4/22/12 Earth Day Green Inventions

Earth Day is always a day to remind us to be green. People all over the world try to conserve energy use, clean up their communities, plant new trees and flowers, among many other things. Every year "being green" seems to become cooler and trendier. However, it isn't always the cheapest trend. Thanks to a few new products though, that is expected to change.

First we will start will efficient light-bulbs. Trading out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent (CFL) ones will save you money on your electric bills, but some people aren't convinced. Many of the complaints about using CFL bulbs revolve around what to do if the bulb breaks, since the clean-up process is not only lengthy and tedious, but also dangerous since there is a large amount of mercury in CFL's. The more common complaint is that they cost more initially, and takes a while to see a return on your investment. However, there is a new super-duper energy-efficient LED light bulb that just came on the market that hopes to curb those last 2 complaints.

This is the new Philips award winning LED energy efficient light bulb. This new bulb can reportedly last up to 10 years or more, which will ultimately save consumers money, because they won’t have to replace these bulbs nearly as often as others. The big hold-back...the price. The sticker price for this bulb is $60, however, thanks to online deals, rebates and subsidies, the price that consumers will pay will likely only be around $40-50. So how does a homeowner justify spending that much on a light-bulb? The company says that the bulb will save plenty of energy also, since it consumes less than 10 watts while producing light equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb (an 83% energy savings).


Another idea is solar panels. Well, the panels themselves aren't a new idea, but using them on windows to generate electricity with a nearly transparent plastic film that can be sprayed on or rolled on with an adhesive, that is new. The solar energy industry is trying to come up with new ways to incorporate solar energy in people's homes, without having to place bulky panels on the roof. New Energy Technologies has developed new plastic polymers that can be sprayed right onto your windows to create a film which will then produce electricity. The product is called SolarWindow, and the process generates electricity using natural or artificial light, such as fluorescent lighting, even on homes that do not face south.

“It will generate electricity even in low light conditions, so you can coat windows that are facing east or west,” says , says John Conklin, chief executive officer of New Energy Technologies. The hope is while this new product won't be able to produce the same amount of solar energy that rooftop panels do, they will cost much less, making them a more affordable option for many people.

Sources: LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, Philips, Time Magazine, Arizona State University