Practical and Ready-to-Use Green Technology

Stuff like wearable, data-logging and other nanotechnology clothing or solar celled balloons seem cool and savvy but are hard to support because of their impracticality (so far) and lack of popularity (again, so far), both qualities which make them hard to find to buy in the first place.  Recently, though, Apartment Therapy Marketplace offers up 10 sources for Green Tech which actually seem practical and if not yet popular, at least easy to find and buy.

10 Sources for Green Tech [below is taken from this Apartment Therapy Marketplace post]

Tech is an area where sustainability remains the exception rather than the rule, but a few companies are working to provide green options for consumers. From air filters to energy-efficient computers to solar-powered chargers, here’s our list of good sources for green tech.

Indoor Air and Water Quality

• Allergy Buyer’s Club: This online store sells a big range of high-efficiency air purifiers, as well as vacuums, allergen-proof bedding, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, and other home health products like full-spectrum lights and water filters.

• Gaiam: This online and catalog retailer is a comprehensive source for “wellness” products: air purifiers, water filters, energy-efficient climate control devices, etc. They carry a range of HEPA air filters, as well as humidifiers, heaters, and fans.

Energy Savers

• iGo: Based out of Scottsdale, AZ, online store iGo sells travel chargers and energy-saving devices that plug into an outlet and automatically power down your electronics when they’re not in use.

• Green Depot: Like HomeDepot, but greener, these stores are a comprehensive resource for hardware, lighting, power strips, chargers, etc. Their energy monitors and smart power strips can help you conserve the amount of juice you’re using for your electronics.

Solar Powered Chargers and Laptop Bags

• Solio Portable Solar Chargers: These smart chargers contain tiny solar cells that convert sunlight into power for your iPhone, BlackBerry, or any of the 3200-plus devices that Solio says their chargers are compatible with.

• The Ultimate Green Store: This store bills itself as a “one stop green shopping destination,” and they have a whole solar section with laptop bags and chargers, as well as a good office supply department with green furniture, recycled paper, and recycling bins.

Recycled and Energy-Efficient Computers

• Verdant Computing: They clearly list the green criteria for each product on their site. For instance, Lenovo’s ThinkVision L1700P monitor is EPEAT Gold and GREENGUARD certified, ENERGY STAR 4.1 compliant, and made from 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content.

• RePC: RePC (Recycled Computers and Peripherals) has two locations in the Seattle area and online. They’re a progressive example of a store that revamps, reuses and recycles old gadgets.

Energy-Saving Lighting

• Lampa: Based in Aquebogue, New York, Lampa’s lighting is compatible with compact fluorescent bulbs and they have a product take-back policy for recycling fixtures. Many of their drum shades and lamp bases are crafted from FSC-certified woods and veneers.

• 1000Bulbs.com: This online store sell a wide range of dimmable CFLs, LEDs, and rope lights. They also list color temperature and lumen output for each of their bulbs, so you can get a good idea of how much light the bulb will put off, and how warm or cool it will be.

Photo: Solio Portable Charger by Flickr member cogdogblog used under Creative Commons license

Go Green, Ride a Bike

Are you serious about going green and living a more environment-friendly lifestyle? Take that bike out of the basement and start pedaling away. The two-wheeled, human-driven, single-track vehicle is one of today’s most excellent solutions for being able to get around – without harming the environment. There’s also no better place for cyclists than the Greater Chicago area, which features 315 miles (and growing) of bikeways spanning it.

Let’s look at a number of the green benefits of bicycling:

• There’s no fuel necessary – just your pair of legs and you’re good to go. Instead of having to take the car out of the garage for a quick trip to the grocery, the bank, or the post office, why not unchain that bike and take it for a ride? It burns no fuel – just unwanted calories – and thus emits no carbon dioxide.

• It saves you energy and money. A bike makes perfect economic sense. Think of how much cash you have to shell out just using a motorized vehicle: gasoline, car insurance, parking tickets, car repairs, and even towing fines. With a bike, you can generate savings you’d otherwise have squandered on the above-mentioned transportation expenses. It’s pretty low-maintenance, too.

