With state of the art technology at our fingertips, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be conserving more time, money, and resources with all of the efficient energy-saving products and their corresponding apps, which is why we’ve rounded up some of our favorite eco-friendly gadgets just for you. 

Some of these products will be more practical and affordable than others, starting at around $200, but with the rapid growth of this particular market, there should soon come a time where the pricier products, currently up to $3,500, become much more attainable for the average homeowner.

Until then, it’s still a good idea to get a feel for the technology that’s available, especially when it comes to saving our precious resources, like time, energy, and money, so that we can spend more of it doing what’s most important to us.

1. August Smart Lock 

This nifty lock saves you time, money, and hassle by allowing your smartphone to be the key to your front door, which means you never have to copy keys again. With the August Smart Lock and app, you can lock and unlock your door from your cell phone, create virtual keys for your guests or residential employees, and have a record of who comes and goes, like notifications when your kids arrive home from school. You can grant access for specific periods of time – down to the day and the hour, plus you can delete guest access instantly.

2. Philips Hue LED Light Bulbs 

Once the Philips Hue system is set up you can add up to 50 Philips hue lights, luminaries, switches, and other accessories all from the specially designed smartphone app. There are many energy saving products to choose from with varying features like smart control, away from home control, light schedules, setting an alarm that allows your lights to wake you up, syncing with music, changing the colors of the bulbs, and so much more. These products can be purchased at your local hardware store and starter kits are available.

3. Nest Learning Thermostat 

In about half an hour you can replace your current thermostat with the Nest Learning Thermostat that adapts to your life and the changing seasons to automatically provide you with the most ideal temperatures. This smart and attractive little gadget only needs a week of programming to learn your habits. It also knows when you’re away from home and will automatically change the temperature in order to conserve energy. The Nest’s app allows you to control the temp when you’re away so you can make sure the house is at the ideal temperature before you, your family, or guests arrive home. These are readily available at hardware stores.

4. LG Smart ThinQ Refrigerator

The large capacity luxury refrigerator boasts plenty of great storage features, but is famous for its built-in 8-inch Wi-Fi LCD screen. This tablet-like monitor is the heart of the refrigerator’s smart design and it works as a mini computer that’s focused on your needs. One particular refrigerator inventory app can keep track of your groceries, letting you know what you need, what you already have, and what’s ready to expire, so you save time, money, and waste less food. It is also capable of running other apps, including one for recipes, groceries, memos, a calendar, photos, temperature settings, and more.

5. WeatherTRAK sprinklers 

A helpful tool for all of your irrigation needs, this advanced controller works with 6, 8, or 12 station sprinklers and can be managed from your smartphone. This is especially helpful for those of you who have water restrictions in place, as it’s EPA WaterSense approved and has a SWAT smart performance score of one hundred percent. You can save time, money, and water thanks to remote alerts and the ability to manage from your app anywhere, anytime. It also has one-touch customer support right at your fingertips.

We hope you enjoyed our selection of energy saving products and their apps. Now that you’ve seen a few of the products available, we want to hear from you. How far are you willing to go to make your life more efficient? Would you like to see any of these products in your own home? Let us know your thoughts on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

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Image of Woman with Smartphone via Shutterstock

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Ah, there’s nothing like getting out into nature with nothing else but…your iPhone…

Welcome to the Modern World where to be smart phone-less is to be, well…unmodern. We use our devices for everything: maps, weather and traffic checks, finding great food, entertainment, and even, a little bit of the way the world was before we dug it all up and covered it with concrete.

Yes, the iPhone is good for more than just connecting you with a bunch of Angry Birds…how about letting it connect you with just plain old actual birds?

Meet Indeterminate Hikes+ a smart phone app created by professors at the University of Rochester in New York. The goal is to help us change our views of urban nature while helping users to better understand the way cities have evolved.

Cary Peppermint and Leila Nadir co-founded EcoArtTech, which focuses on bridging technology and environmentalism. The duo work with other artists and organizations, reports Utne, and Indeterminate Hikes+ is the latest offering from the collaboration.

IH+ works with Google Maps creating hiking paths in urban areas. Once downloaded to your smart phone, you enter in your target start and end locations. The app then generates “random” path routes that include a variety of activities focused on honing the user into nature along the way. “The prompts increase awareness of the environment where you live and also cause social interactions—you’re using the technology to reconnect with space instead of people,” according to Peppermint.

