Thursday, December 25, 2008

Cool and Useful Eco gadgets

There is an explosion of eco gadgets in the market. I have been tracking few them of which I would like to share. While there is plethora of gadgets out there, the ones that I mention here can be pricey but really useful.

Husqvarna Automower Solar Hybrid



Lawns are great but, for all the freedom to roam they grant you, maintaining them can become a pain. Thanks to this Automower Solar Hybrid robot lawn mower you may never actually have to get involved with mowing your lawn ever again. Husqvarna makes battery powered robotic lawn mower called the Automower. The Automower Hybrid charges itself using a charging base which combines electricity from a home power outlet and solar power to keep the mowers batteries full of juice. This model of the Automower is not only good for the environment by putting off zero emissions while mowing your yard it also practices a green method of improving your yard by not collecting the grass clippings. This allows the grass clipping to decompose and turn to mulch which makes your yard more lush and healthy. This hybrid version of the Automower itself is made of 90% recyclable material so no more rusty lawn mowers tossed into the landfills full of oil and gas. It is definitely a cool but very pricey gadget!
Price range: $3000-$3500

Voltaic Solar Backpack


No matter where in the world you are, cell phone, PDA, handheld GPS, mp3 and similar devices will always be charged with this solar backpack (not intended for laptop charging). The Voltaic solar backpack is large enough to use for business trips, camping and as an overnight bag. Embedded in the outside of the bags are lightweight, tough, waterproof solar panels. Though the new Voltaic Generator (not the one in the picture above) produces up to 14.7 watts, powerful enough to fully charge a typical laptop from a day of direct sunlight and is the priciest one at $499. There are pockets and wire channels for multiple electronic devices like cell phones, pda's and GPA's. All Voltaic bags come with a custom battery pack which stores any surplus power generated, so it is available when you need it - not just when the sun is up. Take this Voltaic Solar Backpack anywhere!
Price range: $199-$499

SolarGorilla Solar Charger




Have all of your audio-visual and computer devices running on renewable energy. Solargorilla's 24 volt and 5 volt USB socket make it the ultimate renewable power station for your laptop, mobile phone, iPod and many more devices. Solar gorilla works via two PV (photovoltaic) solar panels, which generate electric current when they are exposed to light. Clam shell design keeps your solar panels safe when traveling and the device comes with a bunch of adapters and a neoprene case. There are many such audio-visual and computer device chargers now in the market. I am using Solargorilla as an example.
Price range: $250-280


Energizer is releasing its solar powered battery charger for standard rechargeable AA and AAA batteries in CES 2009. It is primarily powered by an AC jack that’s assisted by a flip-out
solar panel. The USB port can power your connected gadget and the Solar Charger will act as an extended battery for almost any USB-powered device, like your iPod for instance. You can use this device to charge AA or AAA batteries that you still use in children's toys and other devices.
Price range: $40-50

Eton Solar, Hand Crank Radio, Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger

The Eton-American Red Cross FR-150 Microlink is a Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger. It is designed to keep you in touch with the rest of the world, even when you are miles away from civilization. It has a high-quality AM/FM tuner, providing you with news, entertainment and public service announcements. It also integrates a NOAA Weather Band receiver that brings you weather forecasts, alerts and other emergency messages–information vital to backpackers and travelers. It has reliable flashlight and can also charge your cell phone. Cell phone charger supports over 2,000 different cell phone models. This can be a very good gift idea for Father's day or some other special occasion.
Price range: $25-$30 (2008)

Citizen Eco-Drive


I have to make an honorable mention of Eco-Drive which is the series name of a line of mainly light powered watches manufactured by the Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. They pioneered this technology back in 1995 so it is really not new technology. Most Eco-Drive watches are equipped with a special titanium lithium-ion secondary battery that is charged by an amorphous silicon solar cell located behind the dial. The titanium lithium-ion composition precludes it from being affected from the regular charge/discharge cycle of other types of rechargeable batteries. Light passes through the covering crystal and dial before it reaches the solar cell. They claim that if your Eco-Drive watch is put away where no light is available to it while in a fully charged state, depending on the model, it will run for from 45 days to 5 years!

Price range: $195 onwards

Roshan

Source:
1)http://www.automower.com/
2)http://www.automower.com/node2042.aspx?_newsid=7371
3) http://www.voltaicsystems.com/
4) http://www.earthtechproducts.com/solargorilla-solar-charger.html
5)http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/energizer-solar-battery-charger.php
6) http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=353085
7) http://www.citizenwatch.com/COA/English/faqs.asp?topic=Eco-Drive
8)http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Eco-Drive-Titanium-Chronograph-JR3060-59F/dp/B0007OER0S/ref=sr_1_56?ie=UTF8&s=watches&qid=1230589323&sr=1-56

7 comments:

  1. Amazing gadgets! i'd love to have one of these. I like the energizer phone charger. this is really perfect when I go camping. great blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indeed a very interesting blog. Read a pleasure. Cognitive information that is very good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a lot of changes are in the future to conserve energy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, nice post,there are many person searching about that now they will find enough resources by your post.Thank you for sharing to us.Please one more post about that..

    ReplyDelete
  5. These kind of post are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post, writing is simply great, thank you for the post

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am happy to find this very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content.

    ReplyDelete
  7. There are very few areas in modern life that have not been encroached upon by the innovations and advancements of technological discovery. Over the years there have been innumerable introduction of different kinds of gadgets that have gone on to make life easier and more worthwhile.

    cool gadgets

    ReplyDelete