Sorry for the lack of posts. You can find me at Builders Green Source Blog now!

Turn All of Your Lights of With One Switch

It is a switch that allows a user to turn off all non-essential electronic items in their home from a central switch. Push the button to turn your house on when you get home; push it again to turn it off when you leave. Aiming to make the green way the most convenient way, the House-off Switch was part of a larger project to encourage ‘green’ action among the environmentally disinfranchised.

The project searches for a kind of ‘environmental everyday’ where people take up ‘green’ behaviours because they want to rather than because they think they should. An everyday where ‘being green’ doesn’t imply sacrifice.

A more expensive version of the same concept has a central switch that also allows the inhabitant to leave some items plugged into safe sockets around the house which can be left on for security or peace of mind when everything else has been turned off at the central switch.

Yanko Design

The Bean Screen

The Bean Screen is a room divider that grows beans.

Traditionally, vegetables gardens are thought of as utilitarian, and the potential beauty of vegetable plants ignored in favor of non-edible ornamentals. I use existing negative space opportunities within the home to minimize the footprint of these products.

These pieces are using ready-made self-watering planters and T-5 fluorescent plant grow lights and the structure is made from Plyboo Strand and aluminum.
Coroflot

No Sponge Left Behind

Not too long ago, we took a closer look at the sponges in our kitchen and realized something profound. Almost every other product in the cleaning aisle has undergone some kind of evolution, while sponges have been the same for decades. We set out to turn the world of cleaning products on its head – combining design and environmental responsibility to create functional, beautiful, and responsible alternatives.

Twist

Lunabrite Eco-Friendly Lighting System

Lunabrite is a new system of linear lighting which can be used to guide the users of ways, bridge and other footbridges as night falls and help protect people, pets and property. Lunabrite is completely rechargeable and does not require batteries.

The Shower Hot Water Saver

A Simple Yet Effective Device, Automatically Used Every Time You Shower That Stops The Waste Of Hot Water, In Effect Saving You Money.

So efficient, that a family of three can save over $75.00 a year in wasted water costs, as well as the cost of heating that wasted water.

People are busy in the morning and most, don't have the luxury of time to stand around waiting for their shower to get warm. As a result, they turn on their shower and leave to perform another morning task, like brushing their teeth, while their shower is warming.

This "ritual" results in a significant water and energy waste because the shower is actually warm long before the user ever "jumps-in". In the tooth brushing scenario depicted above, ShowerStart would pause the shower's water flow after 46 seconds, thus preventing 60 seconds of additional waste. This translates into an annualized savings up to over 2,500 gallons of water, and over $75 in water heating costs.

How much will you save? That's hard to say for certain. There are a number of factors involved including behavior, utility costs and shower flow rate. We are certain however that on average people will reduce their utility bill by $.03 for every gallon of hot water saved. Sounds small at first, but it adds up over the course of a year.

rewci.com

Natural Swimming Pools

MICK HILLEARY, an industrial designer who builds zoo exhibits and trade show displays, and who expanded into residential pools five years ago, has found that Americans have a clearly defined idea of what constitutes a proper swimming pool.
The “natural pools” that Total Habitat builds are bordered with wood, planted with lush vegetation and free of chemicals like chlorine; they resemble nothing so much as a swimming hole. “It’s natural-looking, like a pond,” Mr. Hilleary said. “But the water looks so clean. People really want to swim in it, more than in a farm pond.”
Natural swimming pools (or swimming ponds, as they are called in Europe, where the concept originated 20 years ago) are self-cleaning pools that combine swimming areas and water gardens. Materials and designs vary — the pools can be lined with rubber or reinforced polyethylene, as in the case of Total Habitat’s, and may look rustic or modern — but all natural pools rely on “regeneration” zones, areas given over to aquatic plants that act as organic cleansers.
total habitat

From Oil Barrel To Side Table

Each model is unique and each design is one-of-a-kind. Check out the web site for the many different transformations from ugly trash into beautiful functional recycled furniture.
stanker

Bagel To Go!

Use an old CD spindle as a bagel transporter. What a neat way to reuse something that was just going to be tossed!

Econo Water Saving Device

A water saving device for potted plants, inspired by the Namibian beetles system of saving water by cleverly using evaporation and condensation to its advantage. this simple disc is called 'econo', designed to cover the
earth in your plant pot to catch the evaporating water leading it back to the plant, drastically reducing the amount necessary to water it. they calculated that it saves you up to 50% of water.
design 21

N+ew by Rodrigo Alonso

squirrelbait at Core 77 posted "Santiago, Chile-based design studio Musuc, or Rodrigo Alonso's "happy ideas lab," presents N+ew (No More Electronic Waste). N+ew is a functional object that makes use of discarded electronic devices and parts, granting this toxic trash a second chance at life. This project enlisted the help of technicians and professionals with expertise in metal smelting, counterfoil development and plastic resins. N+ew's development was also supported by Recycla Chile S.A., the first and only company which recycles electronic waste in South America."
via Core77

Peugeot Dauphin the Electric Vehicle

Peugeot Dauphin is a pure electric vehicle. It can be charged at home just like a cellular phone and the full charge takes just a little over six hours. For recharging just drive the Peugeot Dauphin for top of the Dock/ Recharging Station. The Peugeot Dauphin was designed/ created to be a smart vehicle with a high rate cost efficient and not to harm by any way the environment. An Electric vehicle with two magnetic motors designed to run almost noiselessly for as far as 300 kilometers on one charge. The electric motors are housed inside the vehicle rear wheels. Two Magnetic motors which are hybrid between electromagnets and permanent magnets. The Dauphin was designed to reach up speeds of 150 kilometers per hour. The reason which the vehicle is to be build with composite materials, carbon staple fibers with matrixes of bismaleimid and Epoxi resin. To guarantee high performances and safety standards with a very low weight structure. The Dauphin communicates wirelessly with your home computer ( internet server ), and you can receive information when ever you need it, maps, directions, phone calls... see it in dauphin incorporated wind-shield monitor and interact with it with the joystick / steering wheel special buttons.
yanko design

Havaleena LED Torch

A Havaleena “bouquet of lights” – or a single Havaleena – can be used indoors or out to provide illumination for life’s special moments.

The light owes its name to its elegant, lance-like form: “Havaleena” is an onomatopoeic translation of the Spanish word “Jabalina” or javelin. Like a javelin topped with a cylinder of light, the Havaleena’s sleek lines make it unique.

Havaleena can be customized –even personalized—through its versatile light diffuser system. Made of clear acrylic, the top of the Havaleena can be adapted to any color by changing the vellum filter inside the tube. Users can also create their own messages: “Thank you!” “You are the light of my life!” “Marry me…” are but a few examples of phrases that can be printed onto paper and used as filters. This makes the Havaleena a perfect gift for special occasions.
tayodesign