products
From the Cree BR30 website:
"Cree® LED BR30 flood lights look and light like the incandescent bulbs you love. Backed by our 10-year warranty, Cree LED BR30 flood lights shine wide and bright, in 2700K and 5000K color temperatures, while using at least 85% less energy.
Designed to deliver up to 25,... Read More
The Cree A-type replacement bulbs are some of the best and lowest cost on the market. They look like an incandescent type bulb and an industry leading 10-year warranty!
This bulb is the daylight bulb with a color temperature of 5000K. There is also a warm white bulb at a color temperature of... Read More
The Cree A-type replacement bulbs are some of the best and lowest cost on the market. They look like an incandescent type bulb and an industry leading 10-year warranty!
This is a 40 W replacement at 6 W and 450 lumens at a color temperature of 2700K.
There is also a warm white LED bulb with a... Read More
The Cree A-type replacement bulbs are some of the best and lowest cost on the market. They look like an incandescent type bulb and an industry leading 10-year warranty!
This bulb is the warm white bulb with a color temperature of 2700K. There is also a daylight bulb at a color temperature of 500... Read More
From the Spark website:
"The Spark Socket screws into any standard lightbulb socket, and connects your lights to the internet over the Wi-Fi connection in your home, so that you can control your lights from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Setting up and using Spark is intuitive and easy – exact... Read More
The Philips BR30 LED bulb is ideal for recessed can lights and track lighting. As we discussed in our light bulb shape educational post, BR stands for Bulged Reflector and 30 represents the diameter of the bulb (30/8 inches). This bulb is dimmable.
Amazon carries a version of this bulb that looks... Read More
From the Maxxima 465 L LED website:
465 Lumens Equal to a 40 Watt Incandescent Bulb
80 CRI
Warm White 2700K
E26 Base, 120V AC
Uses only 7 Watts of Energy
Lasts up to 40,000 Hours
3 Year Warranty, 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee
This is for model number MLB-19700W.
The Solatube Smart LED is a Solatube with the addition of LEDs to enable you to light a space at night. There are twop options: primary LED or primary LED w/ secondary system (another set of LEDs) depending on how much light is required. A Daylight Sensor continually monitors light levels withi... Read More
Solatube is a natural daylighting system that uses the sun's light to light the interior of your home. For obvious reasons, the Solatube does not produce light at night. To do that, you would need the Solatube Smart LED.
There are 2 main models, the 160 and 290. The 160 has a 10 inch tube and a... Read More
The Garden Tower Project on KickStarter opens with "Composting + 50 Plants = Fresh Food Anywhere". Not to be confused with the Tower Garden, the Garden Tower uses compost as the growing medium, where the Tower Garden uses an aeroponic system (air and water as the growing medium). A compos... Read More
The Tower Garden (not to be confused with the Garden Tower) is a vertical garden that uses a 5' tall aeroponic system to grow up to 20 plants in less time than it takes in soil.
On the What Can I Grow section of their website, they list fruits and vegetables like Peas, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Squash, S... Read More
The Haiku is a beautiful and energy efficient fan from Big Ass Fans, a company who got its start cooling down large commercial and industrial spaces with....big fans. The Haiku comes in a a Bamboo and Composite material model.
From the Haiku Technology page:
"Designed by a team of engineers who r... Read More
The AirScape 4.4e Whole House Fan (WHF) delivers a maximum of 4,410 CFM (hence the 4.4 in the name) to your home. The "e" in the name represents the ECM motor used in the fan.
From the product website:
24 inch Industrial Grade Fan
ECM motor for outstanding efficiency
Impressive cooling capac... Read More
The picture is pretty self-explanatory here. Put your wet clothes on the rack (it has a position for 2 pairs of shoes also) and let them dry. Prevent your dryer from having to do as much work or any work at all. This is made of steel and it is painted white.
The Bosch Compress HP 200-1 water heater is a heat pump water with a 50 gallons storage tank and an energy factor of 2.2. If you're shopping for a new electric water heater, check out the other electric heat pump water heaters to get a good comparison.
This programmable outlet thermostat is great for those who heat or cool with portable heater or window AC units that lack a thermostat on them. This device will turn off power to the units when desired temperature is reached in the room.
From the Amazon product page:
"Designed for use with space h... Read More
The RedLINK gateway is required to connect Honeywell WiFi thermostats like Prestige 2.0 to the internet.
