green electronics

Are You Willing to Pay More for Greener Electronics?

jplatt — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

If you had the choice between two products, and one was greener but cost 10% more, which would you buy?

According to a new survey conducted by Retrevo, a service that matches people with electronics, 35% of people who think that buying energy-efficient appliances is important would not be willing to pay a premium price to buy those devices.

Now, according to Retrevo's survey of 632 people, 75% of those surveyed felt that buying energy-efficient devices was important. That's the good news. But few are willing to pay much extra for that energy efficiency. In addition to the 35% I just mentioned, 50 percent would only be willing to pay up to a 5% premium.

Of course, if you really think about it, paying more for an energy-efficient device will probably save you more money in the long run, but sticker shock is a tough barrier to break through, especially in these tough economic times.

So what about you? Do you pay more for greener devices? Let us know by posting your feelings below. It won't be scientific, but we'd love to hear your feelings on the subject.

P.S. -- Retrevo offers a free 30-page PDF -- Retrevo's Survival Guide to Greener Living -- which offers tips on buying the greenest electronics and lists some of the worst energy offenders. Worth a download.

Another Way to Recycle Electronics: Radio Shack

jplatt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Great news -- yet another retailer is jumping into the "we'll recycle your old electronics for you" bandwagon.

This time it's RadioShack, one of the most ubiquitous electronics chains in the country. Through The Shack's new trade-in program, you can bring products or accessories to their stores or mail them in, and you'll get a gift card with a small dollar value in return.

The program accepts MP3 players, cell phones, cameras, gaming consoles, and even laptops. (Laptops, HDTVs and a few other items can only be traded in through their website.)

Here's what happens: you present your item for trade-in, Radio Shack makes you an offer, and you accept the offer to get your gift card.

If you do the trade online, you'll get to print out a pre-paid postage label, so the whole program is free to you.

There's no word on the website about how your old electronics will be recycled or re-used, but since the one major requirement for your trade is that the products are in working order and can turn on, it appears the old devices will be refurbished and resold.

Give it a try. I'm sure there's a Radio Shack right around the corner from you.

Greenpeace Grades Electronics Makers on e-Waste

jplatt — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Greenpeace has once again released its Guide to Greener Electronics, this time focusing on e-waste. Nokia and Samsung took the top slots, while HP, Lenovo and Dell were all penalized for failing to follow through on promises to phase out vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products by the end of the year.

Greenpeace did praise the company for the products they sell that don't have those chemicals, or use less of them, but took them to task for delaying their promise to stop using them altogether.

Apple also got praise for minimizing its use of PVCs and BFRs, a move Greenpeace says every company should be able to emulate, and Philips, which made huge strides in its battle against e-waste:

The Guide to Greener Electronics star this time goes to Philips -- and the 47,000 people who sent emails to the company!

The Dutch electronics giant reacted to our e-waste campaign with a dramatic about-turn on recycling and take-back. They've jumped from 15th to 4th place in one go. Following public pressure, the company has significantly improved its position on taking financial responsibility for the recycling of its products when they become e-waste.

You can download the entire report here.

The previous verison of the Greenpeace report, published in December 2008, focused on companies' climate leadership.

Six Simple New Years Resolutions for Greener Electronics

jplatt — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:00:36 -0500

Hey, it's a New Year! And with it comes all of those little vows we always make -- lose 5 pounds, call your mom more often, get a promotion ... and live a greener life.

Well, here are five easy (and important) promises you can make to yourself to improve your footprint by greening your electronics and other devices.

1. Ditch the disposable batteries. There's simply no reason to use disposables any more. They only reason they're still for sale everywhere is because so many stores make so much money on them. But every battery that gets thrown out leaches toxic chemicals into the environment. Break the chain. Go completely rechargeable. It's an easy step, and you won't regret it.

2. Go off the grid -- at least a little bit. Rechargeable batteries are great, but they still suck power off the electric grid. Break that chain, too. Buy devices with solar chargers (like flashlights), or pick up a solar charger (such as the fantastic Solio). Leave the solar charger in your window, then use it to power your iPod, cell phone or other portable devices. Instant green karma.

3. Pull the plug. When you're not using your electronic devices, turn them off. Better yet, unplug them or turn off their surge protectors. TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, game consoles and dozens of other devices keep using power even when they're "off." This stand-by mode can account for 10% of your power use. Slash and burn, baby.

