I’ve blogged about phantom power before, the power that devices use even when they’re off. This phantom power can add up to a huge drain on the power grid and can cost you money on your power bill.

Other devices like the ecostrip will shut off power automatically, however there is an even simpler solution:simply unplug whatever devices you’re not using!

Of couse, this isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Some powerbars like to grab onto your plugs like their life depended on it. The “Easy Plugs” by Yoo-Kyung Shin is an easy and ingenious solution. Plug in your devices like normal, but simply push down on the side of the powe bar and the plug will pop right out.

Easy and quick to unplug your devices!

Of course this is just a concept, but I’d sure like to see this kind of system implemented as standard in powerbars. Could help promote unplugging!

via Yanko Design

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What a brilliant idea! A new type of wind turbines is in development that uses Maglev technology. Maglev, or magnetic levitation uses powerful magnets to lift and “suspend” objects in mid-air. The technology is used in high-speed “maglev” trains which can reach 900 km/h.

These maglev wind turbines are reported to produce 1 gigawatt of electricity, making them roughly equal to 1000 traditional wind turbines. They are much more efficient than traditional turbines, no doubt a result of minimizing friction with maglev. These turbines can power aprox. 750 thousand home, cost 50% less to operate, and take up about 100 acre, compared to about 64,000 acres for a 1000 turbine wind farm.

With the introduction of maglev wind turbines, we could be seeing wind power become more widespread, and much cheaper to use and operate.

A turbine for every city? Could be the way of the future.

via EcoFuss

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The Navitas bicycle trailer is a new concept in portable green power.

Designed by Paul Smith, a final year design student at the University of Derby in England, the Navitas is “a pure concept in sustainable transport” explained Smith.

The trailer is a bit of a transformer. It’s wheel splits apart into 3 sections which serve as a wind turbine, and a compact solar panel provides another source of power in case of low wind.  These work together to charge the 24v on-board battery.

The trailer provides power output via a 12v cigarette lighter, and a USB port, allowing you to charge all your USB devices. Charge your iPod on the go!

Surprisingly, there’s no standard outlet, however power inverters intended for cars could be used in the cigarette lighter to provide standard outlets.

It clips easily to the seat post, and as an added eco-bonus, utilized all-LED brake and hazard lights.

This is a fantastic concept, however a method to charge the battery, even just a small charge, without  disconnecting and setting up the whole trailer should have been included, I wouldn’t want to stop just to charge the battery.

This is only a concept, and not currently available for sale, but it certainly seems marketable, and if it ever hits store shelves, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Get more information from the design poster:

via MetaEfficient

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Toyota has made some great progress with fuel-cell vehicles lately, and it’s just tested the newest version of it’s next generation fuel-cell vehicle, the FCHV.

The hydrogen fuel-cell car has a reported range of a whopping 480 miles! In tests, it was able to make a trip from Osaka to Tokyo, a 350 miles trip, and finished with 30% of it’s tank left.

While a lot of this range is based on a large tank (about twice as big as it’s predecessor), Toyota has made great strides in efficiency as well, improving 25% over the previous model.

A 480-mile range is a great advancement in fuel-cell vehicles, as it approaches the range of modern hybrid car. Just doing some quick math, we see that a 45mpg 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, with a 12.3 gallon tank, has a maxiumi potential range of about 553 miles.

So it appears hydrogen has finally reached the efficiency of modern gas vehicles. Now that the technology is finally here, the infrastructure is now the biggest hurdle to a consumerized version, but we’re on our way!

via Engadget, Reuters

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Do you remember wind-up toys? I used to prefer those over the battery kind since your didn’t have to wait 6-8 hours for a charge.

Well in addition to those simple toys, wind-up power has moved into the lighting industry.

This wind-up lamp is powered by a high-carbon tensile steel spring, which basically means it’s going to last a long time. With a super-efficient LED bulb, you could get some great charge time!

In addition to a green power source (human power), it’s going to have power whenever you need it, and not when you don’t. You’ll no longer have to worry about losing your lighting in a power outage, or wasting electricity if you forget to turn it off. Great green innovation!

This isn’t available for purchase yet, it’s only a design. It’s a great idea however, and is already used in wind-up emergency flashlights. I could see this technology becoming a lot more widespread.

via Keetsa

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As we’ve mentioned before, many of the devices we use today waste power with standby and low-power modes. These modes’ only real purpose is to cut down on start-up times.

This is the electric table.

It’s a table designed to help you unplug your unused devices. No doubt you’ve got a couple power bars hidden away under your desk, and it’s a huge pain to crawl under there every time you turn your monitor off.

The electric table has integrated plugs, so instead of plugging your ipod into a hard to reach power bar, you just plug it into the side of the table. When you’re done with it, the plug is easy to reach.

This will no-doubt make unplugging unused devices much easier, and will thus help to reduce this “phantom power” used by devices.

via TreeHugger

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