From the RedLINK website:
"Connect any RedLINK Comfort System to the Internet to provide your customers with remote access from their PC, smart phone or tablet* using Honeywell's RedLINK Inter... Read More
The Jetta TDI comes in two options: 6-speed manual or 6-speed DSG automatic transmission with Tiptronic® and Sport mode transmission. Both come are 2.0L, 140 hp TDI engine. TDI stands for Turbocharged Direct Injection and a nice summary of TDI can be seen on Wikipedia.
EPA estimates the Jetta TDI... Read More
A space heater can help save energy if it's used in the right situation. There are many electric space heaters that we've covered in our Ripoff Report that make unrealistic promises and are way overpriced. In short, an electric space heater will convert almost all of the electricity it consumes t... Read More
Friendly Robotics manufactuers robotic lawnmowers under the RoboMow brand name. On their website, they list several different models including: RL2000, RM510, RL855, RL555, and RM200.
The RL 850 is the older version of the current RL 855 and it is sold on Amazon.
From the Amazon page for RL 850:
"... Read More
The Husqvarna Automower is one of the most advanced robotic lawn mowers on the market. The NiMH battery powered mower is suitable for up to 3/4 of an acre and when it is out of power, it finds its own way back to the charging station!
The robotic mower is attached with an anti-theft alarm in case... Read More
The Black and Decker electric mower uses an electric cord for power (unlike other electric mowers that use a battery). The webpage for the mower notes that the farthest point in your yard that you will need to mow should not be more than 100' from the electrical outlet.
From the Amazon page for th... Read More
The Lasko Wind Tower is a desk fan that has 3 speeds and a top module that pivots and oscillates. The plug has a fuse built in, which protects the electronics from any power surges, but the blown fuse is not easily replaced.
From the website:
Space-saving desktop size – slim 6” diameter
Pivoting... Read More
This bicycle pump can be used to inflate your car tires to ensure you always drive with inflated tires! The built in tire gauge will ensure you inflate to the correct air pressure. Check out our link above to see the Mapawatt video of using a bicycle pump to inflate a car's tires.
Alloy Barrel w... Read More
The EnviR is one of the few home energy monitors that uses a CT OR an optical reader to determine your home's electrical energy consumption, giving homeowners maximum flexibility. Most home energy monitors use one or the other, but don't give homeowners an option.
Please note that when you buy th... Read More
From the Amazon page for the Leviton PR180:
"Leviton offers many products that will help lower electrical costs and add convenience to everyday living. By simply replacing standard switches with occupancy sensors reduces energy consumption and extends bulb life. Leviton's Decora (R) Occupancy Senso... Read More
From the Amazon page for the Honeywell thermostat:
"Offering the ability to program each day differently and to customize temperatures for four periods per day, this thermostat makes it easy to heat or cool your home for optimum comfort. It features exclusive Honeywell Smart Response Technology and... Read More
The Brill is manufactured by a German company that doesn't have a great web presence in the United States, so the product description below comes from the Amazon page for Brill Razorcut 33:
"The Brill Razorcut 33 is a premium, German engineered reel lawnmower that is perfect for small to medium siz... Read More
From the Skystream 3.7 website:
"Designed for homes and businesses, the Skystream 3.7 paved the way as the first compact, all-inclusive personal wind generator (with controls and inverter built in) designed to work in very low winds."
Before you jump in and decide on a wind turbine, there are two t... Read More
From the product website:
Infrared thermometer detects wall surface temperature to spot hidden energy leaks
Easily set the reference temperature to show deviations
As you aim the detector at walls around your home, LED changes color at hot or cold spots
Save up to 20% on heating and cooling energy... Read More
From the website:
"Simple and effective, the Value Charger can charge four AA or AAA rechargeable batteries at a time. A foldable wall plug makes for easy portability and handy storage. And the Value Charger can charge other brands’ rechargeable AA or AAA NiMH batteries as well. It includes StayCha... Read More
From the Fusion Energi website:
"The new Fusion Energi is designed to be efficient, thanks to combining a high-voltage battery and electric motor with a gasoline engine. The high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack provides enough power to operate in all-electric mode for short commutes. Thanks to plu... Read More
The WiFi Bridge works with the PowerCost Monitor to send your home energy consumption data to services over the internet. You just need the bridge if you already have a PowerCost Monitor (it also works with the Black and Decker EM100B Energy Monitor that is made by Blue Line). If you don't alre... Read More
From the website:
"Award winning People Power is the universal remote control for the Internet of Things delivering intuitive mobile apps and cloud based software putting device monitoring and control in the palm of your hands.
