7 Energy-Saving Gadgets Worth Their Cost

The year is flying by. Before you know it, Christmas is going to arrive. Take a look at these seven stocking stuffer ideas for gadgets that help you save energy around the home:

1. Energy Orb. One way that people waste money on energy is that they use power during peak hours when the cost of electricity may be higher. This cool little gadget uses a color-coded system to let you know what the current grid load is. You can easily glance at the gadget and see if it’s a cheap or expensive time to be using electricity. This helps you make smart money-saving decisions in the home.


2. iPhone app: Sunpower. This is an iPhone app for people who already use solar energy at home. It gives you real time monitoring of your solar array’s energy production. This helps you to maximize use of your home solar system.


3. Kill-a-Watt. Use this outlet-based plug to find out what the kWh energy use is of any item that you plug into it. Also use it to calculate daily, monthly and annual energy costs.


4. The Energy Detective. This is one of the best gadgets out there for accurately assessing how much energy you use in the home. It monitors home energy use so that you can see where to make changes to reduce energy waste. One cool thing about this gadget is that it links to Google PowerMeter, a free energy monitoring tool that you can access online so that you can better understand your home energy usage.


5. Visible Energy UFO Powercenter. This is a set of power strips that is much smarter than the ones you are using in your home today. The power strip automatically gathers information about energy uses and uses a color-coded system to keep you informed about how much energy is being used. This reminds you to turn off high-energy items that you aren’t actually using. Furthermore, the power strip can be set to turn on and off at certain times to further save energy and reduce your electric bill.


6. Wattson. This is another color-coded gadget for easily seeing how much energy is being used. What is cool about this one is that you can see how much is being used based on actual energy consumption or you can have the information show based on cash being spent on energy.


7. Wiser Home Control. This present is bigger than just a stocking stuffer but it’s also great for the whole family. It’s a total home energy control system that is connected to mobile phones and Internet. What that means is that you can use your cell phone to turn off lights, security alarms, AC units, etc. This one is great for people who rush out of the home and forget to turn off energy-draining devices.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/22/inhabitat-earth-day-special-seven-gadgets-that-help-you-save-en/