For the greener gadget lovers amongst us, here are some excellent green gadgets that will lighten the load on the planet and on your pocket.

USBcell rechargeable batteries

These revolutionary NiMH AA rechargeable batteries are only £5 from Robert Dyas and can be recharged from your computer’s USB port. You can recharge them up to 500 times and each battery saves 7kg CO2 and 3kg of toxic waste. Cool.

Water Powered Digital Clock

This little digital clock doesn’t need any batteries.  No electricity either.  Just add water.   It incorporates dependable water powered technology with conventional digital technology to allow you the freedom of not having to buy batteries again! £8.99 from allthingsgreen.

Water Powered Calculator

A basic calculator that runs on the same technology as the Water Powered Clock.  £9.99 from allthingsgreen.

Eco-Button

Eco-Button is a computer power saving device that can save you £££’s off your electricity bills and shave tonnes off your carbon footprint every year.  The Eco-Button acts as a strong visual reminder for you to save electricity each time your computer is left idle. £13.90 from GadgetPages.

Dryer Balls

Not exactly the most glamorous eco-gadget, but an important one if you’re a tumble-dryer user.   This will reduce the time that your clothes spend in the dryer by 25%, and cut out the need for a fabric softener. £8.99 from Amazon.

If you’ve been putting off going green because it’s too expensive, now’s your chance to save BIG and get onto that greener path.  Pricegrabber is offering FREE DELIVERY on everything.

Cut your carbon footprint with a bicycle.

Charge your electronic devices with a solar charger.

Switch to energy saving bulbs.

Buy organic whenever possible.

Buy recycled to close the recycling loop.

These are very sexy little gadgets and will make a great gift for both women and men who like their gadgets and wish to save energy, money and the planet.    The Wattson shows how much electricity you are using and helps you work out how to reduce it and it’s super easy to use - no electrician required.

To get the Wattson up and running, all that is needed is to clip a sensor to the outside of your mains electricity cable.  The sensor then tells the Wattson how much electricity you are using.  The Wattson shows this to you using colours and numbers. Switch something off and watch them change!  You can also connect Wattson to your computer to download energy usage and compare with fellow Wattson users.  Around £100.

Give the lady in your life a pink Roberts solar DAB radio, it’s one of a kind, just like her.  It’s the world’s first solar DAB radio.   She can use it in the garden, the conservatory, the greenhouse, or anywhere in the house where there’s a bright windowsill.  It will also come in handy when she’s at the beach, up a mountain or away camping.

The Roberts solar DAB radio has a solar panel integrated into the top of the radio that charges a battery while in direct sunlight.  A full charge will last for 27 hours. £72.99

Rhino Eco Friendly Rechargeable /Dynamo/Windup Radio and Flashlight
This would be the perfect thing for camping and gardening. The Rhino radio has AM/FM radio, is wind up & rechargeable. It also has a DC charger. The light is an integrated LED and the unit has an optimum charge indicator.
£24.99 from All Things Green

Neal’s Yard Organic Seaweed and Arnica foaming Bath
I don’t believe in taking baths every day, because they use too much water. But once in a while, after a hard day’s work in the garden or going for a long walk, a bath can be just the thing. This restorative foam bath contains extracts of revitalising mineral-rich seaweed, arnica and comfrey, and essential oils of lavender, juniper, lemon and pine. It’s ideal for after exercise.
£11.70 from John Lewis.

Neal’s Yard Organic Citrus Hand Wash
I love hand soap with a refreshing zing to it. This Citrus hand wash from Neal’s Yard will put me in a good mood every time I wash my hands. It contains essential oils of antiseptic lemon, cleansing orange, grapefruit and ho leaf, with mild vegetable derived detergents and foaming agents.
£6.75 from John Lewis.