People Power makes products better for manufacturers and service provid... Read More
From Belkin WeMo website:
"The Belkin WeMo Switch lets you turn electronic devices on or off from anywhere inside--or outside--your home. The WeMo Switch uses your existing home Wi-Fi network to provide wireless control of TVs, lamps, stereos, and more. Simply download the free WeMo app, plug the s... Read More
From the Waterpebble website:
"The clever device monitors water going down the plug hole when you shower. Memorising your first shower and using it as a benchmark, Waterpebble then indicates, via a series of ‘traffic lights’ flashing gently from green through to red, when to finish showering. Eac... Read More
On our blog post Smart Home Communication Protocols we mentioned Insteon:
"Insteon (Powerline and RF) – Insteon was created by SmartLabs, the same company that owns the home automation website SmartHome. Here is a link for a great overview for How Insteon Works. Insteon devices are backward-compa... Read More
myEragy works with the TED 5000, BlueLine Power Cost monitor with WiFi gateway and eGauge energy monitor. A website upgrade would do them well.
From the myEragy FAQ section:
What is myEragy?
myEragy is a practical, easy to use, online Web dashboard for your home that provides you with valuable inf... Read More
Wattvision is a home energy monitor that attaches to the meter on the outside of your home. The meter "reads" the data and then sends it over a 50 ft. cable to a gateway. The gateway then connects to your home's wifi network to send the data to the Wattvision servers. Once the data is on the Watt... Read More
PlotWatt is a web service that uses a utility provided smart meter or your personal energy monitor to analyze your energy data and give personal recommendations.
From the PlotWatt website:
"All you need is a smart meter that can send your house’s real-time power data over that series of tubes we ca... Read More
Bidgely uses your utility provided smart meter or your personal home energy monitor to analyze your data and deliver personal recommendations on how to save energy.
From the Bidgely website:
"Convenient and cost-effective means to generate real time appliance level itemized energy cost and usage w... Read More
In our introductory blog post on using natural gas as a transportation fuel we stated:
"One of the only cars that consumers can purchase that uses natural gas is the Honda Civic GX. From Kelley Blue Book on the topic of natural gas powered cars:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls the... Read More
*Update - the Fisker Karma is currently dead. From Wikipedia: "
After missing its initial late 2009 launch, and after the launch was rescheduled several times, the first deliveries took place in the U.S. in late July 2011,[8][9][10] and deliveries to retail customers began in November 2011.[6] Sinc... Read More
One of the most successful hybrids of the 2000's, the Toyota Prius has released a plug-in version. There are two options for the Prius Plug-in hybrid: The Normal and the Advanced.
From the Prius Plug-In website on the FAQ site:
"The Plug-in is engineered for dedicated electric driving capability... Read More
From the Chevy Volt website:
"With the extended range Volt, you don’t have to choose between electric or gas. You have the option of both. First is the advanced lithium–ion battery that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA-estimated 38 miles. But Volt doesn’t stop there.
There’s also an onboar... Read More
The iMiEV comes in two options: ES and SE, both of which use a 49 kW AC synchronous motor powered by a 16 kWh lithium-ion, 330V battery. Charging the MiEV on standard 120 V outlet would take 22.5 hours! But upgrading to a home charging station on 240 V would reduce that to 7 hours, and a level 3... Read More
Let's get this out of the way first: The BMW Active E is currently only available as a lease option.
From the Car and Driver test drive of the Active E:
"Together, the liquid-cooled cells can store 32 kWh of energy. On a 12-amp, 230-volt source (we drove the car in Europe, where 230 is the standar... Read More
Tesla is selling the Model S in several different options: Model S (with 3 different battery options: 40 kWh, 60 kWh, and 85 kWh), Model S performance, Signature, Signature Performance. The latter three options all with the 85 kWh battery. The more battery, the more you pay but the farther you go... Read More
The Focus Electric is Ford's first all electric passenger vehicle. From the Focus Electric website:
"Powered exclusively by a lithium-ion battery system, the 2013 Ford Focus Electric has a city fuel efficiency rating of 110 MPGe. That’s the best city rating in its class."
and
"The Focus Electric g... Read More
From the Leaf features:
"The Nissan LEAF® gets you the equivalent of 106 miles per gallon without using a single drop of gas. [*] There are zero emissions, so it doesn't even need a tailpipe. The advanced 80kW AC synchronous electric motor provides the quietest, smoothest ride you've ever experienc... Read More
Insignia is the house brand of Best Buy. The LEDs used in the bulb are manufactured by Cree, one of the most reputable names in the LED business. The Insignia LED brand uses Cree LEDs to produce 800 Lumens in the 13-Watt version and 450 Lumens in the 9-Watt version.
