It's Funny, Technology Actually Makes Going Green Easier

We tend to think that the only way to save the planet is to reduce the population and go back to living in the past, with all the disease and death that came with it. What choice do we have? After all, our addiction to technology is going to destroy the planet, right?

Wrong. Turns out that technology actually makes it easier and cheaper to go green. Without it, we’d be totally stuck, unable to rid ourselves of fossil fuels and forever putting carbon dioxide and other chemicals into the atmosphere.

Here are some energy technologies you can use to go green.

Smart Power Strips

It’s unfortunate, but many electronic devices use electricity, even when turned off. Those glowing standby lights on TVs, charging iPhones, printers and DVD players still use energy.

What’s worse, if your devices are old, they take up a lot more energy than newer devices with energy-saving circuits and frugal LED technology.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately, there is a solution: smart power strips. How do they work? Well, they have the ability to cut the power to a device when they sense that it is not in use. Some estimates suggest that power strips could reduce your household energy bills by between 5 and 10 percent. Strips are priced around $30.

Solar Panels

There are two types of solar panels used in houses. The first are solar panels that use the infrared radiation given off by the sun to heat water. The second, and more popular type are photovoltaic panels, which you can probably guess from the name, are used to generate electricity.

Source: Pixabay

Solar panel installation can completely remove the need for you to draw power from the grid. In fact, your home may generate so much electricity that you end up selling some of it to your neighbors.

What’s more, the reduction in solar panel efficiency when the weather is overcast is only about 20 percent, meaning that panels are still operating at around 80 percent of their maximum, even on dreary days.

Electrochromic Smart Glass

Electrochromic glass is a special type of glass that changes color when an electrical current is passed through it. In the summer, this kind of glass can help to reflect some of the sun’s rays to save on air conditioning costs.

The company behind the glass technology say that savings on electricity, heating and lighting can exceed 23 percent at peak times.

Energy Monitoring

The idea behind energy monitoring is to provide homeowners with useful feedback about their energy usage that they can then use to reduce their overall power consumption. Surveillance systems, like the one made by Ego, allows you to see your current energy consumption, your previous energy use and turn off your appliances remotely. That’s handy if you suddenly realize you’ve left the TV or the bathroom lights on while you’re out.

Source: Pixabay

Altogether, the technology discussed in this article can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of your home to nearly zero. Of course, you’ll still be using carbon if you use any gas heaters, but these can easily be swapped out for electric.