By TreeLiving
Since we became more aware of the environment and the ecological problems surrounding it, creative people have come up with a variety of eco tech gadgets and technologies to try to make a difference. You may not need or want all of them, but there are bound to be some that will help you reduce your carbon footprint and live a gree ner lifestyle. Some items on this top 10 list will be familiar, while others belong to the future. They are all eco tech solutions with huge potential for energy savings and environmental conservation.
1) Let’s start with an old invention that’s been improved and is more important now than ever: the electric bicycle. With fuel consumption one of the biggest headaches around, this is an eco-friendly way to get around that’s stood the test of time and has now been taken to the next level.
2) Solar panels. Whether you use them to heat your water or run your appliances, solar panels and the photovoltaic cells that they are made up of are a landmark invention. Solar chargers for cell phones, solar calculators and other gadgets are real power savers.
3) Rechargeable batteries and the many items they operate. Rechargeable batteries have made a huge impact in our lives. Without them, our landfill would be overflowing with batteries that we’ve used once and thrown away.
4) Energy saving light bulbs. They use between a third and a fifth of the power of standard incandescent bulbs and last 10 times longer, or more. Again, that’s less energy consumed, less trash, and less pollution.
5) Wind-up devices. Gadgets that work on the clockwork principle aren’t just energy efficient. Wind-up radios and torches have also made a big difference to the lives of people in under-developed countries.
6) Composters. Eco tech composters appeal to those who don’t want a reeking compost pile or don’t have the space for one. From Bokashi bins for indoor composting to composting toilets that are an alternative to the standard water-intensive kind, composters are top devices for reducing landfill and carbon emissions.
7) Green insulation kits. Insulation made from recycled materials isn’t a very exciting invention but it’s important. We’ve learned our lessons about the eco dangers of insulators like asbestos and the importance of insulating homes to save energy.
8) The water-saving shower head and faucet. We may have cottoned on to showering instead of bathing in order to save water, but the eco tech shower head goes one step further. Same goes for the low flow faucets for the kitchen and bath. They make the top 10 list as something every green home should have.
9) Green TVs and computers are starting to arrive on the market. That’s good news, because the digital age isn’t turning out to be very green. Cooling the servers used by the digital giants is an energy intensive process, for example. In the home and at work, computers running day and night use more power than we think and old ones are hard to dispose of. New energy efficient designs and materials are the way ahead.
10) The eco tech kettle isn’t in every home, but it should be. You fill it up but tell it to boil only what you need. Trials suggest energy savings of up to 60%
From the classic to the futuristic, green devices and technologies have already changed our lives for the better and will keep doing that in the future as people become more aware of the environmemtal problems we face and seek new solutions.