From the Cree website announci... Read More
The Dow Solar Shingle system consists of 3 main parts:
Dow Powerhouse solar shingle array
Inverter
Monitoring
From the Dow Solar Shingle pamphlet:
Dual functionality• Protects as a roofing material and provides renewable energy.Integrated aesthetics• A custom-designed, building-integrated photovolt... Read More
Ecobee Smart Plugs enable homeowners who have an Ecobee Smart Thermostat to wirelessly control and monitor 120V appliances from any computer connected to the internet. Currently, the Smart Plugs are not compatible with the Ecobee Smart SI thermostat. There are two items you will need to buy to st... Read More
From the A.O. Smith Voltex website:
Features
Absorbs environmental heat and transfers it to the water, at the same time cooling and dehumidifying the ambient air
With an 80-gallon tank, more energy is created through the heat pump technology, resulting in larger savings
Four operation modes: high e... Read More
From the Rheem website:
"The Rheem Hybrid Electric Water Heater features heat pump technology that makes it over TWICE as efficient as standard electric water heaters"
And from their How It Works section:
"Rheem air-source heat pump water heaters work much like a refrigerator in reverse. The heat p... Read More
In order to run blends of biodiesel greater than 20% (B20) in your Volkswagen TDI engine, you will need to install a hose retrofit kit to prevent the hoses from rotting and leaking. The following kit is for model years 1998 through 2003 for all VW TDI engines. The hose is provided along with a fu... Read More
Clean Energy Biofuels is a biodiesel production company that includes retail fuel sales locations in Atlanta, Georgia, Knoxville, Tennessee and Monroe, Georgia.
Sustainable Production
Clean Energy Biofuels produces biodiesel using recycled feedstocks and produces their fuel using solar energy. T... Read More
GE describes how the unit works in the GeoSpring Hybrid water heater features:
"A compressor and evaporator are integrated into the electric water heater unit and the evaporator draws in ambient heat from surrounding air using two variable speed fans. Condenser coils wrap the tank all the way to th... Read More
From the Greenwave Reality LED website:
"The GreenWave Reality Connected Lighting Solution, which is part of the GreenWave Reality Smart Home Platform, consists of high-quality, connected LED bulbs, a hand-held remote controller, and an optional Gateway that allows for complete remote lighting cont... Read More
Philips Hue is a controllable LED system that allows users to control the color and brightness of a Philips Hue LED bulb. There are 4 parts to the system:
The LED bulb
The Bridge. From the Hue how it works section "It's the 'bridge' between your bulbs and your smart phone app. And it can link up... Read More
From the Feit Electric page for their performance LEDs:
"DIMMABLE PERFORMANCE LED Bulbs use ocular lenses to harness the output of high power Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The light output is comparable to incandescent and halogen products and can be used for both distance and close-range direction... Read More
From Philips page describing the L Prize:
"The L Prize® is the first U.S. government-sponsored technology competition challenging lighting manufacturers to push the limits of energy efficiency and develop a high quality solid state lighting product to replace the common incandescent bulb.
Spurred b... Read More
The Brultech ECM-1240 is a whole home energy monitor that uses current transformers (CT's) in your home's electrical panel. Brultech provides some nice example installtions on their website. The ECM-1240 communicates back with a computer via an RS-232 port or an optional XBee wireless card to com... Read More
From Amazon:
"This 9-watt GE energy smart LED is an A19 General Purpose Bulb. A19 is a shape of light bulb that you see in most homes also known as a "household light bulb". They're the most common bulbs in the world and never before has an LED A19 existed that actually sends light out in all direc... Read More
From Amazon:
"Philips AmbientLED Energy Saving 12.5-Watt A19 household light is ideal for use in kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and hallways. The orange appearance of the lens is a result of Philips' patented color technology. When lit, this bulb produces a beautiful, soft white light similar to... Read More
The Belkin Conserve Insight Energy Cost Monitor is the main competitor to the Kill-A-Watt and Kill-A-Watt EZ. Both of these energy monitoring devices monitor single appliances on a 120 V outlet. On the design side, there is one major difference that will be important to the majority of homeowners:... Read More
From the Honeywell Prestige 2.0 website:
"Connects to the Internet - Monitor and control your HVAC system over the Internet from a PC, smart phone or tablet (with Total Connect Comfort Services)".
