2008 Gadget Guide: 12 Ways to Go Green [Slide Show]
Just in time for the holidays: an electricity monitor, a water-powered clock, a light made from textiles, and more
![2008 Gadget Guide: 12 Ways to Go Green [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/70C0F0B3-1156-447D-8AB80B5039B44858.jpg?w=590&h=393)
2008 Gadget Guide: 12 Ways to Go Green [Slide Show]
- MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Dev. Ltd.'s HYmini: The HYmini is a handheld, universal charger/adapter device that harnesses renewable wind power/solar power and conventional wall-plug power to recharge most five-volt digital gadgets. The wind mini-generator is the core of the system, housing the battery and the simple windmill that can recharge the battery as long as the wind is blowing at least nine miles (14.5 kilometers) per hour... Image courtesy of MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Dev. Ltd.
- Temperature-Controlled Shower Indicator Light: Stop wasting hot water--and scalding yourself: This shower temperature indicator LED will let you know the instant the cleansing cascade is ready for you to step in. Turn the water "on" and the blue light shines through the water stream... Image courtesy of thegreenhead.com
- Smith Innovations, Inc.'s VIP toilet: The VIP may not save the planet, but it sure makes one's bathroom a more pleasant place to spend time. The toilet is designed with an odor removal system that immediately vacuums out malodorous air from beneath you by redirecting it into the waste pipe without ever allowing it to enter the room... Image courtesy of Smith Innovations, Inc.
- Bedol's Water-Powered Clock: All you need do to make this four-inch (10-centimeter) by 3.5-inch (nine-centimeter) clock run is fill its tank with tap water. (You might have to add a small amount of table salt, depending on the composition of the local water.) Refill the tank as the water evaporates over time; the clock's memory retains the correct time even while it is being emptied and refilled... Image courtesy of Bedol International Group, Inc.
- SunNight Solar Enterprises Corp.'s BoGo Light: The BoGo Lights are solar-powered LED flashlights with photovoltaic panels that gather energy during the day and store that energy in the flashlight's battery for use at night. Each eight-hour charge will deliver between four and six hours of continuous light... Image courtesy of SunNight Solar Enterprises Corp.
- Kennedy & Violich Architecture, Ltd.'s Portable Light Reading Mat: This invention is a luminous reading mat (still in prototype phase) that integrates high brightness solid-state lighting (HBLEDs) and flexible photovoltaic (solar cell) technology in a textile that weighs less than eight ounces (227 grams)... Image courtesy of Kennedy & Violich Architecture, Ltd.
- DIY Kyoto's Wattson: The Wattson is a portable wireless unit that allows instant reading of electricity use anywhere in the home. The accompanying sensor clip attaches to either of the main electricity cables leading from the meter box to the fuse box, and is plugged into a transmitter that sends information to the wireless unit... Image courtesy of DIY Kyoto