“Wilderness is all around you and the app encourages users to give the same attention to inner city parks and rain gutters that we do to landscapes like canyons and gorges,” said Nadir. The hikes are designed for groups of two or more (although you can certainly do one alone) and there are prompts from the app as well, encouraging users to take pictures at key spots (of environmental or historical significance). You may be asked to write a field note and perform other “socially interactive” tasks to enrich the walk and better observe nature.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: D’La Crux

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Mobile devices are our constant companions, especially when traveling far from home. But smartphones and tablets can do more than entertain us on long flights. Here are five must-download apps to help you save money, time and energy while on the road.

Traveling is stressful, which is funny, because we’re often trying to get away from the everyday obligations that stress us out! Whether it’s a solo business trip or a spontaneous road trip, traveling requires the seamless coordination of many variables. Between flight times, packing lists, hotel reservations, rental cars and that nagging need to check our email, it’s no wonder we often dread travel rather than looking forward to it.

This doesn’t have to be the case, though. Assembling a low-stress, efficient trip can be as easy as picking up your smartphone. We’re surrounded by gadgets that are supposed to make our lives easier, but sometimes they need a little help. Here are five free or low-cost mobile apps that will help you plan and execute your next adventure with just the touch of a button.

Airbnb – a peer-to-peer marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone.  Available for both iPhones and Androids, this app puts unique properties in 33,000+ cities and 192+ countries at your fingertips. From guest bedrooms to entire homes, use this app to browse Airbnb’s curated collections showcasing exceptional Airbnb properties, communicate with prospective hosts and guests from your Airbnb inbox, access your itinerary and host details, and get one-click directions to your destination. Free.

PackingPro – The best way to avoid forgetting your underwear or a warm sweater is to make a list. PackingPro is an app for the iPhone and iPad that offers  recommended packing lists for all sorts of trips. Just select the list that’s right for your destination, and tick off items (including extra items for babies, kids, pets, sports/activities, cooking, etc.) as they go into your luggage. You can also save lists from previous itineraries and schedule reminders, like watering the plants before you leave. $2.99.

TripIt – Losing the hotel address or forgetting a vehicle reservation number is a traveler’s nightmare. Instead of trying to keep track of five different confirmation numbers, addresses or contact numbers, TripIt can help you organize all pertinent information into one master itinerary. Available for nearly any mobile device, this app makes it easy to organize maps and directions, travel notes, photos, recommendations, and share details with relatives or coworkers. Free.

Wi-Fi Finder – Unless you’re traveling with your own mobile hotspot, or really like spending money on coffee, available Wi-Fi networks can be hard to come by. Wi-Fi Finder puts close to 500,000 free and paid Wi-Fi hotspots in over 144 countries right at your fingertips. Available for iPhone and Androids, this app delivers Wi-Fi hotspot details and makes it easy to call the location, get directions to it or add it to your favorites. Free.

Spotcycle – Looking for an alternative to rental cars and taxi cabs? Major cities around the world are launching bike-sharing programs, temporary rental services that make it possible to reduce your carbon footprint while getting a unique view of your destination. Available for just about any mobile device, Spotcycle makes it easy to search for and sort bike stations near you that have bikes available for rent. It also displays bikes paths and lanes in select cities. Free.

Image: Katerha

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Cut back on your CO2 impact with these apps.

News flash: global warming is very real, and it’s not disappearing anytime soon. While some might say that the only answer is worldwide systemic change, there are ways for individuals to make a small difference by taking steps to reduce their personal carbon footprints. This selection of iPhone and Android apps can help.

Green Outlet

Cut back on your household electricity use with Green Outlet, which helps you identify which appliances use up the most energy. Not only does cutting back on usage help save the planet, it also helps save money. The app also alerts you when you’ve exceeded the U.S. government’s recommended carbon usage and links to TerraPass.com where you can purchase carbon offsets.

Available for iPhone for $0.99.

Just Science

Draw your own conclusions on climate change with the Just Science app, which shows recorded changes in land temperature from the past several centuries on a user-friendly color-coded map. Drawing from Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature study data, the app aims to show the effects of global warming, rather than just say them

Available for the iPhone for free.

greenMeter

The greenMeter application uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to analyze the environmental impact of your driving practices. The app also provides tips on how to increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption and cost by moderating acceleration and choosing more efficient cruising speeds. Though reviewers dispute that the software “pays for itself within 1-2 tanks of gas,” the technology is so cool it warrants a test run.

Available for the iPhone for $5.99.

Clean Energy Fuel Finder

Do you fill your car with compressed or liquefied natural gas? The Clean Energy Fuel Finder app can help you find the closest service stations and even uses GPS to provide directions.

Available for the iPhone for free.

