Here is a picture of the glass coating:

 http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/02/spray-on-solar-glass-gets-a-bit-bigger/

The coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of thin films, New Energy says, taking advantage of what it calls “the world’s smallest functional solar cells.” The company claims that by generating electricity from both natural and artificial light sources, its cells “outperform today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as tenfold.”

This stuff has the power and distribution possibility to be in every home and help reduce the amount people spend on electricity.

Fido Fashion LED Dog Leash

There seems to be no end of interesting and innovative renewably-powered gadgets coming on the market these days, some more affordable and useful than others. But they all have one thing in common: making it easier for you to power-up your various portable electronic devices on the go with clean energy, like solar energy, kinetic energy, and even doggie-powered energy!

Take the Scosche solBAT II for instance. It’s a solar charger that hooks up to most portable devices using a USB connection. It has a 1500mAh capacity battery with a 5-volt output. You can hook it to your backpack, hang it from your car window with a suction mount, or just put it on your desk. Wherever you put it, just be sure to leave it where it will get direct sunlight. You can charge up the onboard battery within about five hours (after an initial charge that takes 4-5 days). And the best part is that it is only $30.

Then there’s the new Neon Green solar bag. Now, we know that there are a ton of solar bags around these days, but this company has put together a wide range of styles and shapes so that there’s something for almost any renewable energy enthusiast looking for a new bag. From the Piggy Back Soular Back-Up Pack (attach it to your existing backpack), to the full-sized Centurian backpack, to the Big Piggy (for powering up gadgets), they’ve got all kinds of options.

And finally, check out Fido Fashions’ doggie-powered LED leash. It works by gathering energy as the leash coils and uncoils inside of the device. The energy gathered is then used to power three high-intensity LED lights that shine down to light-up your way as you walk your pooch. There’s also an LED light that projects upwards to illuminate your car or front door so that you don’t have to fumble with the keys. And for added convenience, the leash casing has a compartment for doggie waste bags. So check out these new power-saving gadgets and let us know what you think!

Neon Green Piggy Back Solar Back-up Pack

Scosche solBAT II USB power device

InCharge Battery Station

The Greener Gadgets Design Competition is on in anticipation of Greener Gadgets Conference to be held in New York City on February 25. You can make your voice heard by voting for the gadget you find more eco-friendly.

Consider, for instance, the BuLogics Smart Grid Home Controller. It’s billed as the world’s first smart grid-compatible wireless controller. By installing the Z-Wave HAN in your home, you can automatically shut down appliances and electronics that are not being used during peak electricity demand times. This occurs when your local utility grid sends a demand change request and allows you to reduce your monthly power costs. You can also monitor how much you’re using and saving using a wireless computer or cell phone. It’s a great way to really get a handle on when and how much energy you use in order to save power as much as possible.

Another option is the InCharge Battery Station by Pensa. We all know that using rechargeable batteries is not only cost-effective, it’s more environmentally-friendly than disposable batteries. But it can be a pain to plug in the charger and hook up the batteries. With the InCharge Battery Station, simply drop the batteries into the base—it automatically sorts them and begins charging. The LED light indicates the relative charge in each individual battery, holding charged batteries until you need them so that you always have batteries at the ready.

And if you want to produce your own power to charge your electronic devices, check out the RollerGen. As you cycle, the RollerGen will automatically charge two devices—cell phone, mp3 player, and so on—simultaneously. In fact, a 2-mile ride can charge a smartphone!

Or how about the Turbine Light? It’s a renewable energy harvesting device that doubles as a renewable energy system. As the wind turns the turbine, energy is created, which can be used to power the lighting at night. The wind is generated by weather or by passing vehicles.

So don’t miss out on your opportunity to vote for the greenest gadget (deadline February 25)!

RollerGen bicycle powering device

Turbine Light

Lucet LED Solar Window Lamp

Not yet something you can purchase at a boxing week sale, but this new solar-powered LED lamp has some great features that, if it ever hits the market, could make it much easier to light up your home with renewable energy. Designed as a concept lamp by industrial designer Rui Palma, the Lucet, as it is called is a lamp that runs on solar energy, collecting it as it sticks to your window. A great energy-saving device in the making.

Although this isn’t the first-ever solar lamp to stick to the window, it does have some great practical features. First, it uses AAA batteries, and while we’d like to see a way to get rid of batteries all together someday, for now, this makes it accessible to the average consumer. And since they’d have to be rechargeable batteries, they’ll at least have a longer life than conventional one-use batteries. As long as the consumer recycles them in the end, this is a pretty green solution.

