Nine Green Electronic Tips

E-waste.

15 billion batteries produced and sold each year are mostly disposable (junked) alkaline batteries. Instead, look for electronics that are rechargeable. For removable batteries, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) are cost-effective green alternatives. The fastest battery chargers can juice up AAs in about 15 minutes, and will pay for themselves quite quickly. Go Rechargeable

Kill Vampire Power

Just because your cell phone is unplugged from the charger or your TV is off, doesn’t mean these devices aren’t drawing a current and running up your electricity bill. Devices that have a standby mode do the same thing. To make sure you aren’t wasting energy, pull the plug on devices when not in use or put all of your electronics and chargers on a power bar. This way you can flip the power strip off when your electronics are not in use.

Buy With Energy In Mind

Some types of electronics suck more energy than others. Doing research on different technologies and their respective energy consumption can save you money in the long run. For example, if you want a flat panel television, look into buying LCD models that use much less energy than plasma screens. Look for products labeled with Energy Star, the international symbol of premium energy efficiency.

Treat Batteries Right

Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries need very little preventative maintenance but discharge them fully before recharging, do not 'top up.' Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMh) batteries are slightly less robust than NiCd (but have higher capacities), and not need to discharge fully before charging though it can improve their lifetime if you do. Your battery is most likely to be Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) or Lithium Ion Polymer (LiPo), which is the latest technology, and it has the highest performance, but is the most fragile. They have a finite life whether you use them or not, but generally the harder they work the shorter their life. They dislike high temperatures, and long periods of deep discharge. Don't store them fully charged for long periods - they prefer a partial charge of about two thirds for long periods of storage.

Make It A Short Circuit

Cell phones are among the fastest growing types of e-waste so don’t just throw your old one out – this risks releasing chemicals into the ecosystem. Many organizations are in need of computers and other electronic donations or you could try re-selling them. At the very least, recycle.

Buy Used

Don’t want to spend a fortune on technology? You can find top quality, totally functional used electronics at sites like eBAY, Craigslist and often at community yard sales. Buying used not only cuts down on the amount of new resources being used for the production of more stuff, it also creates a market for sellers to safely recirculate electronics they are no longer using. Of course, our green¬est electronics are the ones we don’t buy!

Solar Charge

There are an increasing number of options for on-the-go solar power. From handheld to backpack power, solar chargers now come in a spectrum of types for juicing up phones, PDAs, Bluetooth headsets, iPODS, and laptops. Many have an onboard battery pack that can charge while the solar cells are in the sun, and then transfer the power to your device when you need it.

Extend Use

There is definitely a cult around replacing our electronic toys and tools every few months or so when a new model comes out. In some cases the older models are actually superior in quality. Step back from the whole technophilia thing and take stock of what your real needs are. Stick with what you already own – for the planet.

Look For EPEAT

EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is an attempt at environmental certification for computers (CPUs, monitors, and notebooks). Released in early 2006, a growing number of products have been registered with EPEAT.

Susan MacVittie works with World Community Development Education Society in the Comox Valley, Canada. Nine Greener Electronic Tips was previously printed in the Watershed Sentinel, the independent voice for environmental news in British Columbia. Visit: http://www.watershedsentinel.ca

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The energy conservation act of 2005 was designed to promote dependable, affordable and environmentally sound energy production and distribution. The energy conservation act has six main points. The first one is to promote residential efficiency. Because technology offers the option of a “zero-energy” home, bills would be introduced that allowed consumers tax credits for making their homes more energy efficient. The second point was to encourage companies to make appliances and commercial products more energy efficient. The third point of the energy conservation act was to reduce the federal government energy usage since they are the largest user of energy. A part of this included the re-authorization of the Energy Savings Performance Contract program. This program allows private contractors to help Federal agencies improve their energy efficiency. The fourth part of the program calls for modernizing the domestic energy infrastructure, which will reduce the risk of large-scale blackouts and minimize transmission bottlenecks and replace old infrastructures with new, updated infrastructures. The fifth part of the program will promote the use of renewable energy sources. Tax credits will be offered for residential solar systems as well wind and biomass energy. The bill also encourages the use of alternative fuels and promotes research and development of hydrogen technologies. The last point has to do with energy efficient vehicles. In 2006, tax credits were offered to individuals who purchased a vehicle that ran on alternative fuels. The energy conservation act final outcome will be less dependent on foreign energy sources, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions which will create a better environment.

written by Green Tips , October 18, 2010

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