Light Bulb Finder

Easily switch from conventional to energy-saving light bulbs with the Light Bulb Finder, an app that helps you compare the costs, savings, and environmental impact of different bulbs.

Available for the iPhone and Android for free.

Google Maps

It’s not technically a “green app,” but Google Maps can help you find the most direct driving route, as well as cut back on all that fuel wasted on getting lost. Plus, the Android version includes biking directions to keep cyclists on the safest routes.

Available for the iPhone and Android for free.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

7 Apps to Help You Eat Better

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With billion of products on the market claiming to be organic or eco-friendly, shopping for sustainable products can be a hit-or-miss affair. GoodGuide, a free app for the iPhone, wants to be your shopping buddy and help you get your hands on products and do more than just pay lip service to environmental responsibility.

Next time you’re in the cosmetic aisle and can’t figure out the safest lipstick brand to buy, whip out your iPhone, fire up the GoodGuide app, and snap a picture of the barcode. You’ll get instant detailed info on the lipstick’s effect on health, the planet, and whether it’s produced in a socially responsible manner.

GoodGuide doesn’t just limit information to cosmetics – categories include Food, Household Cleaners, Personal Care, and Toys. In fact, there are more than 65,000 products in the app’s database, with more being added with every update.

GoodGuide is an incredibly handy app to have in your purse while shopping. Indeed, I’m disappointed that I couldn’t find similar ones for BlackBerry and Android mobile devices – if they exist, let me know in the comments. This is exactly the kind of information that’s great to have on the fly, especially if you encounter an unfamiliar or new product on the store shelf.

Until manufacturers put this kind of information on their packaging voluntarily, GoodGuide is a terrific way to figure out if the products your buying are in line with your goals for environmentally sustainable living.

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I see ads all the time for green business cards at sites like Green Printer. What sets them apart?

Their little squares for doing business are printed on 100% recycled paper using soy and veggie zero-VOC inks with chemical-free plate processing and scuff-resistant, non-toxic aqueous coating. Some of the newbies are not even squares at all, but 3×3 disks for “making a unique impression.”

But what kind of impression are we making when we swap paper at a time we’re eschewing the over-foresting of our natural landscapes to produce the pulp, and envisioning a paper-less lifestyle? Perhaps trading information this way isn’t in the cards.

As the senior editor of an environmental blog, it can be awkward to produce a paper card for a new contact, despite the greener alternatives of jotting down my data on a piece of scratch paper or asking Daryl Hannah and Brad Pitt to program my number into their iPhones. I’m down for it, but are they?

Business cards have traditionally been the preferred networking tool of the working world, long before social networking via Facebook and LinkedIn became available. These sites function well for all the uses cards provide: Applying for jobs, hiring for jobs, passing along a name, planning a lunch or golf date, even tossing your name into a hat for winning stuff.

The question remains: Have these habit-forming cards become obsolete in the electronic age? According to TechCrunch, they should die once and for all. It’s just a matter of improving the handset alternative.

Crunch contributor Jason Kincaid finds, “The cell phone market could easily put business cards out of their misery, but instead of conforming to a single standard for contact exchange, handset manufacturers offer proprietary solutions or none at all.”

Examples he cites include apps like Friendbook, an iPhone “handshake”  connector from Tapulous, and rmbrME (“remember me”), a service launched last spring that costs 50 cents every time you wanted to add a new contact. A poor response to the model has led the company’s founder Gabe Zichermann to offer a premium service in the future.

Still, an etiquette column in the Newbury Port News takes the opposing view, arguing traditional cards are not just pieces of paper, but an integral part of doing business that can never be replaced.

To support this claim, columnist Judy Bowman points to the Japanese example. In Japanese, the business card, or “makke,” literally translated means “my face,” and represents one’s life.

“The business card you receive from someone speaks volumes about them and the firm they represent,” Bowman says.

Bowman goes further to describe the elaborate dance of the Japanese business card exchange, apparently as dramatic as the tea ceremony: “Our Japanese friends suggest an almost ritualistic way to present and receive business cards. Present the printed side up with both hands, a thumb and forefinger carefully holding each top corner. Respectfully hand the card forward, almost with a bow-like gesture, as a show of respect. This is the most formal way to present a business card.”

The Japanese – who are among the world’s most enthusiastic users and makers of electronics – are clinging to swapping cards almost as a cultural meme, a meme that shows they value tradition at a time of tremendous advances in global communication. But that doesn’t convince me to have a set engraved any time soon. After all, the Japanese are also still slaughtering whales.

Images: Jeff McNeil, Green Printer, TechCrunch, Japan Print

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