4. Be a Star. When buying new electronics or appliances, look for the Energy Star logo. This signifies that you're buying an energy-efficient device, which can save you anywhere from 10-30% on energy usage. A no-brainer.

5. Recycle your old electronics properly. If you're replacing something, or getting rid of something that no longer works, don't just toss it in the trash. Take it to a recycling center where it will be disposed of properly. Electronics contain too many toxic materials for them to be disposed of improperly, so make sure you do the right thing.

6. Finally, fully, break the incandescent chain. I still have two lamps and two outdoor light fixtures that oddly enough won't work with CFL bulbs. It's time to get rid of them. Even though changing the lamps will create some waste, the energy savings from being able to use CFL bulbs will be worth it.

Looking for more specifics on any of the ideas above? Scroll through the Green Tech archives. You'll find plenty of examples and ideas to help you live a greener life.

Happy 2009, my eco-friendly friends!

Survey Shows Consumer Electronics Industry Thinks 25% of Consumers Don't Want Green

jplatt — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0500

The consumer electronics industry isn't quite embracing going green. That's the lesson learned from a poll in a recent issue of CEA Smartbrief, a newsletter of the Consumer Electronics Association.

According to poll respondents, 25.82% believe that "consumers really don't care" about green electronics, "they just want cool gadgets." 46.14% of respondents said the future of electronics might be green, but "technology advancements and more consumer interest are still needed." Only 28.02% of respondents said that "2009 will be the year of the environment for CE industry."

Of course, this poll didn't ask the question of consumers -- just of folks in the consumer electronics industry. Does the poll reflect reality or just the belief in the industry itself?

Either way, if you're wondering why you can't find more eco-friendly electronics in stores today, this could be one of the reasons why.

Cell Phone Industry Hangs Up On Vampire Power

jplatt — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0500

As we've written here before, cellphone chargers are not the most efficient devices in the world. Even when they are done charging your phone, they continue to suck energy out of the wall. That energy does no one any good, and it's power (and money) that goes to waste.

Cell phone manufacturers are finally ready to recognize this problem. Last week, the top five handset makers -- Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG Electronics -- rolled out a new five-star ranking system for their chargers which will identify the most energy efficient models.

In a statement, Nokia said "If the more than three billion people owning mobile devices today switched to a four- or five-star charger, this could save the same amount of energy each year as produced by two medium sized power plants."

This is great news, and well overdue, but one part of this story worries me. Here's a statement that Markku Hangasjarvi, CEO of charger-maker Salcomp, gave to Reuters: "This should be positive for us. Such chargers are more difficult to produce, their average selling price is higher and they demand special know-how."

Really? The better-rated chargers are going to be marked up? Hopefully this isn't just another way to rip off the consumer while appearing greener.

Well, until these newly ranked chargers hit the market, let's assume this is a good idea and applaud it. But until then, keep an eye on your phones while they're charging, and unplug them when they're done.

Here are links to the five companies' sites and the data on their chargers:

Greenpeace Grades the Electronics Makers on Climate Leadership

jplatt — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0500

For the tenth time in the last two years, Greenpeace has ranked electronics manufactuers according to their policies and manufacturing procedures to come up with a list of the "greenest" electronics makers, but also to point out that few manufacturers are "showing true climate leadership."

Says Greenpeace, "Despite many green claims, major companies like Dell, Microsoft, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Apple are failing to support the necessary levels of global cuts in emissions and make the absolute cuts in their own emissions that are required to tackle climate change."

Of the 18 companies listed in this edition of the Guide to Greener Electronics, "only Sharp, Fujitsu Siemens and Philips show full support for the necessary cuts of 30 percent for industrial nations by 2020."

Previous editions of the Guide looked at e-waste and related criteria. This time around, they focused solely on climate leadership:

Taking into account all criteria in the Guide, Nokia remains top, Toshiba makes a big improvement to 3rd place and Sharp and Motorola make big jumps up the ranking. The big PC companies such as Dell, HP, Apple and Acer drop down. Dell continues to be overtaken by other companies, with an unchanged score of 4.7. Although Apple drops a place, it improves its overall score slightly to 4.3, with much better reporting on the carbon footprint of its products. Apple has also recently show leadership on removing the worst toxics substances with new iPods free of toxics brominated flame retardants and PVC. All Apple products should be free of these substances by the end of 2008, which will challenge other PC makers to follow their lead.

