5 ECO Power Strips To Save Money At Home

A lot of us have multiple computers and electronics at home that are sucking power even when they are supposedly turned off. Many people try to remember unplugging their gadgets every night to save energy, but that’s not really efficient. ECO power strips are designed to help you save energy at home without spending too much energy. So when your devices are supposed to be off, they are really off and don’t suck energy at all times.

Many people underestimate how useful these energy saving power strips are. You could save $500 or more per year depending on how many electronics you have at home. All in all, if you are looking for a decent Eco-friendly power strip to save money at home, here are 5 models you should consider:

Monster Power HD PowerCenter 850 with Green Power: comes 8 ultra-wide spaced, surge-protected AC outlets, and comes with energy saving technology that lets you save money on your electricity bill when your electronics are turned off.

CyberPower CP850AVRLCD Intelligent LCD Green UPS: one of the best UPS models around that not only protects your electronics but saves energy in the long run.

Smart Strip LCG3 Energy Saving Power Strip: a nice power surge that protects your gadgets against accidents. But here is the catch. It’s ECO technology will turn off devices that are not in use so you won’t spend more energy that you need at home or in your office.

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3 Cool Programmable Thermostats That Save You Money

Going green doesn’t mean spending more money. There seems to be a myth about going green that gives people this wild idea that going gree may not be such a good decision after all as it will cost them money. In reality, by going solar or using the right green gadgets, you can save money on your energy and water bills and put your money to a better use.

Programmable thermostats are a great way to save money by saving energy at home. If you live in an area that happens to have summer and winter seasons, you probably have spent more energy that you should have to keep your house/apartment warm. By getting one of these programmable thermostats, you can always outsource the process of managing your heat and cooling system and spend only as much energy as you want. These gadgets let you program your system in advance so you won’t have to worry about forgetting things.

There are plenty of programmable thermostats on the market and most of them come with similar features. But here are 3 that give you the best the market has to offer, and they work too:

Lux Products TX9000TS Touch Screen 7 Day Programmable Thermostat: an affordable but effective thermostat that saves you money in the long run. It comes with an energy usage monitor so you know when to stop heating or cooling your home. (more…)

5 Cool Solar Battery Chargers To Go Green

There are plenty of ways to go green in your daily life, but none is easier than adopting solar powered gadgets. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough of them around, but you can always use solar battery chargers to make up for that. Your electronics may not be green, but by using the solar power technology to power them up, you not only save money and energy, you help save the earth as well. Here are 6 solar battery chargers that let you do just that:

Icetech I-9005 Portable Solar Charger/Battery: a portable battery charger that is not only portable but also comes with a lot of tips to help you charge all your mobile devices.

Coleman 72002 CL-600 Solar Panel Battery Charger: it’s a solar-powered charger that maintains your vehicle’s 12-volt starting battery. Protects against natural battery discharge.

Solio Magnesium Edition Universal Solar Hybrid Charger: a water resistant solar power charger that can power up your mobile devices. It’s supports iGo tips as well.

Solio H1000 Universal Hybrid Charger: 1 hour of sun shine provides you with 14 minutes of talk time on your mobile phone. It also works with GPS and other mobile gadgets.

Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger: battery absorbs energy from 4 hours in the wall socket or 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight, and it comes with 3 blades for maximum energy absorption.

If you are looking for emergency energy solutions on the go, you can’t go wrong with the above solar battery chargers.

Green Home Improvement 101: How To Get Started – Part I

So you want to go green? There is no better way to do that than by starting the process right at home. I remember when I decided to get started with this process. Everywhere I looked in my house, there was an opportunity to go green. Whether it’s the way your power up your house or consume water, there is always opportunity to improvement. As someone who jumped into this field without having too much background, I can tell you that things can get a bit confusing. There are a lot of things you can do, and you want to make sure you have the right knowledge to get the maximum out of your dollars.