Here is the link for the Total Connect comfort app . There is no monthly fee in order to control your... Read More
The Nest wi-fi thermostat is created by Tony Fadell, who worked at Apple on the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three of the iPhone, and the not surprisingly the design of the thermostat is one of the most striking features. The Nest functions very similarly to the Ecobee wi-fi therm... Read More
The Ecobee Smart SI thermostat is the lower cost version of the Ecobee Smart Thermostat. Like the Smart version, it has wi-fi and can be programmed over the internet and through the smart phone app. The biggest feature the SI lacks compared to its bigger brother is the ability to connect with Ecobe... Read More
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat is the company's first product for the home energy market. The web enabled wi-fi thermostat enables users to access their thermostat from any computer connected to the internet through the Ecobee web portal. Users with an Apple or Android device can access the thermostat... Read More
The TED 5000 is a home energy monitor that monitors your entire home's electricity consumption. Unlike energy monitors that mount on your home's electrical meter, the TED 5000 uses current transformers (CT) and a measuring unit (MTU) to mount inside of your home's electric panel. Installing the T... Read More
The Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor is the PowerCost Monitor manufactured by Blue Line just rebranded by Black and Decker. It looks like Black & Decker is no longer branding this product. The only tool under the energy category of the home and office section of the... Read More
The Kill-A-Watt is an appliance energy monitor that can help you monitor your 120 V electricity users. You plug it into an outlet, and then plug an appliance into it to see how much energy it uses. Like most appliance energy monitors, the Kill-A-Watt only measures 120 V loads. Bigger electricity c... Read More
The Kill-A-Watt EZ is the big brother to the Kill-A-Watt. It has all the features of the Kill-A-Watt but also includes the ability for users to energy their kWh rate so they can see what appliances cost them to operate (without having to do the math themselves). Power cost information is retained b... Read More
The PowerCost Monitor (PCM) is a whole home energy monitor that "reads" your electrical meter on the outside of your home.
From the Amazon description: "The PCM technology consists of two discrete functional units: A detection unit, known as the sensor unit, attaches to an existing household utilit... Read More
The Energy Owl is a home energy monitor that attaches to the meter outside your home and displays data through a PC interface. From the How It Works section:"The Energy Owl E.M.S. simply "watches" your electrical meter using an optical sensor. The scanner sends the data to the desktop hardware... Read More
The UFO Power Center by Visible Energy is a power strip on steroids. It acts as a power strip, home energy monitor and electric appliance timer all in one.
From the UFO Power Center How It Works section:
The UFO Power Center is used as a regular power strip that provides four 110 Volts sockets. T... Read More
The eMonitor by Powerhouse Dynamics is a whole home circuit-level energy monitor. There are 3 different versions of the eMonitor: 4-14, 4-24, and 4-44. The second number after the dash represents the number of circuits that can be monitored.
From the eMonitor website:
"Powerhouse Dynamics has cr... Read More
The Efergy Elite is a home energy monitor that uses circuit transformers (CT's) in the home's electrical panel to measure current entering your home. The current transformers plug into a transmitter that transmits (up to 230' at 433 MHz) energy data to an energy dashboard. The homeowner selects... Read More
EcoDog's FIDO home energy monitoring system monitors individual circuits in your home at your electric panel and uses power line communication to get the data back to your computer. Unlike other monitoring systems that send data over the internet, this data is is sent to a software program that re... Read More
The eGauge is an energy monitor that uses power line communication to send data from your home's breaker panel over your home's electrical wiring to the HomePlug adapter, and then to your computer through a wireless modem.
From the eGauge overview page:
"eGauge is an affordable, flexible, secure, w... Read More
The Filtrete 3M Radio Thermostat is one of the lowest cost wi-fi thermostats with mass market appeal selling at under $100. There is an iPhone and a Droid app for this thermostat. Like the Ecobee thermostats, a common wire ("C") wire will be needed to supply power. Also like the Ecobee thermostat,... Read More