Absolute Gadget

Green gadget guide

Written by Rene Millman Tuesday, 05 August 2008 16:42

Now according to those that knit their own lentil sandals, we should all be saving the planet by not using so much power. So we here at Absolute Gadget we have looked into the office dreamcatcher to bring you a selection of power saving gadgets you can use to cut down on you carbon footprint.

One For All Energy Saver

You wouldn't think that humble remote control could be a eco-warrior but One For All, the company that specialises in remote control decluttering has a new remote that will not only take the place of all you other remotes but will make sure that your TV, DVD, PS3 and stereo all get switched off properly and not just left on stand-by.

The One For All Energy Saver remote comes pre-programmed to control the Power Plug, so you just press the special energy-saving green button on the remote to make an energy saving of 90 per cent. According to the company, a typical set of equipment uses 9.7 Watts an hour if left on standby but by using the 'Energy Saver', this can be cut down to 0.9 Watts.

According to its research, an LCD telly consumes 1.5 Watts per hour in standby mode, a total of 11.49 Kilowatts per year on standby assuming the TV is in use three hours a day. A satellite receiver uses 6 Watts an hour or 45.99 Kilowatts annually. And a DVD recorder consumes 2.2 Watts per hour totalling 16.86 Kilowatts a year on standby. It reckons that the remote could save up to 74.34 Kilowatts a year or 44 Kg of carbon dioxide.

{mospagebreak}D-Link Green Ethernet

Another staple of the house has become the wireless router. But little did we know that one of these devices uses up some much energy sending out wireless signals. D-Link believes it has the answer with a range of wireless routers that cut down on power requirements by 40 per cent.

Its latest wireless routers incorporate energy-saving technology that automatically detects connectivity status and cable length, and then adjusts power accordingly. The routers also feature Wi-Fi scheduling that allows users to easily program when the Wi-Fi radio signals are turned on and off to further save energy consumption.

The D-Link Green Wi-Fi Routers achieve optimal energy savings when used with the Wi-Fi Scheduler, which provides a user-selectable radio shutdown option (adjustable by day and start/end times). Under the most favourable conditions with no wired links active and Wi-Fi turned off, users may achieve the following power savings when compared to a D-Link conventional router without Green technology: DIR-655, up to 32% and DIR-855, up to 41 per cent.

The first products incorporating the Green Ethernet technology are the D-Link Wireless N Gigabit Router (DIR-655) and the new D-Link Wireless N Quad Band Gigabit Router (DIR-855). D-Link offers a free firmware upgrade at www.dlink.co.uk/support for customers who bought either of these products before the current Green firmware release.

{mospagebreak}Very PC

Now despite getting short shrift on BBC Two's Dragon's Den, Very PC has a range of computers designed to cut down on energy requirements.

Its GreenPC Atom only uses 24W of electricity and it's ickle to boot. The company reckons that because it is small you save on transportation costs as well. Not only that it is made out of aluminium and steel, so it believes that most of this can be recycled. The machine comes with an Intel Atom inside and enough USB ports for anyone to use. While it comes with Ubuntu Linux, Firefox and OpenOffice, you could if you desired stick on XP, but it doesn't recommend putting Vista on this box. (Hint Vista needs a lot of power!)

We think that this computer would be an ideal candidate for a low-power media server.

{mospagebreak}Apple Juicz Solar Charger

Maybe you have gone out and bought the reassuringly expensive MacBook Air and wondered how you are going to power it now that you have no money left to pay the leccy bill.

QuickerTek's Apple Juicz is a solar charging solution for MacBook Airs, MacBooks and MacBooks Pros in the States.

Offering between 4 to 10 hours of charge for the Apple laptops, the solar panels come with its own carry bag. There are three solar cells that unfold from 10.5 inches to over 60 inches, there's also an LED charging status indicator so you have some idea whether or not the Great British summer is actually doing anything to your Apple product.

The charger needs a modified MagSafe adapter, which the company can either modify an existing one or offer one of its modified efforts. However, the 55 watt solar kit will set you $1000, while the 18 watt option is $500 and the 27 watt version costs $600. Maybe, you'll just have to put that bill on the credit card and stop eating for a while.