What is it: As the title says, an Internet enabled electricity meter. Plug your power sucking device in and its built-in webserver uploads power usage to the Wattsupmeters.com website.
Features: Usage can be recorded at all sorts of intervals, but the faster you record the more the monthly fee. LED display, the ability to control power usage remotely, manually or by setting up rules. USB and Ethernet ports. Up to 25 meters (maybe more) can be attached to one account.
I’m totally for the whole green thing - think I’ve said that a few times before. But give me ‘green’ and save me money, otherwise it’s just another hurdle. In fact, AlertMe, a UK company which I wrote about earlier in the year, sounds like a Republican’s green dream project. How so? We’ll save the earth and charge you a monthly fee for it.
AlertMe allows you to control and monitor your home’s heating and electrical usage, via the included plugs (more can be purchased for $43), all by logging onto the company’s website or dialing into the system. Alert Me can even be setup to work on a proximity bases using keyfobs. Leave the house and a preset select of appliances, plus your heat or AC can automatically be shut off or turned down.
No official pricing has been made available for the this particular product as it’s due out in 2009. But you can apparently purchase it now to piggy back onto their preexisting security systems, which does include a monthly fee.
The Watermill literally sucks up the air’s humidity and eventually converts it to drinking water. It performs its own filtering and purification by exposing the water to an ultraviolet sterilizer, making it safe for cooking and drinking. The Watermill can produce up to 12 liters of water a day. Currently, the system runs off the grid, but expect a solar or wind powered version in the future.
Strikes me as the perfect ship wreck companion or South East house warming present.
Their website isn’t entirely clear, but if I am reading it correctly, you retrofrit this unit to your vehicle and can increase the mileage by 75% - 125%. The system uses hydrogen in combination with your vehicle’s preexisting source of energy. To fill up, you simply add water and the system converts Hydrogen on the spot. They’ve built-in some failsafes in the event the system goes hay wire. The price you ask? Just a mere $3,500 for gas engine and $7,000 for diesel.
Looks like the Scorpion Hydrogen car is using this system. At a 200 MPH top speed I can’t imagine its range being massive, though. Hit the ‘leap’ to peep the Scorpion.
I’m not a home owner and nor will I be one any time soon considering LA’s average house price. But if I were, I’d wanna save money and hopefully while doing so save the environment. More importantly, the city of LA has a lofty goal of cutting water consumption by 50% in the next 5 years. That’s 10% incrementally per annum. The aforementioned goal is ludacris to say the least, but if more products like the Cyber-rain keep hitting the market it might just be possible.
The device is a Smart Wireless Sprinkler System from Cyber-Rain. It hooks up to your Internet via WiFi and through the magic of forecasting, historic seasonal figures, and current weather it adjusts your sprinkler’s water usage and output. Some states are even offering a 50-100% rebate on the cost of the device since it saves them money, but regardless it’ll pay for itself over time from the water you save.
You can pick up a complete Cyber-rain system here for $350
Update: Dustin of Cyber-rain sent along a ‘delicious’ link containing rebate info. It’s pretty sparse right now but he says he’ll be adding more very soon.
You see, I wanted to make the ‘green’ in the title a double entendre, but just couldn’t figure it. Oh well, screw it, but you’ll get my point after you read this.
D-Link is set to release a firmware update (it’s already been released in a few of their products) that’ll cut the power consumption of select routers. See, now you get the ‘green’ part. The first two boxes to receive the update are the DIR-655 Extreme Router and the DIR-855 dual channel router. It’ll cut their power usage by as much as 32% and 41% respectively. Sweet Mary of God! Can everyone do that with a firmware update? Or is this just simply a question of the router powering down when not in use?
If you recall, I reviewed the Hymini which is a personal wind powered battery. If it is up to one Philippe Starck, we’ll all have personal wind turbines powerful enough to power 20% - 60% of our homes energy. The device, or mini wind turbine will cost about $650 and will supposedly be available later this year from manufacture Pramac.
Starck, a long time designer, recently had an epiphany stating ““Everything I designed was unnecessary…and I am ashamed of this fact” As a result he created the personal wind turbine, or what he calls Democratic Ecology.
My thoughts? It looks like this guy might be smoking something because it appears to be an egg beater. But hey, I’m no designer.
California opened its first Hydrogen refueling station today. It’s located on Santa Monica Blvd just West of the 405 highway. To make it economically viable - for the station that is - the station also offers conventional gasoline. Hydrogen production will be done on site using electrolysis and stored in a tank for daily fueling.
Talk about not smoking a cigarette at the pump. Although, I’ve heard the risk is equitable to standard gasoline. No word on cost per liter or gallon, but I’ll see if I can get down there in the next few days and take a peak (I live blocks away).
Chevy finally got on board with the whole hybrid/electric car thing and built the Chevy Volt (Chevy actually has an all electric golf cart that is road legal on streets 30MPH or slower). Today, Bob Lutz, Chevy’s CEO, revealed the actual price of the new Volt. He originally said it would be $30k, but it turns out he was WRONG. The Volt will cost $40,000. No biggy if Congress passes the hybrid tax credit of $7,000 (as reported by Autoblog). Lutz said that they’re losing money on the gen 1 of the Volt so hence the price increase.
The Chevy Volt is a hybrid vehicle that runs on both gas and lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion batteries should provide a 40 mile range, which is ideal for those commuting locally. Those who wish to take the Volt on a road trip can rely on the gas engine that will run on regular petroleum or Ethanol 85. When the gas engine kicks in it will subsequently charge the lithium batteries and give the Volt a 600 mile range. The Chevy Volt is designed to use a common 110-volt household plug (phew).
The Chevy Volt isn’t expected to hit the consumer market until 2010.
Golf Carts for a long while have been electric, so the ‘green’ implications of this ‘get up’ are a little over stated. Nonetheless, it’ll let you go 33% further between charges and every step toward renewable energy is a virtual hole in one! This cart will get you 50 miles of ‘green’ cruising (get it), and the included 5.5 hp motor provides a top speed of 24MPH and can climb a 28 degree incline.
