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Just In: 10 New Things to Make Eco-Living Easier
Finds from The 2011 West Coast Green Conference
West Coast Green, one of the world's biggest green design conferences, has always sought to place green design and eco-friendly home solutions right into the public's hands. Showcasing innovative eco-friendly products is a huge part of this endeavor. This year, one theme seems to reign throughout the product pavilions: making life easier. Today's homeowners are savvy consumers — and if a green product costs more, it had better make life easier, and save money in the long run.
The 2011 conference, now a combined effort between West Coast Green and the Pacific Coast Building Conference, takes place in San Francisco June 22-24, 2011.
Some finds at the conference catching my eye:
The 2011 conference, now a combined effort between West Coast Green and the Pacific Coast Building Conference, takes place in San Francisco June 22-24, 2011.
Some finds at the conference catching my eye:
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DuPont's ForeverLawn incorporates tan strands into the green, giving it a more realistic appearance. It's also pet-friendly, porous and perforated for drainage, non-susceptible to mold or mildew, non-flammable, and is protected against fading by the sun. Best of all, it actually feels like grass.
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It might look unassuming, but this little gadget essentially acts as a central nervous system for your home. GE Appliance's Nucleus is an eco-friendly development that helps homeowners monitor their home's electricity usage. It records energy use and estimated dollars spent in days, weeks and months. Overall, this guy can reveal trends going back up to three years. It can hook up to a computer to display data, and GE is currently working on a smart phone app.
by Room & Board
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This cute outdoor side table is a new eco-friendly addition to Room and Board. This new line of patio furniture is made of 100% recycled plastic.
by Room & Board
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All right, so a plastic sofa might not sound like the most comfortable thing in the world, but thanks to Room & Board's angled seat and contoured back, this patio love seat is a colorful place to lounge in the summer sun. And like the Satellite Table shown in the previous photo, it's made entirely out of recycled materials.
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| Who would've thought that blinds could help you save money and the environment? Hunter Douglas, has created a blind reported to reduce up to 50 percent of potential energy loss at the window. Each segment of the blind is a honeycomb shape with another fabric honeycomb shape inside. The trapped air provides additional insulation between the window and the room. |
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While many Moen faucets contribute to LEED certification points, the 90 Degree line also works in a bit of luxury as well. Owners can control both water temperature and flow via two remote controls.
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| Most solar-electric home systems today are created with PV technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity to be used to power a home. But PV systems only capture about 15 percent of the sun's energy, leaving the thermal energy behind. Echo Solar System captures this unused energy, using over half of what the sun produces. This allows the Echo Solar System to power electrical items as well as heat water, heat the home, cool the home, and work with air ventilation systems. The system can be controlled via an online management system (pictured). |
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This little fan is the workhorse of exhaust fans. It's Energy Star rated, but is up to 621 percent more energy efficient than current Energy Star standards, is rated for 60,000 hours of continuous run time, and reportedly quiet as a mouse.
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The Rainwater HOG saves fresh rainwater for everything from laundry to watering your garden. Discreet and easy to use, the HOG was designed by award-winning Australian designer Sally Dominguez. Dominguez wanted to find a subtle rainwater tank to use under decks and patios in urban properties. She was told that a flat, plastic tank simply would not work. Her solution? To prove the naysayers wrong. Her creation uses the continuous walls of a center hole to brace the wide plastic box. This new concept in rainwater storage is now used by multiple manufacturers.
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In GE's Geospring Water Heater, the compressor and evaporator are slyly integrated into the heater itself. The evaporator draws in heat from the surrounding air, then heats the water through coils that wrap around the entire tank, thus transferring heat to the water. This process creates the same amount of water as a traditional heater, but can cut expenses in half.
More:
10 Ways to Go Greener Through Design
Eco-Easy: Basic Elements of Great Green Design
More:
10 Ways to Go Greener Through Design
Eco-Easy: Basic Elements of Great Green Design
Ideabook updated on June 25, 2011.
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With these 100 degree days here in Dallas over the past few weeks, Dupont's ForeverLawn would look nicer and be cheaper than my mostly-brown Bermuda.