Sun and elbow grease power these little beauties, writes STEPHEN FENECH

AS lovers of gadgets and technology have discovered, it’s hard to indulge that passion without burning electricity or using batteries.

But in today’s more environmentally conscious times that’s an exercise many people are frowning upon.

Consuming more electricity means more carbon emissions and discarded batteries usually end up in landfill, but a new category of products is now available that will have virtually no impact on the environment.

These eco gadgets work in the same way as their regular counterparts but use either solar or wind-up power.

Standby power accounts for up to 11 per cent of an average energy bill which is, about $100 a year.

The only way to avoid it is to unplug everything at the power point.

The Footswitch Powerboard (inset top) can solve that problem thanks to a pedal that turns off all of the devices connected to its outlets.

It costs $44.95 and is available by calling (02) 9889 8833 or by visiting ji.com.au

Headlamps come in handy when you need a bright light but also need to work with both of your hands.

The Everlite head torch is powered by a small solar panel which, after seven hours in the sun, can supply more than 12 hours of power.

Illumination of up to 10m is provided by the five ultra-bright LEDs.

There’s also a blinking mode for greater visibility while riding a bike.

It costs $79.95 and is available from 1300 882 640 or by going to neco.com.au

We are all accustomed to the taxi meter that continuously calculates the fare. But what if there was a similar meter to track a home’s electricity consumption?

Cent-a-meter can display the cost of the electricity being used in a household.

Having an LCD display ticking over will probably change the way people think about electricity.

The product requires the installation of a weatherproof sensor and transmitter by a qualified electrician at the fuse box, which then sends the information wirelessly to the LCD display which can be carried around the house.

It costs $239 and is available from centameter.com.au

Here’s a product that proves it is possible to love gadgets and be kind to the environment at the same time.

The Bayliss Eco Media Player has a bundle of features, yet will never need a battery or a charger. A small hand crank unfolds to allow the user to power it up again within one minute, making it good for 40 minutes of music playback.

The device can play music or videos and also has an FM radio, along with an ebook reader, photo viewer and voice recorder.

On board is 2GB of storage, plus an SD card slot to expand the memory.

It costs $295 and is available from 1300 882 640 or by visiting neco.com.au

The Indigo lantern utilises LED lighting and good old elbow grease for illumination, so there’s no need to ever buy a battery to power them or to charge them from a powerpoint.

A foldaway crank that can supply an hour’s worth of power with just 60 seconds of winding.

There also is a smaller single light on the front of the device that can be used as a reading light.

It costs $89.95 and is available by calling 1300 882 640 or by going to neco.com.au

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