Your lights, air conditioning, electricity, gas — it all comes at a price. Whether you've settled in as a homeowner or you're still dormin' it up, the excess energy you use and the waste you don't recycle hurts more than just the environment. It can hit your wallet pretty hard, too.
Hold on there, tiger. There's still hope. You don't need to run off and live in the woods to be green. We've got some hot tech for the household that'll keep you living in comfort while helping the world, and your expense account, stay nice and green.
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Turn your home office into a green command center.
Upgrade 1: Know how much you're using
The Wattson is your home's eco-friendly nerve center. It tells you how much electricity your household uses in a sleek, compact and colorful display. It communicates with a transmitter attached to your home's fuse box, and can remember four weeks of usage history, which you download and view on your home computer.
What it'll do: While it won't save you money simply by hooking it up, the benefit of having a power meter like the Wattson is that it makes all of your energy consumption and related expenses entirely transparent. You'll know how much energy you're using and, more importantly, what you're paying for it. You'll be able to gauge in real time what happens when you turn off lights and appliances you aren't using, and the benefits of unplugging things like surge protectors to cut down on standby power usage. It's not only better for your wallet, but for the environment, too.
Price: $300 (The Wattson is a product of the U.K., though it does display energy usage in a variety of international currencies. Still, you may need a bit of electrical know-how, or an electrician, to set it up.)
How green? Pretty green. It could do more to actively lower your usage — but that'd mean expanding the scope of the device.
Give your yard a brain.
Upgrade Two: Use only what you need
The Cyber-Rain system links all of your sprinklers together with a wireless control system that takes care of your watering schedule and keeps an eye on the weather. No more running to shut off the sprinklers when rain takes you unawares, or scratching your head at those brown spots you can't get rid of. The best part: you can keep tabs on everything from the comfort of your computer.
Put it to work: Your lawn doesn't always need the same amount of water to stay healthy. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that most homeowners really overdo it, costing them far more than it should to keep their grass green. The Cyber-Rain is able to tell your sprinklers to go easy on your lawn when it rains, or even when it's cold or humid; similarly, it'll give your grass more nourishment when it's hot or dry. A more efficient watering schedule means you pay what you should for a healthy lawn, and Mother Nature'll be happy to see you wasting less water.
Price: $350
How green? Green as grass. Really, a system like this should be the standard.
Never turn on your kitchen disposal again.
Upgrade Three: Reusing is mightier than recycling
A NatureMill in-door composting unit churns most of your organic scraps and leftovers into valuable, nutrient-rich compost you can use as plant fertilizer. The units are compact enough that they fit in under-the-sink compartments in your kitchen, have carbon filters to guard against odors, and have a user-friendly design we appreciate. You simply load it with leftovers whenever you have them, grind it up at the press of a button and — voilà! — your compost is ready for the garden.
The downside: There are things you won't be able to compost, such as liquids, lobster shells and peach pits, and the process often requires you to balance the mix with sawdust and baking soda to combat odors and acidity. The soft items you are able to compost, though, will save you from having to regularly buy expensive bags of fertilizer and will reduce the amount of unused waste your household produces. When good hunters kill an animal, they use as much of the animal as they can. In the same way, a responsible homeowner should reuse as much as possible.
Price: $300-$400, depending on the model.
How green? Very. Don't let that valuable organic waste remain as such.
Reclaim the room you forgot you had.
Upgrade Four: He who controls the attic controls the bills
Installing solar-powered attic fans are an easy way to keep your attic cool and improve airflow. Because they use renewable solar energy, you won't have to pay to keep them going, either — it's all entirely off the grid. Your attic shouldn't be an unlivable no-man's land, nor should it be a room that can only act as added storage.
Why it helps: Your attic can be one of the most important rooms in your house. It's often the least protected room and can get hot enough that it's like having a massive boiler attached to your house. Insulation, thermal paints and the right paneling can all do wonders to reduce your energy bills, as you won't have to pay for a ton of extra heat or air conditioning to keep its temperature regulated. One solar attic fan is good for 1,200 square feet and, even though it's got attic in the name, you could really use this for anything — your garage, workshop, shed or loft are a few examples.
