Remembering all the energy conservation tips we learn is hard. Why not let these gadgets do the heavy lifting for you?

Turn off lights when you’re not in the room. Reduce the setting of the thermostat by 4 degrees when you leave the house or go to sleep. Unplug unnecessary devices when they’re not in use. The list of “easy” ways to save energy grows longer by the day, and some of us are better at executing them than others.

And just to make things more complicated, we’ve recently discovered phantom energy leaks–energy that’s wasted when devices are plugged in, but not in use.

Thankfully, energy conservation gadgets are emerging every day. Leveraging the power of smart and mobile technologies, these devices bring the “set it and forget it” mantra into the realm of energy conservation. These gadgets will remember to save energy even when you forget while also making it possible to monitor your energy usage from afar, and over time! (And they also make great holiday presents for the green geeks on your list.)

 5 Energy Conservation Gadgets That Work (Even When You’re Not Home!)

1. EcoGuard Smart Outlet & Meter

Developed by Telkonet, this gadget has the ability to monitor and stop the flow of power to one or both outlets, turning off lamps, televisions, appliances, and any other energy-consuming appliances when the room is unoccupied. The EcoGuard [PDF] also monitors cost, voltage, amperage, kWh, and other metrics in 15-minute increments. The only drawback is that it’s only designed to work with Telkonet’s EcoSmart energy management system. If you’re not ready for that type of investment, check out the Belkin Conserve Socket ($9.99) that can be programmed to turn off during certain periods of the day.

2. Nest Thermostat

These days, it’s hard to read anything about home energy conservation without a mention of the super-sexy Nest Thermostat. Like many gadgets these days, the Nest is intelligent, which means it can learn from your habits to optimize its own performance. Instead of complicated programming, you just turn the Nest thermostat up and down to suit your needs. After about two weeks, it will learn your habits, and begin to adjust itself based on the time of day. When you’re not around, it can be controlled from your phone.

3. Conserve Valet Smart USB Charging Station

I’m pretty good about turning off lights and managing the thermostat, but one thing that often makes me wince is plugging my phone in to charge, and then totally forgetting about it. Not only is this bad for my smartphone battery, it’s also a big waste of energy. The Conserve Valet Smart USB Charging Station from Belkin solves this problem beautifully. The table top gadget lets you charge all of your mobile devices in one convenient place, and automatically shuts off power—including standby power—after devices are fully charged. It even senses when new devices are added so you always get a full charge, and has an innovative cord management system to keep things neat.

4. Ecobutton Halo

Did you know your laptop or tablet has a plethora of settings to help conserve energy? Even more important, do you know where they are and how to manage them? Yeah. Ecobutton Halo is an affordable, plug-and-play device that’s meant to make energy conservation easier when it comes to computers. This simple USB plug-in instantly puts your computer into the most efficient sleep mode possible. “If you get up to get a cup of coffee, just tap the Eco Button and you’ll save energy while you’re away. When you return, tap the button again and your computer will instantly wake up, showing how much energy you saved and returning to your previous screen,” explains the Alliance to Save Energy. And it’s only $9.99!

5. Lutron Maestro Dimmer Switch with Occupancy Sensor

OK, this is for all of you with forgetful kids and spouses that are always leaving every light in the house burning bright. The Lutron Maestro Dimmer with Occupancy Sensor has a 150 degree motion detector with an angle up to 30 feet, so when the room is empty, the lights automatically turn themselves off. You can also pre-program the sensitivity and the time or operate it manually.

Related on Ecosalon:

The Green Kitchen: Painless Energy Conservation

10 Must-Have Green Gadgets for Your Home

10 Handy Green Gadgets You’ll Love To Use

Top image: nilsvik

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Tired of buying your energy from the man? Here are some cool gadgets that make it possible to generate your own electricity and shrink your utility bills.

When someone says “power plant” what do you envision? Most of us might think of the traditional coal fired power plant, with its smoke stacks and transmission wires. Others might see a massive array of solar panels or a vast wind farm full of slowly rotating turbines. One think you probably don’t think of is your own body–but you should!