Eco Friendly Newspaper Briquette Maker
This looks like such a handy gadget for making our own logs for the fire. Just got to have one. It’s a great way to recycle newspaper and save money. The free fuel you make with one of these is non-toxic and leaves a minimum of ash. The briquette maker is of metal construction, and is easy and safe to use. You just soak the paper, place it into the mould and squeeze.
£14.95 from Amazon.co.uk

Cambodian Recycled Rice Bags
These ethically produced recycled rice bags always get good press on this blog. I just love them. I’ve been wanting a couple of them for ages.
£12.95 from Firebox.com

Bye Bye Standby Energy-Saving Kit
This is the ideal solution to my video machine and set-top box energy saving debarcle. Bye Bye Standby will completely cut power to my video machine, DVD player and set-top box when they’re not in use, thereby saving the power that these devices would otherwise have consumed in Standby Mode. The pack contains one remote control to switch off the lot.
£34.99 from All Things Green

Here’s a cool gift for the shutterbug or world traveller.  The gorillapod fastens to just about anything, meaning you can take your camera anywhere at all and still get that perfect shot, without having to find a level surface to place your tripod on. Each gorillapod is made up of 30 or more fully articulating ball-and-socket joints that can be bent and twisted into any shape to keep your camera steady! Soft rings and rubberized feet prevent the gorillapod from slipping.

While the gorillapod is not essentially an eco-friendly product, Joby who make the gorillapod  belong to 1% for the planet,  it’s a really handy product and will probably last till the icecaps freeze over again.

Continuing with the theme of gadgets that help you live more sustainably, here are some more ideas for consideration.

The efergy energy saving meter is a wireless electricity meter that tracks your energy use so that you know exactly how much you are consuming at any given time, what it is costing you and an estimate of your personal contribution to climate change.  The data is stored so that you can track the trends and changes in energy consumption in your household.  Easily installed by complete novices. Costs around £45.

You can save about £50 a year by using an EcoButton on your PC or laptop.  When you press the EcoButton you put your machine into eco-mode to save energy until you come back to it and press the button again to reactivate it where you left off.  Expect to pay around £15 per button.

The Bye Bye Standby energy saving kit works by totally cutting power to the devices plugged into it when they’re not in use, saving power that devices would have consumed on standby.  You get one remote control and three sockets for £34.99 and one remote and two sockets for £19.99.

Now, I like gadgets as much as the next man (woman), but I like my gadgets as green as they come.  If you are a gadget-junkie, get your fix with some of the sustainable stars of the gadget world.

Solar Chargers

I get a real kick out of charging my phone with a solar charger, especially when I’m out hiking or camping (or away from an electric socket) and others are whining about their phones running out of battery.  There are lots of these on the market these days, ranging from around £20.  They’re suitable for charging phones, iPods, and other hand-held devices.

Earthdrive

Flash memory for the green at heart.  This one-of-a-kind gadget is made of biodegradable materials that are fully recyclable, as well as being waterproof, dustproof, shock proof and ESD (electro-static discharge) proof.

Solar laptop bag

No self-respecting green geek would be without one of these Juice solar laptop bags.  It’s made of recycled materials (of course) and turns sunlight into free electricity with its solar panel.  The 7 Watt flexible solar panel is made up of 52 solar cells and represents the latest in flexible solar technology.  The model that you see here sells for around the £300 mark.

More green gadgets soon.

In this post we’re tackling the water bill.  Reduce usage without pain with these nifty gadgets.

7. Stop flushing it all away

Save half of the water that you’d usually flush away with the easy to install Interflush Toilet water saving device (30 litres per person per day saved).  Or if you absolutely aren’t handy about the home, save 3 litres per flush by putting a Hippo in your cistern.

8. Use greywater to fill your waterbutts when it doesn’t rain

Divert your bath and shower water to your rainwater butt by fitting this simple but ingenious bath water diverter to existing pipes.  Once installed, it is easily controlled from ground level by pull cords.  Make sure you only use biodegradable toiletries if you’re going to water plants with your bath water.
9. Save 70% of the water you use washing your hands and brushing your teeth
For a very small outlay you can save up to 70% of the water that comes out of your taps.   The Water Reduction Spray Magic Unifit simply attaches to existing taps and turns the flow into a spray.  Voila!

Photo credit: thingermejig

Like it or not, summer is fading away, and with it goes the light.  As it starts getting darker earlier in the evenings, it’s time to start thinking about putting lights on your bicycle.  And along with staying safe, you can also stay green with one of these Trevor Baylis  wind-up bike lights.  One minute’s winding gives 90 minutes of light, claims the manufacturer.  So you’re not going to be wearing yourself out before even mounting your bike.