Price: $375
How green? Not super green, as you're helping yourself out more.
Let's bring hand-washing back in style.
Upgrade Five: Every little bit helps
Using a gizmo like this nifty Pressure Handwasher for your smaller loads of laundry will cut down on how often you have to run your larger machines (or go to a laundromat). It's an airtight pod that's easy to lug, and can clean your stuff in as little as two minutes. Toss your clothes in, add some warm water and soap and close it up — the warmth will cause the trapped air particles inside to expand and generate a buildup of pressure. Rotate the drum for a few minutes, dump out your clothes and let them dry. You're done!
Think about it: Sometimes you only need to wash a handful of socks or a pair of jeans. Using a regular machine would be overkill and waiting for a full load of dirty laundry to accumulate can be a hassle. Fortunately, we live in an age where high efficiency washing machines that use less water and soap are becoming more common, but a Pressure Handwasher will save you money on water, soap and electricity if you learn how to work it into your routine. With how fast it is, and since it can hold five adult shirts at once, you may find it quickly becoming your primary way to wash small clothes.
Price: $45
How green? It depends, as it's up to you to make good use of it.
It's time to let go.
Upgrade Six: Get modern
General Electric is bringing out a new Hybrid Electric Water Heater that complies with the Department of Energy's EnergyStar standards, which is a grading scale of sorts for how much energy appliances use. The water heater uses ambient heat in the air around it as well as electric heating, though less of it than other machines, without sacrificing how much warmed water it delivers.
It works wonders: One of the easiest ways to save money on electricity is to modernize your household. That fridge you've had for 20 years has served you well, but it's woefully less efficient than today's machines. You'll have to eat the cost of buying a new unit, sure, but you'll see monthly gains in how much you save on your bills. The GE Hybrid Electric Water Heater works the same way, downsizing your gas bill while using electricity efficiently.
Price: Pricing will be available in May.
How green? Greener and greener with each appliance you replace.
Forgive me, Mass Effect!
Upgrade Seven: Sell your Xbox 360, get a Wii
If you're torn between your love of gaming and living green, the Nintendo Wii is the system for you. hardCOREware's Carl Nelson ran a four day test measuring the energy consumption of the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii while playing games and media, and saw how much standby energy the consoles use when turned off.
Break it down: When playing games, the Wii uses an average of 18 watts — which looks especially miniscule next to the PlayStation 3's average of around 190 watts, and the Xbox's 185. The Wii can't play DVDs like its two counterparts, but consider this: A standard DVD player was used in its stead, averaging 13 watts during a movie, while the Xbox and PlayStation 3 used a whopping 125 and 175 watts, respectively. So, if you're going green, you shouldn't be using the consoles for the DVD playback any. The consoles were only equal when turned off, all using less than 3 watts of energy (although a Wii can use up to 10 if you have the Connect24 service running).
It's estimated that 41% of U.S. homes now have gaming consoles in them, and some of those own several units. If all of those units were Nintendo Wiis, we'd be using a fraction of the energy on gaming we do today.
Price: $250 (If you can find one.)
How green? More than you'd guess — we often don't weigh amusements like consoles by environmental rating.
editor@dvice.com
By craftz at 8:16 AM ON 04/26/08
you guys do know that the Wii is made out of PVC right? that material is not green at all
By Jify at 9:15 AM ON 04/26/08
What do you think the 360 and PS3 are made out of? Wood?
By QuickNinga at 9:19 AM ON 04/26/08
Advising readers to buy additional appliances is hardly green; more resources are surely consumed in their manufacture than are saved through lower power consumption...
By Patrick at 9:50 AM ON 04/26/08
There are only two things you can do to help the environment:
1. Move into the building where you work;
2. Don't have children.
Everything else, including the tips on this site, are (unfortunately) useless.
By Mirk at 12:40 PM ON 04/26/08
Sorry they don't have GTA IV on the Wii. That is a very silly statment. For youngs kids I agree, buy the Wii not the 360. But as true gamers know, the Wii is not a replacement for the 360. Infact Nintendo's intentions were to get the Wii in every household, sitting beside either a 360 or PS3. Thats why they are ok with it not having the same performance.