Our bodies are their own energy-generating factories. We turn food (calories) into energy that powers every system in our body. What many people don’t realize is that the by-products of that energy (heat and movement) can be captured and recycled into energy for the cool gadgets we just can’t seem to live without.

Electricity is a relatively new innovation, and before it was readily available, humans used their natural energy to power many low-tech technologies, like the bicycle or the hand-crank drill. It’s only been recently that we’ve come up with cool gadgets that allow us to turn our store up calories into electricity for more sophisticated stuff, like the human-powered gym or pedal-powered HVAC systems.

I know what you’re thinking. Those human powered solutions are big, pretty expensive, and probably not going to land in your living room any time soon. Well, if you’re looking for more manageable ideas for saving energy and creating your own electricity, just scroll through the infographic below. It lists five cool gadgets that are just waiting to help you become a super efficient power plant, even when on the go!

Related on Ecosalon:

Review: Waka Waka Solar Charger & LED Lamp

Wind ‘Em Up: 10 Coolest Hand-Crank Gadgets

Image: Imanasteroid

Infographic: Save On Energy

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Tired of dead devices, power cords, and outlet poaching? Have we got a solar charger gadget for you.

It’s 9:32 am on a Saturday, and I’m not only awake, but climbing into my sneakers for a rare weekend run. Although I’m not exactly thrilled for the sweating and soreness, the fact that I can listen to my favorite Pandora stations on my phone makes the ordeal less daunting.

I grab my water bottle, plug in my headphones, and then I notice it–my phone’s battery is dangerously low. Having forgotten to charge it the night before, this blinking yellow battery symbol threatens to deny my achievement of weekend exercise. There’s no time to plug it in. Any delay could result in me giving up and heading back to bed.

But wait! I remember the WakaWaka Power I’ve been testing is still sitting on the windowsill where I left it. I check, and it’s fully charged. I plug it into my phone’s mini USB port, and the juice is flowing instantly. I toss both into my purse for the drive to the park, and by the time I arrive, I’ve got plenty of power to last through 3.28 miles (I’m a new runner).

If you’ve ever found yourself on the road with a device that’s gasping for its life, you know how stressful this situation can be. Technology does so many things for us that it’s hard to cope when it craps out.

That’s why I was thrilled when WakaWaka (which means “shine bright” in Swahili) offered me a chance to take their newest solar-powered device on a test drive. Here are my thoughts after a few weeks of use.

Pros

Minimal Packaging – My judgement of a product’s true eco-friendliness begins at the mailbox. I was pleased to see that the WakaWaka Power came in a thin cardboard box that slides out of a simple cardboard sleeve which is printed with visual instructions (in case you hate reading instruction manuals). No tape to cut or plastic shell to discard. Win.

Sleek, Compact Design – I’ve reviewed solar chargers before, and usually they come with A LOT of moving parts, like solar panels, adapter cords, and a separate battery for storage. Not so with the WakaWaka Power. Everything–solar panel, 2200 mAh LiPo battery and two powerful 0.5W LED lights– is included in the device itself, which is about the size and weight of my smartphone (in fact, it’s probably lighter). Simply pull open the built in stand, and place it in direct sunlight.

Easy-To-Understand Power Meters – Another complaint I’ve had about previous solar chargers is that it’s hard to know how fast it’s charging or how full the battery is.

The WakaWaka Power makes it easy to answer these questions with just a glance. From where it sat on my windowsill, I can easily see the flashing red light that lets me know it’s absorbing solar power. One flash for a slow charge, two quick flashes for an a normal charge, and three fast flashes in a row if the sun is really cranking up the power.

Just an inch away from the charging indicator are a series of four lights that indicate battery status: one for 25 percent full, all the way up to four for 100 percent fullness.

