TheLittlestGuy

It’s something that most of us do daily or at least a few times a week - charge the cell phone. But instead of plugging it into the wall, what would happen if we charged our cell phones with some good old fashion elbow grease? The answer is simple - our carbon footprint would be just a little bit smaller and we would get a feel for the amount of energy it takes to keep your cell phone charged. The idea is that we may even think twice about our total energy consumption and waste.

This gadget charges your cell phone with a hand crank generator. By rotating the crank at two revolutions per second you can bring your dead cell phone batter back to life in a matter of minutes. The model I found, the SideWinder, appears to be the most popular, running at about $20 - $30 each. Although the gadget was created for emergency purposes, the lightweight crank could replace your wall charger permanently. The output voltage is regulated in the range that most chargers work at (4.5-6.0V) and the cell phone charger supports several brands of phones (Nokia, Motorola, Sony/Ericsson, Samsung, Kyocera, Audiovox). The required adapters for these brands come with the kit along with a small carrying case.

Besides being able to use this charger anywhere in the world, there are a few features that make this model superior to others. First, you can charge and talk at the same time and still produce enough energy to slowly charge the battery. Second, the SideWinder has a small LED light on it that can be charged and used for about 30 seconds while you find your phone, keys, or whatever. Finally, if one hand gets tired of cranking, then you can simply switch hands because the crank works in both directions.

This is a great little idea - especially for that friend of yours who always forgets to charge his phone. I expect to see more items like this in the future. I also expect to see more devices that charge other portable electronics soon. Gadgets like the SideWinder are not only great in an emergency, but they also help to reduce green house gases and save energy - even if it’s only a small amount. Every bit helps! So next time you decide to leave lights on or waste energy, take a moment to think about how much elbow grease you’d have to put in to produce that energy yourself.

Tankless water heaters go by a lot of different names: in-line, instant-on, combination, or continuous flow water heaters. No matter what you want to call them, one thing is for sure - they’re kinda awesome because they use less energy than traditional heaters.

The water heater that you have in your house, apartment, or anywhere where you get hot water is probably a big tank which typically holds a few dozen gallons of water. The water inside is heated by a gas flame or an electrical heating element. Whenever you turn on the hot water, the line between the tank and the faucet is cold and all that water has to be flushed out before you start to get some hot water. That’s why you have to wait a minute before you hop in the shower.

In-line, or tankless heaters work in a completely different way. First, there’s no tank. The water is heated in a small heat exchanger (which does exactly what it sounds like - exchanges heat) nearly instantaneously. This heat exchanger heats water from cold to hot on the spot! But this instant heat comes at a price: increased energy consumption. I though you said these things use less energy? They do, just hold on. While in-line use more energy while they’re on, they use less energy in the long run because they run a lot less often than traditional water heaters which are constantly heating water whether you are using them or not. A hot water tank is always hot - even if you’re or at work for the day or on vacation in Hawaii for a week. Titan Heaters, a maker of tankless water heaters, claims up to a 60% decrease in your water heating costs.

The huge benefit of tankless water heaters is that they use less energy than normal water heaters. But another awesome feature is that if you have an in-line heater close to where you are using the water - like in your kitchen or bathroom - then less cold water has to be flushed before you start to feel hot water. You could do this with traditional heaters except they are big and bulky, while inline heaters are about the size of a pizza box and can easily be placed in a cabinet. This saves water, which is good in itself. It also reduces waste water which means that less water has to be purified again, yet another energy savings. Finally, tankless systems have no end to their hot water supply, which is great if your guilty pleasure is the occasional long shower or you have a lot of people using the same water system. The picture to the left shows what the inside of one looks like (www.titanheater.com, 2007).

So, next time your water heater dies, get an inline heater. You won’t regret it and the environment (and your grandchildren) will thank you.