• A bike does not contribute to air pollution. Again, it’s because there’s no fuel burning or smoke belching involved. It even helps reduce the risks of respiratory illnesses that are associated with poor air quality. Even if you use a hybrid bicycle – a bike with batteries installed on it – you’re using a vehicle that has far less pollutants and impact on the environment. It is easy on the earth and a quick, easy, and clean method of transportation.

• Biking keeps you fit and improves your health. The physical and mental benefits of riding a bike are tremendous and widely acknowledged. It’s a great cardiovascular exercise that helps lower your risk of heart disease, tone your muscles, lower your stress levels, and elevate your mood. Just being able to see the local city or town views while biking is relaxing.

• It also reduces noise pollution. And traffic congestion. Come to think of it, biking is a quiet exercise that can spare us the ill effects of the noisy, stressful, jam-packed roads. Viewed from a wider perspective, it can enhance the livability of communities and neighborhoods and make them all socially healthier.

• Bikes save land space. They’re much smaller than cars, and thus require far less land for use. Imagine if there were fewer motorized vehicles and much more bicycles: there’d be far less need for highway development and road construction, two of the things that irk motorists in the first place.

Urban Harvest: Grow Your Own Window Farm

Want to grow your own greens but don’t have an outdoor space? The Window Farms Project started in 2009 by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray for an artists’ residency at NYC’s Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology and has grown from PDF directions of how to build an entire farm yourself to available kits, assembled by The Mid-Hudson Workshop for the Disabled, for purchase from the website. You can grow up to 25 different vegetable plants including lettuce, herbs, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, peppers, kale, small squash, edible flowers, etc. in your regular window.  Depending on whether you buy all the materials and build it from scratch or if you invest in a kit installation time varies from about 10 to 3 hours. This is a great way to keep your veggie and fruit eating local as well as add some plant-love to your apartment. You can go here to get directions for the different versions (from two to four+ rows).  Rock that fall harvest!

Credit to WindowFarms

Credit to Calfinder.com

Credit to Flavorpill

8 Great Tips on Green Kitchen Remodeling

Remodeling a kitchen makes perfect sense – particularly if you haven’t yet taken the next step to make this part of your home green and environment-friendly. A conventional kitchen can account for most of a homeowner’s energy use, and – according to the U.S. Department of Energy – kitchen lights, refrigerators, and cooking appliances alone are responsible for 41.5 percent of energy consumption at home. That’s not including dishwashers, fans, water systems, and other related equipment.

Going green in the kitchen therefore represents a huge opportunity not only to increase the value of your Chicago home, but also to improve the environmental sustainability of the place where you live. It’s certainly a smart investment. Not only does a green kitchen remodel help you save up on energy and utility bills; it also minimizes your risks of exposure to toxic materials, making your Chicago home and kitchen a safer, brighter, and greener place, one in which you can live, work, wine, and dine without causing serious harm to the environment.

Not quite sure how to start the process of greening your kitchen? Here are eight great tips:

1. Resize

We don’t mean having to crop the floor area of your kitchen. Rather, we talk of getting rid of super-sized, energy-guzzling kitchen appliances like the bulky refrigerator, the huge microwave oven that you only use to heat up the take-out Chinese, the supposedly state-of-the-art dishwasher that’s taking up so much kitchen space since it’s been installed. Ask yourself: which of these huge appliances do you really need? Perhaps it will be more worth your while to replace these oversized energy guzzlers with compact, energy-efficient kitchen appliances that can save you extra money, extra working space, and extra energy.