Second, the lamp can be moved and positioned as needed. In fact, by combining several lamps together, the user could create some nifty designs to suit the room. Third, because it uses LED bulbs, it can provide light for much less energy consumption. Combined, you can control the amount of light provided depending on the illumination needed (more lamps equals a brighter indoor space). Unfortunately, the light may not be overly bright, but in time, as LED technology improves, this won’t likely pose much of a problem.

Great access to solar energy means great efficiency for indoor lighting. Plus, it looks kinda cool, too.

Lucet Lamps sticks to window

The ReVerb comes with nifty feedback icons

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the techie in your life, look no further. Regen, a company that specializes in making solar-powered gadgets, most notably of which is their ReNu which powers any of their other devices such as the iPod Dock, Audio Dock, and Side Light.

But the most recent addition to the Regen family of solar gadgets is the ReVerb, a high-quality speaker with an integrated photovoltaic solar panel that generates enough energy to power the speaker for up to 12 hours at normal volume (to get it fully charged takes about 20 hours). Simply plug in your iPod Touch or iPhone to access digitally-stored media files and away you go.  It also comes equipped with 2x USB ports, 1x USB input for charging the unit, as well as a nice little LCD display (about four inches).

Though the speaker can also be powered by a regular AC adapter, it is meant to be run with solar power. And it provides some very nice quality sound, according to reviews. The Earthtechling reports that:

“It generates sound equal to that of a regular 60-watt speaker and sports stereo drivers and a sub-woofer.”

You can also use the speaker to control your audio device, whether you want to play/pause, increase/decrease volume, or select a different track. And one of the best parts is that it actually gives you feedback about how you’re using it. For instance, if you’re running low on power because of a lengthy playback session, it’ll let you know that it’s dissatisfied by displaying an unhappy face. Now that’s a full-service speaker!

But it doesn’t come cheap: about $2,300 each! And they won’t be available until April 2010.

The ReVerb in full view

With iPhone for perspective on size

Electrical outlet Via Flickr - kalleboo

Americans waste an enormous amount of energy powering devices as they sit idle. Whether it’s the television or DVD player, cell phone chargers, appliances, or toys, this “phantom drain” on your energy bill could be adding significantly to your monthly electricity costs. In fact, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, vampire energy can account for as much as 5 to 10 percent of the average home’s electricity bill! Check out this fun graphic that illustrates where energy is most commonly wasted.

While unplugging unused electronics and appliances is perhaps the most simplistic way to avoid this kind of energy waste, it’s not the only method by far. Power strips are a more automated, convenient method of reducing your energy consumption, and they make great holiday gifts, too! Here are three great options for you to consider as you prepare to start shopping for those on your gift list:

Turn off unneeded energy-drains with the Belkin Conserve’s wall switch for the power strip. With eight always-on outlets and six that are controlled with the wall switch, you can customize which electronics and appliances get switched on and off with a flick of your finger.

The Isolé® IDP-3050 Plug Load Control has a unique, ultra-convenient feature: a motion detector that will switch electronics on when it senses someone in the room. And of course, it shuts them down when movement stops, too. Price: $90.

With a claim that it can pay for itself in as few as six weeks, the SmartStrip is a veteran in the intelligent power strip world. It can “sense” the flow of electrical current, turning off peripherals when they’re not in use. It also protects against power surges.

Belkin Conserve Energy Saving Surge Protector with Remote Switch

Isolé® IDP-3050 Plug Load Control

SmartStrip

Whether it’s talking on your cell phone, watching TV, or playing online games, the electronics you use in your home could be adding to your monthly electricity bill. Only five percent of the energy used by cell phone chargers, for instance, goes to actually charging your phone; the rest is consumed when your phone isn’t even attached to the charger. Similar idle power drains—often called “phantom power” drains—occur with most electronic devices, including printers, computers, televisions, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, and more.

This unnecessary energy waste is completely preventable with a few simple and easy tricks. Buying more efficient models is certainly one way to save energy and money, but an even simpler, low-cost method is to enable your electronics’ power-saving features. You might just save enough to buy yourself an extra latte or video game!

