Going Green at Eco Friendly CES

A big theme at the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 is environmentally friendly products. Some of the latest gadgets boast using less packaging, recycling metals, and putting a message on phone screens that tells consumers to unplug the power pack once the phone is fully charged. There was even a special zone called Sustainable Planet on the showroom floor for more traditionally green tech, like solar-equipped briefcases for charging your laptop and hydrogen fuel cells for powering your phone. Despite the fact that it was a larger area than CES 2009, to be quite honest it left a lot to be desired.
Despite all the greenspeak, consumer electronics are using more of the nation’s energy supply every year. This is according to Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the environmental group NRDC who I heard interviewed recently on NPR. He says, in many homes, consumer electronics are responsible for between 15 to 20 percent of the electricity bill.

Homes have one, two or three computers in their home where they didn’t have any before? Your TV used to be 25 inches, now it’s 50 inches. Now, you have a TiVo box, a game console, and so forth.
Many game lovers leave their consoles on day and night because when they are in the middle of a game, they can’t save it if they turn it off. TiVo boxes are always consuming power even when not in use, and a 50-inch plasma TV uses about as much energy in a year as a refrigerator. /

If you are a Greenpeace advocate, you may be interested in this. According to Greenpeace, who also had a booth at the show, Nokia ranks the highest in their Guide to Greener Electronics, ahead of the pack for their elimination of many toxic chemicals in products, despite a weak recycling record. Greenpeace ranked Nintendo and Microsoft at the bottom.

Here are some of the notable Green items at this year’s CES:

Equipped with new Intel Pine Trail Atom platform, Sony VAIO W series Eco Edition 212AX mini notebook has reprocessed plastic chassis that has about 20 percent recycled CDs. Even the carrying case is made from recycledmaterials and it costs only $499.00.

Everex unveiledits Cloudbook, its ultra-mobile PC. The PC’s processor comes from the Taiwanese company Via, which is known for making low-voltage chips. These chips keep your lap from burning up and allow your battery to last longer. Less energy equals a smaller eco-footprint as well. This inexpensive, low-energy, ultralight notebook will be on sale at Wal-Mart this month.

Green Plug a small and virtually unheard of company presented a DC power hub which they claim allows gadgets to communicate with power sources in order to increase energy efficiency. This would decrease so-called “vampire” power usage, in which idle gadgets still suck up wasted juice.

Philips will be releasing a so-called “Eco TV” in March, which has various Earth-friendly features. The set can automatically dim the backlight to save power, depending on what is being displayed. It can also dim it when a built-in light sensor detects dark environs. Lead-free components and a box made of recycled material adds to the eco friendly. The TV will sell for around $1400.

Hymini Connect an iPhone, mp3 player or any other device with a 5V of power requirement to the Hymini Biscuit Solar Charger by the USB port seated on the side of the device. It is both solar and wind powered. If the weather is not cooperative, the Hymini Solar Charger can also be powered by a regular DC adapter through an inscribed DC port.

Sony has unveiled its new Vaio laptop, 23 percent of which is made from recycled CDs. Sony took care to green the packaging of the device – the carry case is also made of recycled materials, and cardboard waste for shipping is minimal

OnStar has unveiled a mobile app for the Chevy Volt, available later this year. The app, for iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry Storm and Motorola Droid, allows users to remotely control the car’s electrical functions. You can schedule charging time for off-peak hours, start and stop a charge, and recieve text message alerts about your battery. One feature, which OnStar has dubbed the “Brag Bar,” allows you to boast about your miles per gallon.

Direct Energy, in collaboration with Whirlpool Corp., Best Buy, Lennox and OpenPeak, has launched a device that communicates with a smart meter and smart appliances that include real-time energy monitoring, so that consumers can better control their electricity usage and costs. The company will also gather usage information from consumers and make recommendations to encourage further savings.

iGO has been in the forefront lately and had a good presence at CES with these little eco-charging gadgets:
Laptop Anywhere Charger with iGo Green Technology is a power saving charger which powers laptops and mobile devices at the same time from the wall, car or airplane.This one costs $99.99.
The Charge Anywhere is a travel-friendly wall charger – compatible with almost every mobile and gaming electronic device on the market. It has an internal battery, allowing devices to be charged in any location, with or without an outlet. Using this one iGo charger with iGo power tips or USB charging cables instead of multiple chargers, saves money and produces less waste.It costs $49.99.
Power Smart Wall with iGo Green Technology is a wall-mounted surge protector that has two outlets with iGo Green Technology and two “always on” outlets for devices requiring continuous power and only $29.99.
The Power Smart Tower is a tower-style surge protector features four outlets with iGo Green Technology that reduce energy consumption, four “always on” outlets for devices requiring continuous power and two USB ports to conveniently charge mobile devices.
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Soliowho recently partnered with iGO has a nifty solar charger that was highlighted by several visiting CES. The review above was conducted by This Is Green TV.

The YoGen made a big splash although I have to tell you, this little gadget/toy ranks up there with the crank-charge radios and phone chargers that we see at LL Bean and Eddie Bauer and the like. It takes forever to crank and then leaves you with about a minute of power. But since everyone made a fuss about it, I thought I might include it.