There are plenty of ways to get started with this process. I personally would suggest breaking it down to a few main things and then tackle them one by one — divide and conquer if you will. Here is how I would divide it:

• Energy: you know, solar panels, solar chargers, wind mills, and so on. Look for ways to reduce your energy consumption at home and find new energy alternatives.
• Light: going back to the first point, you need to use energy efficient lights to save money in the long run and conserve energy.
• Cooling & heating: we all want to have the coolest/warmest rooms during summer/winter. But you should avoid going overboard. It’s not good for your pocket, and it’s not good for the environment either. Using a thermostat always helps. You can also save a lot of money with evaporative fans and more.
• Plumbing: wasting water is not exactly an admirable thing to do. So if your faucet is leaking or there is something wrong with your showers, you should take time to fix them to not only save money but also water. Water is a precious thing. In some companies, people pay a lot of money to buy it. So conserving water is a great move for today and the future.
• Outdoors: you’d be surprised how many opportunities you’ll find in your yard to save the environment and money at the same time. I am not just talking about putting soloar panels on your roof. Think about your lawn. Using an energy efficient lawn mower could be a good start. You can focus on organic gardening to avoid introducing harmful material to the environment. How about collecting rain water? Doesn’t sound too silly, does it?
• Green Gadgets: Energy star gadgets are energy efficient and are in general better than their non-eco counterparts. But you should always read the descriptions of what you are buying to get gadgets that are not only energy efficient but also don’t introduce any harmful material to the environment.
• Accessories: there are lot of small little things that you can buy to go even greener at home. Green bags, detergents, and … are all helpful towards your cause.

There you have it. You can obviously break these down even further. But as I have experienced, anytime you feel you have done all you could to go green around your house, there is more to be done. Trust me.

5 Resources To Get You Started As an Ecopreneur

Starting a green business these days is a very smart choice. Unlike many industries, the green movement is not slowing down, and there will be money to be earned in this business as long as you play your cards right. In fact, you don’t want to wait till a couple of years to get started in this business. Now’s the time to pounce and get ahead of so many others that will no doubt enter this market.

Starting a green business is no different from starting any other business. It takes hard work and some know-how. You can always try to go with trial and error, but the best way to go is to learn from what others have done in the industry and use their knowledge to get moving quickly. Thankfully, there are many resources that you can tap into to start your career as an Ecopreneur. Whether it’s books or DVDs that interest you the most, you won’t struggle to find learning material in this field.

Here are 5 best books/DVDs that you could use to get started in this field:

75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference: if you are just getting started in the green industry and have no idea what the industry has to offer, you must read this book. It will give you all kinds of ideas that you can take advantage of to build a profitable green business.

Start Your Own Green Business: this is one of my favorite book. It’s concise and to the point. All the books in this series are great if you are an entrepreneur and want to navigate through a whole new field. If you need basic information to start your own eco business, this is the book you should read.

Build a Green Small Business: another good read on how to become a successful Ecopreneur. It gets you familiar with marketing, advertising, and networking techniques that build a loyal customer base and help you take your business to the next level.

2008 Global Conference – Green Is Green: a very informative DVD on the state of green economy that will open your eyes to new opportunities and challenges in this industry. Whether you want to start a green business or go green in your own existing one, this is a good DVD to watch.

Strategies for the Green Economy: this book is a more advanced book about the green economy and the challenges and opportunities involved with going green in your business and starting new green businesses. This books shows you what it take to be seen as an environmental leader.

Starting a green business with be challenging but as long as you are passionate about it, there is nothing you can’t achieve.

Your turn: what’s your favorite green learning resource?

MeterRead: Go Green With Your iPhone

iPhone did get a whole lot of flak for not being green enough when it was released, but things have changed since then. Not only Apple has gone greener with iPhone 3G, you can expect iPhone 3.0 to become even more environment friendly. And the iPhone SDK has made it possible for many developers to support the green movement by writing apps that help folks go green with the help of their phone.

MeterRead is one of these apps. MeterRead lets you find out how much energy you are using and how you can save money on your energy bill. For instance, you can find out how much energy you are going to spend in the next 30 days and how you can reduce your use and save money in the process.

Saving energy is not about living in the dark or going to sleep sooner and turn the lights off. It’s about not using energy when you don’t need it. MeterRead allows you to do just that. Overall, if you are looking for an app that can get you motivated to save energy and money in the process, you should try MeterRead. It easily pays for itself.