Green Gadgets: How To Cut Your Carbon Footprint If You’re A Tech Head

I’m a self-confessed 21st century geek. I have an iPhone, 2 laptops, a three monitor desktop and my power usage is probably akin to Times Square. But I also have a social conscience. I care about the planet and the future of humanity. Is my lifestyle in conflict with my morals? I don’t think so. Here’s why…

As the world is waking up to the power hungry reality of 21st century convenience, there is becoming what is currently a subculture of green geeks; people who appreciate the beauty and genius of technology but also the problems that enormous power usage can cause. As of writing this, I am the latest convert to this movement.

Solar Power: The Possibilities

While the popularity of solar power is rising happening at the moment with companies like Everest fitting solar panels on house roofs, there are still concerns among the public in less sunny countries like England as to whether solar power is a practical alternative to fossil fuel powered power stations and also, with the costs of installation in that arena, whether it is currently a cost-effective thing to do.

That said, solar power does have its uses in the gadget charging arena. Look what I found…

Solar Powered Mobile Phone Charger

I am an iPhone user, and while I do make an effort to be as green as I can, I know that if the iPhone was a car, it would be a Hummer. You need to charge it virtually once every 24 hours. So as part of this experiment, I looked into alternative sources of the power that ends up in my phone. The aim was to be more eco-friendly and would have the added bonus of reducing my household utility bills.

I bought the Solar Powered iPhone Charger for £20 and tested it.

Solar Powered Laptop Charger

This was harder. There were mixed reviews regarding what appeared to be the most easily available solar powered laptop charger. I certainly think the manufacturer could have done better by listing the laptop makes and models their charger is compatible with.

 Green Web Hosting

Web servers consume massive amounts of energy which makes keeping websites online a potentially environmentally damaging thing to do. As such, green web hosting is the way to go. The way this usually works is either that the hosting company uses renewable energy sources rather than traditional fossil fuel to generate the electricity to power their servers, or they offset their carbon footprint by investing in a project that saves elseware the same amount of carbon as they have created.