling is not worth it (same as the percentage that did recycle)
- Almost a third (31%) who are not aware that the services exist
- Almost one in ten (9%) can’t be bothered
And the numbers are worse in the US where 141 million mobile devices were sold in 2009 and the recycling rate was only 8%. The unused majority will end up in a drawer and gather dust which makes me wonder – why do we need to recycle our old cellphones? Yes, cellphones are loaded with toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, and cadmium – but the phones are just sitting in a box or drawer and not finding the trash. Probably the best answer is that our old cellphones have parts that can be reused cutting down the need for new raw materials and their toxic chemicals can be safely extracted during the recycling process.
“Jubbling as I say and not as I do Jubbling”?
I’m as guilty if not more than anyone out there. My stash of six previously-loved cellphones occupy a tiny space in a drawer so I have no incentive to recycle them. They’re worthless to cellphone recyclers like Nextworth but to me, they still hold value in the electronic hoarding sense because I spent anywhere from $200 to $500 on each of these buggers. I won’t put them in the trash but I’m not giving my never gonna use again cellphones up easily.
That’s why I think the success of any cellphone recycling program should not be based on the highest return you might receive for your old phone but the lowest that you are guaranteed. Kind of a like a cash for clunkers thing through cellphone service providers where any recycled phone will get you a flat credit toward your bill. The incentive goes both ways here – service provider receives (or keeps) a customer and you get a guaranteed value for cellphones you don’t use.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Wants To Help You Reduce Standby Power and Vampire Draw
August 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories resource for calculating standby power and vampire draw is not new but the information never gets old. Standby power is the power consumed by an appliance when it is turned off and vampire draw refers to charged devices, like cellphones, that continue to consume electricity when fully charged. It’s amazing how much energy is consumed by all of the devices in our homes that are not in use. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory offers clues to easily identify those items:
- Includes remote control
- Has external power supply
- Digital display, LED status light, or digital clock
- Contains a battery charger
- Has soft-touch key-pad
According to LBNL’s FAQ, standby power and vampire draw accounts for 5 – 10% of the electricity we consume. They also point out that with some changes, this could be reduced by 75% .
I’d swear the set-top box DVR for cable tv and satellite was developed by electric companies; it’s the only device I found in the list that consumes nearly as much electricity OFF as it does ON. One of the easy solutions suggested for reducing standby power and vampire draw is the use of power strips because they allow you to disconnect multiple devices at one time.
You probably do not have to get all freakish about reducing standby power and vampire draw; that would be my tendency. So we will re-post this article every 6 months and hopefully each time, you’ll find one area that you can make a change and reduce your consumption.
Blank us on ......