USB Charging – The WakaWaka features both mini and full-sized USB ports, making it compatible with just about any device cord on the market. Not only that, but these ports also mean you can plug it into your computer or even a regular electrical outlet to boost the charge if you don’t have time to wait for the sun. (In my experience, it takes about 6-8 hours of direct sunlight to achieve a full charge. At 100 percent, the Power can provide 40 hours of bright LED lighting, and fully charge a smartphone in just two hours). And it’s  compatible with both iPhone and Android.

Cons

Access to Charging Ports – If I had to think of something I didn’t like about the WakaWaka Power’s design, it would be that you can’t charge your device without unfolding the stand. When completely closed up, the stand covered both ports. But I understand that they did this to achieve an overall compact design, which I appreciate, so it’s really not that big of a deal.

Button Blindness –  Sometimes, when you tap the power button because you want to check battery levels, you accidentally blind yourself by turning on the LED lights at full blast. It’s also not exactly intuitive that the only way to turn it off is to fold up the stand. But after a few times, you learn.

In short, I love this thing. It’s absolutely effortless to take with you anywhere, easy to keep on your desk or kitchen window, and a reliable source of both light and power when you need it most. To top it all off, buying WakaWaka products here in the West helps the company donate them to off-grid communities around the world. For a $79, that seems like a huge win.

(Disclosure: Waka Waka supplied me with a free unit for testing, but all opinions expressed in this review are mine alone).

The post Review: Waka Waka Solar Charger and LED Lamp appeared first on EcoSalon.

Granted, Apple’s iPhones boast some sustainable attributes: PVC-free handsets, headphones and USB cables, bromine-free printed circuit board, mercury-free LCD display, arsenic-free display glass, mostly recycled packaging, and a power adapter which outperforms the strictest global energy efficiency standards, you’d be hard pressed to find a die-hard environmentalist toting an iPhone around on their planet-saving endeavors. Calling Jane Goodall? (Alas! Even the famous conservationist sells a chimpanzee laden iPhone cover on her site!)

So, given our technologically inclined culture and need to stay connected via various electronic devices, it would be nearly impossible to go without. You can help assuage your gadget wielding guilt by outfitting your iPhone with an innovative new cover from bioserie that is made from plants!

Bioserie’s iPhone cover is made from a blend of biodegradable, bioplastic materials which are derived entirely from plants that are annually renewable and sustainably harvested. A minimum of 90 percent Ingeo biopolymer – which is made in the U.S. – comprises these covers, allowing you to disconnect your association with cases made from petrochemicals. Ingeo has the lowest carbon footprint of any commercially available plastic, releasing far less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere with its production (in comparison to oil based plastic), and it is industrially compostable.

Let’s talk design aesthetic details. Bioserie covers are available in the following hues: white, green, orange, red, lavender and black. They feature a textured surface which provides an ergonomic grip, and the cover is sturdy and supportive, to protect against scratches and impact. I use a Bioserie cover on my iPhone, in green of course, and my favorite feature is the four tiny ridges that discreetly jut out from the front of the cover to protect the screen from damage when it’s in a face down position. I also like that it is lightweight (weighing only 14 grams) so it doesn’t add bulkiness to my iPhone, and that it leaves all of the controls easily accessible.

Bioserie will be expanding their collection by launching iPhone 4 and iPad accessories in mid-August.

Bioserie iPhone 3G/3GS covers cost $34.95, and Bioserie also makes covers for the iPod Touch and the iPod Nano.

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With the arrival of netbooks and the iPad, computers are getting smaller and smaller – but compared to what we’ll be sporting five years from now, they’re still downright clunky. The computer of the future isn’t just teeny tiny – it’s a wearable fashion accessory that gets its power from our daily movements.

The HOLO 2.0, dreamed up by a group of designers as the next-generation computer in the year 2015, looks sort of like a sporty bracelet but performs all of the same functions as your laptop.

Its battery is charged by the kinetic movements of your hand, and it includes an interactive holographic display that projects photos, chat, web browsers and other computer functions. Need a bigger display? No problem, say the HOLO 2.0 designers – you can simply hook it up to the included desktop docking station.