• Look for the ENERGY STAR logo on all battery-powered devices you’re considering buying, whether it’s a power tool, a new electronic device, or a household appliance. These will come with battery charging systems that are 35 percent more efficient than standard models.
• Install a power strip to completely power-down all electronics, including televisions, computers, monitors, DVDs, VCRs, and set top boxes when they’re not in use. Although it’s difficult to estimate how much this will save one home since it depends on the quantity and efficiency of your electronics and the price of your power, as a nation, this could cut $750 million from our annual electricity bill.
• Choose an energy efficient television model to save $30+ every year on energy costs.
• If you’re television uses 130 watts, and your cable box 35 watts, and your electricity costs about $0.08 per kWh, one hour of television watching might cost $1.42. Save money by encouraging your kids to have one Green Hour every day away from the television and pocket the energy savings.
• LCD televisions are generally more efficient than plasma TVs, so choose a more efficient option tosave up to $60 every year in power consumption.
• Choose a television with an energy-saving standby feature (and make sure it’s activated!) to save between $10 and $40 every year in electricity costs.
• If your television has a “quick start” or standby mode, consider turning it off. This mode typically consumed on the order of 50 times more power.
• Use your computer’s power management features to ensure it shuts down when not in use to save between $40 and $80 annually in electricity.
• If you’re in the market for a new computer, choose a laptop to save $25 in electricity yearly.
• Buy an ENERGY STAR television to save 30 percent in energy costs.
• Choose ENERGY STAR for your entire computer system (monitor, computer, printer, and fax) tosave $115 in energy costs over the lifetime of your equipment.
• Although you’ll have to pay to power-up rechargeable batteries, and they cost more up-front to purchase, overall they will save on energy (it takes more energy to produce disposable batteries). An $80 charger and a $35 package of four rechargeable batteries could save you $670 in replacement costs over disposable batteries.
• Smoking adds pollutants to the atmosphere and your own body. Quit and you could save almost $1,500 every year.

Barnes & Nobel Nook E-Reader

The world of e-book readers is in constant change these days, it would seem. This past month, two new e-readers were released to give Amazon’s Kindle a run for its money in the eco-friendly book space.

First up is Barnes and Noble’s new Nook, an e-reader with a 10-day battery life and weighing in at only 11.2 ounces. It comes with WiFi and AT&T 3G, a replaceable battery, PDF support, and has two screens—one for reading and the other (color) for easy browsing. It’s available now for about $260 (about the same as the Kindle) and can store 1,500+ eBooks, magazine, newspapers, and more. A fantastic green feature: you can “lend” your books to friends for up to 14 days!

Rumor has it that Apple will also soon be releasing their version of the e-reader with the Tablet (set to come out in 2010 according to BusinessWeek).

Using an e-reader saves energy in a number of ways:

• By reducing the number of books that are produced, we reduce deforestation, which in turn conserves carbon-absorbing trees.
• You’ll need less shelf space to store your books, which means you can presumably have a smaller home (less square footage to heat and cool).
• Buying books electronically saves on the fuel you’d use to go to the bookstore or the shipping require should you order a paper book online.

In fact, a report by the Cleantech Group has concluded that e-readers like the Kindle 2 can help you go green by saving 1,074 kg of CO2 annually (assuming you would avoid buying about 3 physical books/month).

Sunny Flower solar charger Via DesignBoom

We use energy to charge our mobile devices every single day. And since so many chargers are inefficient in their design (wasting energy by turning it into heat), it does us good to look for lower-energy methods of powering our gadgets and such.

But what is a green fashionista to do when she wants to power her gadgets without a clunky backpack or solar strip? Use a small, happy little solar charger, of course.

Welcome the new Sunny Flower solar charger by Chinese designer Fandi Meng. This ultra-portable solar-powered charger comes in a compact form, but by spreading out the “petals” it flowers into a cheery charging station.

It comes with the mini solar panel petals that charge an on-board battery. Once charged, simply fold up the petals and then use it to power almost any small mobile device—iPhone, mp3 player, etc. There’s even an indicator light that glows when your device is fully-charged.

This is a really nice, stylish solution for green power options on the go. It provides plugless, free solar energy and makes dead batteries a thing of the past, too.

Sunny Flower solar charger Via DesignBoom - on window

Sunny Flower solar charger Via DesignBoom - folds up

Solar Bluetooth Headset via ITech

It feels like new solar-powered electronics and gadgets are being introduced every week. If it’s small and has rechargeable batteries, there’s bound to be a company slapping a solar cell onto it. It’s a fun trend, especially for the gadget lover looking for eco-friendly solutions.

There are two energy-free devices we’ll feature today. The first is the solar-powered Bluetooth headset by iTech Dynamic. This SolarVoice 908, which is available for just under $60 from Amazon.com, claims to be the first renewable energy Bluetooth headset on the market (and likely is!). It offers noise reduction, multipoint connection, innovative ear buds (which are supposed to eliminate ear fatigue), and of course, a tiny solar PV panel for collecting energy.

The SolarVoice 908 is said to hold a charge long enough for five hours of talk time or 140 hours of standby time between sessions in the sun (although they make no mention of how long it takes to charge via solar). Great for those who can’t be without their headset while enjoying nature.

