power

It's official: The Philips 42PFL5603D consumes less power than any HDTV we've tested, regardless of screen size. The so-called Eco TV earned our nod for Best in Show at CES by hugging trees harder than any flat-panel HDTV yet. We based that decision partly on a Watts Up! power meter Philips had set up in its booth, which showed the 42-inch LCD sucking down electricity at a miserly rate between 60 and 80 watts (check out the video).

As proven by our somewhat more rigorous power consumption test, the Eco TV deserves a place next to your Prius, your low-flow toilet valve, and your almost-watched copy of An Inconvenient Truth. The display set new records among all of the HDTVs whose power use we've tracked, scoring an average of 91.23 watts in the default picture setting, 67.29 watts in the power saver mode--that's right, barely more than a standard incandescent light bulb--and just 0.33 watt in standby… Read more

A few weeks ago we mentioned the Cost Controller Power Strip, a device that indicates which appliances are doing the most damage in your monthly power bill. But a lot of green power strips are taking a more aggressive approach than just tracking numbers.

The "Powergard," for example, claims to store energy that would otherwise be wasted in the operation of inductive motors and then recycle it later, according to Electronic House. It also functions like a standard strip, regulating surges and power spikes.

Nevvus, which makes the Powergard, says it will save consumers up to 10 percent … Read more

If you bought a replacement power adapter for one of Apple's PowerBook and iBook notebooks--and you managed to hang onto the receipt for all these years--you'll soon be eligible for a refund.

Bloomberg notes that Apple has settled a lawsuit filed in 2001 over the tendency of power adapters sold with PowerBooks and iBooks to spark or overheat. Apple recalled some power adapters in 2001, but some customers felt the company didn't come clean about the full extent of the problems.

Cash refunds of between $25 and $79 will be issued by Apple to owners who bought … Read more

MENLO PARK, Calif.--Solar power hasn't swept the nation but it must and will, said members of utilities, clean-tech start-ups, venture capital firms, and academia at the Big Solar conference here Wednesday.

California will literally live up to its "Golden State" nickname and shine as a model for the rest of the country thanks to progressive lawmakers, Silicon Valley dealmakers, and innovators at state and university labs, according to the event's many optimists.

"The time has come in the United States for large-scale solar," said Ed Smeloff, senior manager of utility project sales at … Read more

OK, now it really is getting boring. T-Mobile announced today that it won yet another title from J.D. Power and Associates. This time the carrier took top honors in a survey of wireless retail sales satisfaction by hitting top marks in the four considered categories: sales staff, store display, store facility, and price/promotion. But T-Mobile wasn't alone at the top. Alltel trailed by two points to take second place while Verizon Wireless came in third. AT&T was rated as average and Sprint Nextel came in last with a below average rating in all four categories. … Read more

Even if your telecom operator gives you cellular coverage all the way into the heart of a tropical rainforest, it won't mean a thing if your mobile phone runs out of power. Here's a product that will address that problem: the Hand-Crank USB Power Charger sold on the National Geographic online store.

If your mobile phone can be charged using USB, it'll probably work with this. The idea is simple--plug in your phone and start cranking. You'll probably work up a sweat just trying to get one call.

This device costs $39.95 and includes adapters … Read more

The "slow food" movement came first, followed by "slow work" and even "slow medicine." Next, will people let the Internet relax a little for the sake of ecological sustainability?

Researchers are finding that data centers can make relatively simple power consumption tweaks that mimic those long available for personal computers, as New Scientist reports.

Energy-saving settings take several clicks to set up on Windows or Mac personal computers. But at data centers, where power consumption counts on a grander scale, equipment is often left on even when dormant.

Data centers' emissions of global warming … Read more

The Sanrio Empire may have seemed unusually subdued of late, but its campaign for world domination is still very much in high gear. In fact, the threat is more sever than ever, as it continues to target our natural resources.

Hello Kitty has already made her mark, so to speak, on the planet's heat sources and water supply. And now, acknowledging the green trend's growing momentum, the diabolical feline is now trying to seize control of solar energy as well.

The "Hello Kitty Solar-Power Charger" can juice up pretty much any handheld device, according to Chip … Read more

OptiSolar aims to build the largest solar farm in the world some 100 miles north of Los Angeles. It would amount to 550 megawatts and power the equivalent of 190,000 homes.

The Hayward, Calif., company aims to begin construction in 2010, assuming that San Luis Obispo County will approve permits being submitted in May.

OptiSolar's thin-film silicon photovoltaics can be placed close to the ground without needing a dramatic tilt, according to the company. OptiSolar says it uses about 1 percent of the silicon of competing crystalline systems, with nontoxic and recyclable equipment made largely of glass, metal, … Read more