What: The Smart Thermostat

Where: EnergyHub – coming soon!

Why We Love ‘Em: Not sure if any of you have ridden in a Prius, but we got to take a tour of Oregon in a Prius through wine country to the coastal sand dunes and along the Columbia River.  Along the way, it was hard not to get caught up in the game of how high the miles per/gallon was particularly the amount of energy we were gaining on the downhill from Mount Hood. Felt like we were able to get better mileage because we were more aware of the amount of energy we were using at any point in time. So imagine if you could monitor your household energy consumption in the same way…

Seth Frader-Thompson was also intrigued by the dashboard energy monitor of the Prius and decided to build a ‘dashboard’ for the home – the Smart Thermostat. It connects wirelesses to your furnace, water heater and other appliances and lets you know how much energy each one is using and how much that energy costs. You can ‘power down’ your house with the click of the button and the system will monitor energy hogs with the ability to turn down appliances that using more than their fair share of energy.

Not yet on the market, but due out soon. You can sign-up to be on their waiting list.

Here are some other energy monitoring models on the market at Unplgged.

Who: Home Depot/Arnell Group

What: Home Hero Fire Extinguisher

Where: Home Depot, in stores only, $29.97 (call ahead to make sure it is in stock)

Why: Out of an unexpected partnership with the Home Depot and the ever dynamic Arnell Group, comes a revolutionary new (okay, new as of 2007) fire extinguisher, the HomeHero. No longer is the life saving device an eyesore to be hidden in the dark recesses of a closet, now it is truly display worthy!

Recognizing the danger of tucking clunky red fire extinguishers out of site, the designers at Arnell completely reinvented it. The result; an updated and modern take on an old standby that perfectly melds form and function.

The new design is ergonomic (you can use it with one hand) and effective, with less recoil and an improved spray stream ideal for putting out grease or electrical fires. All in a sleek simple package and, word is that you can buy decorative sleeves to dress your HomeHero up without obscuring the directions on the back. Maybe, they did too good of a job, as your friends and family likely won’t even recognize it.

And is it green? Well, let’s just say burning plastic and styrofoam? Not so green…..

What: Bagboy purse holder

Where: Up to You in Toronto, $20; La Boutique du Futur, 10 euros; also available at select Black Ink stores in the states

Why: I just gave this handy little guy to a friend for her birthday, so now I can finally post his picture up on the site! I’ve been out with her a few times when she’s propped him up on the bar, and I must say, men and women alike cannot keep their eyes off of him, everyone loves him! He gleefully hangs on to tables and bars keeping your purse free from the crud and grunge lingering below. A man of recycled steel who is helpful and cute and never complains about holding on to his gal’s purse! Who could resist? But hands off mine! Get your own.

What: Cool Feet

Where: Bluelounge, $12.95

Why: True to the name, most laptop users place their laptops on their laps, unknowingly blocking the air vents located on the bottom of the computer. This results not only in an overheating of your lap, but more critically, an overheating of the computer.

This forces the less powerful side and back vents to work in overdrive and use more energy in order to cool the computer down. If you notice that your laptop frequently powers down or freezes while the laptop is perched in your lap, overheating is likely the cause. Most of us, myself included, try to instantly power our laptop back up without letting it cool-this could ultimately lead to damage to the hardware or worse, the motherboard.

So, to preserve the electronics in your laptop, it is best to use it on a hard surface as their are small pads on the base of your laptop that allow for a little breathing room. If you must browse in bed, consider leaving a gap between your cushy comforter and your laptop. Or try out these clever Cool Feet. Simply stick the suction cupped feet onto the base of your laptop and you will allow for extra breathing room.

Note this quote from Techwarelabs: “Every ten degrees higher your processor runs (on average), its life is cut in half.” Here are some other tips from eHow.com on how to reduce the risk of overheating your laptop.

Who: Vers Audio; Wayland, MA

What: Bamboo iPod Docking Station

Where: Vers Audio, $179.99-$199.99, free shipping & get $30 off if you recycle your old docking station

Why: Not all i-pod docking stations are created equal. Vers Audio offers a unique and sleek solution to the i-pod docking station. With sustainability in mind, they avoided plastics, glues and non-recyclable components to create a high performing audio system. Using all natural woods from sustainable managed forests, using screws instead of glues and using recyclable packaging along with an 80% more efficient amplifier, the result is an eco-friendly system that looks great! Will keep you posted on the sound quality-it would make sense that the tones resonating from woods would be far superior to those from plastics………

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Update: July 28, 2008 – Thanks for the votes of confidence–I am now the proud owner of a Vers!! And I have to agree the sound quality is great and the design is impeccable.  Note to buyer’s, word is that Vers most recent order from the manufacturer got lost in the mail so there is limited supply right now and the Vers site only has cherry availabe.  Also, have heard the complaint that if you use your i-phone with the Vers, the i-phone automatically switches to ‘airplane’ mode meaning that you will not be able to receive incoming calls.