Solar-powered LG e-reader via LG Display

The second fun solar-powered device is the LG Solar Cell e-Book. This thin film solar cell measures 10 cm (4”) square, is slimmer than a credit card, and weighs only 20 grams. It comes pre-installed on the Solar Cell e-Book and in just four to five hours with 9.6 percent efficiency, it can charge the e-book for extended battery life for mobile reading. We have not yet been told on when these will be available or for how much.

Guiding Light Mailbox

If you’ve been in the market for a way to light-up your home’s address markings, then you may just want to take a look at this new Guiding Light Mailbox. While having a lighted home address might seem a little over-the-top for many of us, as the company points out on their website, having an illuminated address sign on the exterior of your home may just help in emergencies. Should be awaiting the arrival of an ambulance, fire or police crew, having a lighted sign on the exterior of your home may just help them get to you a little faster. And now you can do it without using extra energy.

Produced by Sharpe Products, Inc, the Guiding Light Mailbox has several power-saving and eco-friendly features. First and foremost, it comes with its own miniature solar cell that collects energy from the sun all day long. Then, instead of using electricity or battery power to light up a sign with your home’s address, your Guiding Light Mailbox will guide people to your home using only the sun’s power.

And you don’t have to worry about not having enough sunlight to power your sign either. With only 4 hours of solar exposure, your address sign will have enough energy to shine for 4 days! Amazingly, the light can apparently be seen from about one-half of the length of a football field away, so that’s relatively powerful, too.

Another great green feature of this mailbox is that it is made to last a long time. Although not recycled, the saddle for the mailbox is tested to withstand scorching sun and wind, so it should function for a long time to come.  It will be available for about $79.99 starting on October 1, 2009.

E-WERK Bicycle Charger

We always like to cover chargers for portable devices since our lives are so tech-heavy, especially on the go. From cell phones and PDAs to laptops and GPS devices, we’re wired for work everywhere we go, and all of this technology requires some sort of energy to keep it going.

There are all sorts of charging technologies on the market today, including solar, wind, fuel cell, and more. But today’s gadget charger is one that uses your own human energy. Attached to your bike as you cycle to work, take a leisurely ride with your kids, or whatever, this E-Werk device is a universal power supply and recharger made by Busch & Muller KG in Germany.

E-WERK Bicycle Charging Tools

With your own muscle power as you ride, the E-Werk will generate up to 16 W of power and recharges as quickly as the average plug-in charger. It weighs about 53 grams and comes with two cables as well as a USB connector so that you can hook it up to almost any device. You can use a stylus that’s mounted at the bottom of the E-Werk to adjust voltage and current so that you can use it to serve a variety of applications. It can be used to power anything from your GPS device, PDA, cell phone, bike lights, music player, and more.

The E-Werk was awarded the esteemed Eurobike Green Award for a product that “exhibits particularly significant ecological and sustainable value.” It will be available for purchase starting in October for £139.

The UK’s Energy Saving Day organization has joined forces with BBC’s former head of comedy (Jon Plowman) to produce a relatively complete review of the most popular energy monitors (including ones like Home Joule, Kill-a-Watt and Wattson) on the market today, and it’s available via YouTube video for anyone to view (in two parts, first part above, second below).

In this somewhat light-hearted look at energy monitors, Plowman walks through a good number of devices available on the consumer market one by one. He talks through how each of them works—where they connect, what they measure, how the display functions, and more—and identifies for each one some of the pros and cons of choosing it. In particular, he talks about cost and granularity of detail, two important factors in any energy monitor purchase.

Regardless of which device you select for your home, you can be guaranteed that you’ll save power every month if you pay attention to the readings. That’s the understanding Energy Saving Day is operating under. They believe that households in the know about their energy use are households with the power to cut their energy consumption.

It’s no surprise, either. If you discover, all of the sudden, that your refrigerator is adding a big load to your energy consumption and do the math to find out how much you’d save with a more efficient model, you’re more likely to replace it with something more power-saving. Their website points out that an energy monitor can help homeowners reduce energy consumption by as much as 10 to 20 percent annually.

Medis Fuel Cell Charger

The small-scale fuel cell gadget chargers that have been talked-up for a couple of years are now finally hitting the consumer market. The Medis Fuel Cell chargers look like they could be a fun, renewable way to power small devices and handheld electronic toys for the green gadget owner.

Made without environmentally-harmful materials like batteries that use heavy metals for energy storage, the direct liquid fuel cell technology used in this device is supposedly green. It’s free of mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and other heavy metals and is made with non-ozone-depleting solvents.