2. Install energy efficient windows

Going green isn’t just about electrical appliances and kitchen equipment. It’s also about eco-friendly design. Your green kitchen remodeling project will therefore benefit greatly from the installation of energy-efficient windows that promote natural daylight (instead of artificial) and free ventilation (instead of mechanical). By “energy-efficient windows” we mean nothing too revolutionary: operable windows and skylights – which can help clear away vapors and air toxins indoors – are simple and perfect for the green kitchen. With these, you may not even have to use the exhaust fan as much as you used to.

3. Use eco-friendly fans

Ceiling fans or high-efficiency exhaust fans with adjustable speed are great for improving the natural ventilation in your kitchen. These also operate quietly and help you reduce your energy consumption while evacuating cooking fumes, strong kitchen odors, and indoor air toxins.

4. Switch to CFLs

Make the switch when you decide to remodel your kitchen in your Chicago home. Well, you know what? You don’t even have to wait for that kitchen remodel project to happen. Go ahead and replace those incandescent light bulbs now with compact fluorescent lights, which have been designed to use so much less electricity and save so much more energy. The average lifespan of a CFL is also between 8 to 15 times longer than that of incandescents, saving you the time, money, energy, and gasoline from frequent trips to the hardware store.

5. Replace the ten-year-old fridge

If you’re serious about remodeling your kitchen into a greener one, make sure you get yourself a newer, more energy-efficient refrigerator. The conventional fridge is second among home appliances in energy consumption – next only to air-conditioners – so if your model is at least a decade old, it’s about time for a replacement. Opt for refrigerator models with Energy Star logos, as these can maximize your energy and dollar savings without compromising refrigeration features or the freshness of those fruits and vegetables.

6. Separate, recycle, and compost

The rewards of active waste management are most evident in the kitchen, where one might produce lots of food scraps and garbage. As you undertake your green kitchen remodeling, be on the lookout for models of kitchen cabinets that are conveniently designed to help you segregate and take your garbage easily out of sight.

7. Get a purifier

The recommended water purifier is the kind you install under the kitchen counter – as opposed to the one that is simply mounted or attached to the faucet. Not only does this under-the-counter purifier help you conserve water; it also packs in better filtering capabilities, getting rid of metals, bacteria, pesticides, and other similar elements before running water emerges from out of your kitchen tap.

8. Go for eco-friendly flooring and counters

A major green kitchen remodel project wouldn’t be complete without environment-friendly flooring and countertops. Classic linoleum and cork are great materials for your kitchen floor since they’re made with renewable resources. For the hardest-working surface in your kitchen, meanwhile, a butcher block or tile countertop are only some of the eco-friendly options. Or you may work together with Chicago’s green contractors to replace, repair, renew, re-grout, refinish, or install your kitchen countertop. This will really depend on the material with which the surface is made, but the key is to make this part of the kitchen as durable, easy-to-clean, and safe as possible.

Local Efforts: ComEd Smart Meter Program

Credit to Greentechmedia.com

ComEd, along with many other electrical companies throughout the US such as Southern California Edison, Duke Energy in North Carolina, Pacific Gas and Electric in California, Empowerment Institute in New York, and Oncor Electric Delivery in Texas, among others, has implemented the use of Smart Meter programs.  ComEd’s program offers an online Web page that lets people monitor their electricity usage in easy to understand language.  The site compares your energy usage to that of similar households and offers helpful tips on how to conserve energy usage and save money.

Credit to Comed Smart Meter Brochure

Obviously it is quite nice to be able to view daily or however frequently desired your household energy usage to mitigate that pseudo-shock of those $200 bills at the end of the month, but there has been some criticism of how much this will actually help people conserve energy.  The basic tips of unplug appliances and anything else in our electrical sockets not actually in use, turning down/up heat/AC when no one is home, keeping blinds closed in the summer, “winterizing” windows in winter, taking shorter showers, etc. are already pretty popular.  Possibly, those who don’t do those things yet due to lack of effort may be finally pushed into it through smart-meter programs, or possibly ComEd and other energy companies really do have further insight?

Either way, it is great to see any sort of effort from ComEd, especially with the online access, and hopefully we’ll learn a few things and save some energy.