By morouxshi at 1:33 PM ON 04/26/08
I love how they just declared the Wii a gaming console and even compared them to the real consoles. So ignorant. When you get GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid IV and Halo 3 on the Wii, call me. Real gamers, only have Wii's around for their girlfriends ;)
By Tahiri at 1:48 PM ON 04/26/08
Sell my 360/PS3 and get a Wii? Eww gross. I'm a gamer not a grandma. Is that why you recommend the Wii? Cause real gamers would get bored of it after a few minutes and never use it again?
By The Minimalist at 3:47 PM ON 04/26/08
The composter is cool but I just use a recycled pickle barrel and a pile in my back yard! Cost? Zero!
By sethes at 4:59 PM ON 04/26/08
I'd rather destroy the earth than replace my PS3 with a wii
By REM at 7:53 PM ON 04/26/08
I'm surprised how many console chauvinists there are here. It's kind of pathetic... we are talking about benefiting the Earth not which console has better games.
By AnAdult at 8:05 PM ON 04/26/08
Wow, when you kids grow up, rethink your answers to some of these questions. A decent article about going green, yet all most of you are doing is complaining about the apparent lack of gaming knowledge the author has. Wikipedia says the following: "A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or electronic device that manipulates the video display signal of a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a game." Therefore, the Wii console fits directly in that category. If you are not as entertained by the Wii as an Xbox or PS3, that's your choice, but don't berate the author and belittle his or her message the way that you have. Grow up.
By Chris at 10:04 PM ON 04/26/08
"I'm a gamer, I use a REAL console." Wii is still a console, and you people are still losers. I perfectly agree with you that the Wii is nothing compared to PS3 and the 360, but stop crying over what the author said. He was simply saying that if you're torn between a Wii and a PS3 (some people prefer to just have fun rather than play interactive movies, though that's actually not me), then Wii would be the more green choice.
On another note, I completely disagree with most of the points the article made. Isn't so pricey? All of these options are over $300. To the average income earner with a family, such purchases are way out of the price range.
My advice is simple: if you're not using it, turn it off. That includes computers, everyone. By simply doing that, and maybe switching to public transport as opposed to driving a car (if where you live has a good public transport system), it can make all the difference.
By InsertNameHere at 12:42 AM ON 04/27/08
May I point out that the PS3 upconverts your DVDs, which makes them near HD quality. OF COURSE ITS GONNA USE MORE POWER! DUH!
By alphapage at 1:28 AM ON 04/27/08
That indoor composting gadget is just silly. The Minimalist's approach has worked for my grandmother and her mother for more than 100 yrs. Besides, if you're too lazy to take the compost out to the pile every so often (perhaps because you're spending too much time playing video games) then maybe you need the smell there in your kitchen to remind you...
By edwardo at 11:25 AM ON 04/28/08
I'd rather play with my dog's stool samples than play a wii.
By Aluvendale at 2:44 PM ON 04/28/08
Greenpeace gave Nintendo its LOWEST rating (0/10, and a few months later they improved it to 0.3/10) for green-friendly electronics makers. Sony is actually better for the environment (7.3/10).
By chargers60 at 4:18 PM ON 06/05/08
A device to tell you how much energy consumption you have, i thought that was why we have electric bills for
By mygreenblog at 2:18 AM ON 06/19/08
The PS3 might use more power but the games are better and it has near HD qualit and its better for the environment. Plus the wii sucks I played it I know.
By Tiffany at 4:28 PM ON 08/11/08
Is there really a way to be green with electronics? Maybe... but I thought about the fact that most electronics are packaged and available for sale in some sort of cardboard box. Then I started reading about the consumption about cardboard boxes and the numbers are ghastly. So many resources are being used at an escalating rate, adding several layers of hazardous toxins to our environment. There are a few green companies who actually try to do their part to slow this detrimental effect. The one I like most is a company called usedcardboardboxes.com because they dont convert used boxes into new boxes and call them recycled boxes. They just flatten boxes by the truckload and make them available for people who move or want to store stuff. I ordered from them and it was super easy. Made me feel good, too. Check it out!