Top 10 Things to Ask When Buying 'Green' Electronics

jplatt — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Buying electronics is a chore. Picking the right device takes time, research, and money.

Unfortunately, buying green electronics can require even more time and research, and sometimes a little bit more money. But the rewards for the planet are well worth it, and you just might enjoy your gadgets a bit more knowing you made a right choice for the environment. '

With that in mind, here are 10 ideas to take into consideration when buying electronics to help you make the greenest choice.

10. Is it ENERGY STAR rated? This is one of the easiest ways to make sure your device is eco-friendly. ENERGY STAR devices use less energy than competing products, so look for the ENERGY STAR logo. If it's not there, you might want to keep looking.

9. How easily can it be recycled? The more complex the device, the harder it is to recycle. You also want to look at what chemicals and materials are used; some are more toxic than others.

8. Is it responsibly manufactured? Does the manufacturer have a good eco-record?

7. How long will it last? If your new device won't last a few years, or more, is it worth buying?

6. Are the manufacturers' green claims independently certified? There are dozens of organizations -- too many to list here -- that test and verify products, making sure they are truly green. Certified products will have an official logo on the package, so look for them and ask what they mean.

5. Is the packaging recyclable, made from recycled materials, or at the very least, kept to a minimum amount?

4. Do you need it? Can your old tech's lifespan be extended, or can it be made greener? Let's face it, you don't need every new device. Keeping an old product in use for a longer period of time is almost always the greenest option.

3. How eco-responsible is the retailer? Do they offer take-backs of old devices? Do they take efforts to green their supply chain? Do they use eco-friendly building materials? Look the company up; don't do business with companies that don't support the environment.

2. Is the green value worth the price? In other words, don't spend $1,000 extra to save $500 in energy costs over the life of the product.

1. Is it the greenest option available, or can you do even better? Okay, so there's always just a little bit more research you can do. But trust me, it will be worth it.

A Real TV Star: New ENERGY STAR Rules for TV Efficiency

jplatt — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

How many hours a day do you use your TV? One? Two? Five? More?

Okay, let's ask a more important question: is your TV energy efficent?

Don't know the answer? That's okay, because until now it was hard to know if your television was a power hog or not. But now new rules from the EPA's ENERGY STAR will make it easier to buy an energy-efficient model -- just in time for the holidays!

Old ENERGY STAR rules only rated TVs according to how much power they used while off or in "standby" mode. The new rules go several steps further, requiring energy efficiency when TVs are on, and also guiding the use of external power supplies when necessary. "This new specification is important," says the EPA, "since televisions being sold now are larger, in use more hours a day, and offer more vibrant pictures, which can impact the amount of electricity they use. In fact, some of the largest, high resolution televisions can use as much as 500 kWh per year."

TVs with an ENERGY STAR rating will use an estimated 30% less juice than other TVs, so this will really make a difference as people replace their old models with new, higher-tech screens.

So far, 229 TVs conform to the new rules. They include 19 plasma models, 199 LCD models, and 11 "others".

Check 'em out!

Make Beautiful Music with Eco-Friendly Audio Systems

jplatt — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:25:22 -0400

Love music? Love the environment? Then let's talk about this year's greenest audio devices.

Like all electronics, audio systems can contain all kinds of toxic materials. They aren't always easily recyclable, and they often come with too much packaging. They also tend to use a lot of power, a critical concern when we're trying to make things more energy efficient.

To help make sure you're choosing the greenest audio components, MetaEfficient has named the Greenest Audio Systems of 2008. Winners include the Pure iPod dock, the Samsung SWA-4000 Wireless Rear Stereo Amplifier, and the Panasonic SC-PT650 home theater system. Several brands of speakers and receivers are also rated.

All of these devices ranked well on energy efficiency, and often use eco-friendly manufacturing processes.

There are other ways you can "green" your music. You can buy any number of solar chargers to keep your MP3 players juiced up. Buying music digitally can also be green, since it doesn't involve any manufacturing or shipping.

Got other ways you keep your tunes eco-friendly? Post 'em here!