It’s streamlined, sexy and green – what’s not to love? Well, there is one catch: a lot of the technology included in this concept is still entirely theoretical. As of right now, there’s no mobile device that can project 3D holographic displays into thin air. Still, it’s intriguing enough to make us cross our fingers that it all works out and preemptively ask, “Where can we get one?”

Images: tuvie

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Want to ditch the headphones and the batteries when you head out to the pool or the beach this summer with your iPod? Wind-up gadget chargers and those big bulky backpacks covered in solar panels aren’t exactly the coolest and most convenient ways to power up your MP3 player on the go, but a brand-spanking-new gadget might be just what you need: check out the Soulra Solar-Powered iPod Speaker.

Just released on May 7^th, this iPod dock – which also works with iPhones – is powered entirely by the sun, with a relatively unobtrusive fold-up solar panel. This mini green sound system can get up to five hours of continuous playback per charge. It’s got a water-resistant exterior, bass boost and a remote control.

While we haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet, and it is a bit pricey at $199, the Soulra iPod Speaker certainly seems to be a step in the right direction for portable green-powered tech and a potential addition to our favorite solar-powered gadgets.

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Forgive the cliché, but every day is Earth Day around EcoSalon. We’re still getting a lot out of April 22nd, though. It’s not just benefit concerts and vegan Iron Chefs!

There’s a bevy of activity online around Earth Day, though the movement started 40 years ago when the predecessor to the world wide web, Arpanet, was just a twinkle in Steve Wozniak’s eye.

We rounded up a dozen of the best Earth Day petitions, quizzes, games and guides to help even the most ecologically-minded among us figure out how to do more to protect and restore the planet.

Quiz

Take this 10-question quiz about climate change, and the Clinton Foundation will donate $2 towards a program delivering solar-powered flashlights to people living in camps in Haiti.

For Kids

Are you a Mary Poppins in the making? PBSKids.org offers some Earth Day content to help you teach your kids, nieces, nephews or just brats you babysit. Their “Eeeko World” is full of kid-appropriate games and cartoons – just be prepared for animated monkeys and silly voices.

Activism

Act.ly asks web citizens to “Tweet change.” We like the initiatives focused around human health and the environment, including one demanding that mobile manufacturers treat their factory workers fairly, and another asking the EPA to control a pesticide chemical, methyl iodide.

Eco-To-Do List

The Nature Conservancy provides a list of things you can add to your to-do list, that will green your house, office and diet. We love their sustainable seafood recipes from star chefs like Dan Barber.

E-waste, Away!

Happy 40th birthday Earth Day, says Earth911.com with this 40 Green Tips & Tricks site, which includes great information about how to recycle your electronics properly, and recycle more than you have before.

Reminders

Don’t have an iPhone or other smart phone where you can access great green apps? Print “reminder” wallet cards with reminders about what to look for in fresh fish, or paper goods, from the Natural Resources Defence Council’s Earth Day pages.

Buy & Trade

The environmentally friendly section of Amazon.com is now live, and includes a program to trade in old stuff for new Amazon.com gift cards. Just be sure to ship green, when you send in your stuff!

Get on the Bus

Once you sign the official Earth Day Climate Petition to “support fair, ambitious, and comprehensive climate legislation”¦”  hitch a free bus ride from the Earth Day Network to attend the Climate Rally on April, 25th from select cities within day-trip-distance from D.C.

Earth Friendly Foodies

Think you’re diet’s eco-logical? Take this Food, Inc. inspired Earth Day quiz at YumSugar to find room for improvement.

Green, Inc.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce set up a special Business Civic Leadership Center page for Earth Day 2010, highlighting what their members are doing to go green. Read through and if you see any signs of greenwash, call “˜em out!

Green IT

The Green IT Economics summit, a major conference of the information technology industry, is taking place appropriately on Earth Day. Tune in to this webcast what thought leaders in tech are worrying about, environmentally speaking, when it comes to servers, software and social media. Check the program guide for what’s going on at Green IT!

Image: Ed Yourdon

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