Medis Fuel Cell Emergency Kit

The Medis Fuel Cell chargers provide instant-power much like batteries, so you don’t have to wait like you would with a solar charger for the cells to soak up energy. It will power all kinds of small devices, including cell phones, handhelds, radios, and more and comes with hook-ups for standard USB, mini USB, micro USB, Nokia tip, and Palm Treo connectors.

Its other green credentials include PVC-packaging (it’s wrapped in recyclable PET plastic packaging) and RoHS Compliance to meet the touch European environmental standards.

Unfortunately, it’s not all eco-friendly with this particular power-up device because of a couple of environmental downsides. Apparently, it is disposable so has a limited power capacity and will eventually run out of juice. The entire thing needs to be disposed of once it’s spent, including all of those tips and plugs, most of which you likely won’t ever use. But the concept is very interesting! It seems that a longer-life portable solar charger would be a better investment.

Kindle 2 Via Flickr - bfishadow

If you’re a reader and are looking for a way to feed your desire for new literature without consuming the Amazon rainforest, then an electronic reader like Amazon’s Kindle could be a great solution for you. And just in time—it has recently been reduced in price from US$359 to US$299. That’s even more affordable than the original Kindle 1 (the new price is for the Kindle 2—Amazon’s most recent release of their e-reader).

We’ve already talked about the virtues of e-paper: it requires the cutting of no trees, is light on energy consumption, can be used hundreds, if not thousands of times, and more. The reduction in price is great news for green readers.

This move is likely due to the acquisition of E-ink by Prime View International—the two companies responsible for Kindle’s key technologies. Now that they’re working together, the economies of scale are kicking in making it more affordable to produce. However, the sinking economy probably has as much to do with it—a lower price will stimulate sales in a flat economy.

The Kindle is also facing more competition in the e-reader market. The Samsun Papyrus and Fujitsu’s FLEPia are both competing for their market share of the e-reader industry. Although the Papyrus has yet to be released, it is supposed to be an A5-sized e-ink device larger than the Kindle with a touch screen. Speculation is that it will cost about US$300. The FLEPia on the other hand, which could have a pricetag of $1,000, will have a color touch screen and promises to run Windows CE 5.0 so that it can read books in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, TXT, or JPEG format.

LCD television via Flickr from - William Hook

ENERGY STAR has just finalized an update to the Specifications for Televisions in two versions (4.0 and 5.0) that will require new televisions meet new standards, including:

Challenging On Mode power consumption levels, take steps to ensure a TV is viewed in the mode in which it qualified for ENERGY STAR so consumer savings are realized, and curb energy associated with downloading program guide data.

The new 4.0 requirements will go into effect on May 1, 2010, whereas the 5.0 standards will take effect as of May 1, 2012. With nearly 275 million televisions in the US that consume over 50 billion kWh of electricity annually (nearly 4 percent of the average household energy bill), improvements in this area are much welcomed.

These changes will save the average consumer up to 65 percent because of improved efficiencies over current models on the market. Interesting to note:

After weighing carefully all input specific to the proposed 5.0 requirement, EPA has decided to proceed with a requirement that TVs greater than 50 inches in size meet the same On Mode requirements as a screen of 50 inches – 108 watts.

Old television via Flickr from - dailyinvention

Non-ENERGY STAR model televisions that are larger than 50 inches will, of course, be permitted to use more energy, but this gives the ENERGY STAR models a significant energy savings over other options that will become available.

Another great way to reduce your television-related energy consumption is to watch less TV! Shutting off the tube in favor of other recreational activities is a great way to save energy, reduce your electricity bill, and maybe enjoy the great outdoors!

These tinsy little robots measure only about 4 mm square (0.157 inches square)—no larger than the average flea—allowing you to fit several of them on the tip of your finger.  They’re built as single-chip robots, meaning that they have everything they need on one circuit board—communication, energy storage, locomotion, and electronics. Although they are still working out some design details crucial to the mass manufacture of these little robots, they are getting close to being able to put them on the market.

What’s really being heralded as a breakthrough is the ability for these little robots to act together, like a swarm of bugs or a colony of ants, as it were. They’re small, so doing work as individuals may be less than productive. But together, a swarm of these miniature robots could get a lot more done.

Putting ants to work with solar energy?

So what can they do, you ask? Surveillance is the most logical first application, given their size. But I-SWARMs could do other ant-sized jobs such as clean your house, one dirt molecule at a time. While researchers are still determining how best to manufacture these miniscule solar-powered computers, they’re also still working on practical purposes for them. I suppose I’ll just have to be delightfully surprised by the many environmental problems the I-SWARMs will collectively solve sometime in the future.