Electrolux UltraSilencer Green

Electrolux UltraSilencer Green canister vacuum cleaner

In August 2008, I reviewed an energy-efficient Eureka vacuum cleaner called the envirovac.

At the time, I gave the envirovac a thumbs up for performance, design and value. The bagless washable canister and filter meant that the vacuum wouldn't have any obvious recurring costs beyond its ultra-reasonable $72.22 price (via Wal-Mart).

But not everyone likes an upright vacuum. You can be an upstanding citizen (or even a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade) and still prefer a canister vacuum for example. (Here's a webpage by one canister-lover.)

So I was happy to have the chance to test the new Electrolux UltraSilencer Green canister vacuum that debuted in the US just a couple of months ago.

Although it sounds like some sort of weapon that 007 would use to dispatch his enemies in secret, the UltraSilencer Green is actually just a really quiet vacuum (maximum 71 decibels). If other vacuums sound like garbage trucks, the UltraSilencer Green is like a well-tuned Mazda Miata.

The UltraSilencer is not only compact and nicely designed, it's also lightweight and easy to transport around the house. The Electrolux website says the vac tips the scales at approximately 12 lbs. For comparison, Wal-Mart lists the shipping weight of the envirovac as nearly 20 lbs., though the comparison is obviously not apples-to-apples since packaging can certainly add to the shipping weight.

And while Eureka had packaged the envirovac in a recycled box, Electrolux goes one step further by reportedly using 55% recycled materials in the construction of the UltraSilencer Green, while making the vacuum itself 90% recyclable. I love the cradle-to-cradle design philosophy at work here, and Electrolux says that using the recycled materials in building the UltraSilencer Green saves 2 liters of crude oil and 80 liters of water per vacuum cleaner. ((Note that there are various UltraSilencers made by Electrolux. I presume that only the Green one has the recycled/recyclable characteristics.)

From a performance standpoint, I have to admit that I probably like the feel of upright vacuums a bit better, but I did appreciate the light weight and flexibility of the UltraSilencer Green's long hose. With enough use, I'd probably get used to manuevering the UltraSilencer Green around the apartment. Suction was certainly more than adequate enough to pick up small debris from hardwood floors and low-pile carpet. (In fact, the suction was strong enough to lift entire unsecured carpet tiles right into the air!)

I only really have one major gripe about the UltraSilencer Green. Although the Electrolux UltraSilencer Green is advertised as being 1/3 greener than comparable vacuums (presumably canister vacs), its 1250-watt maximum power usage is still significantly higher than the 960-watt needs of the 2008 envirovac. Since I like to that that efficiency marches hand in hand with progress into the future, it would have been nice if the UltraSilencer Green had used fewer than 960 watts, but perhaps canister vacs just have higher power needs (and better suction?) than upright vacs...

Where to buy:

You can buy the Electrolux UltraSilencer Green online through Bed Bath & Beyond for $299.

Disclosure - Electrolux lent me an UltraSilencer Green vacuum to review.

Vizio VO320E 32-inch LCD HDTV with Eco HD Performance

Vizio's energy-efficient VO320E 32-inch LCD TV

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I'd like to elaborate on a theme I raised a couple of weeks ago regarding the amazing advances in technology.

Free enterprise and capitalist competition sometimes (deservedly) get a bad rap for encouraging greed and gluttony, but the flip side is that this same competition is spurring firms to develop better products with a small physical and environmental footprint.

Last month, I talked about this phenomenon in the desktop PC market where my new Compaq CQ2009F computer uses approximately 70% less energy than the seven-year old machine it replaced, weighs 70% less (fewer raw material inputs), takes up less space and costs approximately 70% less than the previous machine.

The same forces are at work in other technology markets, including of course the television market. When my bought my last TV (again about seven years ago), I think the only two options were CRT tubes and projection televisions. Both types of sets were large, bulky and heavy. I bought a 20-inch Sony TV on 86th Street in Manhattan, found that the box was too big to fit into the trunk or backseat of a taxi cab and nearly gave myself a hernia trying to carry the box 8 or 9 blocks to my apartment. The TV weighed nearly 70 lbs.

I'm a value shopper. Last month, I finally decided that prices had fallen far enough that I could justify upgrading to a widescreen 32-inch LCD TV. (I knew that plasma televisions have a reputation as energy hogs, so I didn't even consider a plasma set. Plenty of other consumers are apparently making the same decision and most manufacturers have already exited the plasma TV market or announced plans to do so.)

Vizio's energy-efficient VO320E 32-inch LCD TV

After loads of research (much of it conducted with the help of the shopping website dealnews.com), I settled on the Vizio VO320E 32-inch LCD TDTV with Eco HD Performance. What drove my decision:

1) Performance - I had seen Vizio TVs in plenty of hotel rooms and figured that the sets must be at least somewhat durable for hotels to install them in rooms where they would get heavy usage. The technical specs (primarily contrast ratio, brightness, pixel response time and viewing angles) all looked pretty good.

2) Reputation - Other Vizio TVs had generally good reviews - or at least no worse reviews than many of the other brands in the market. Vizio also rose from obscurity to become the #1 selling brand of flat-panel HDTVs in North America in just a couple of years. I figured the company must be doing something right to see that kind of growth.

3) Price - Purchasing the TV through Dell's website and using some coupon codes highlighted by dealnews.com, I was able to buy the TV for under $400 (including tax and free shipping). That seemed like an excellent price for a 32-inch LCD TV with the specs and reputation of this Vizio.

4) Eco Factors - The Vizio VO320E is branded as an "Eco HD" television. Vizio's website says taht the VO320E consumes less energy than traditional HDTVs and exceeds current Energy Star Guidelines by at least 15%. The tech specs declare that the VO320E should use an average of 84.5 watts when operational and just 0.33 watts in stand-by mode. For the sake of comparison, I checked the posted specs for a variety of other 32-inch TVs:

• Sony's 32-inch Bravia L Series TV (KDL-32L5000) - 99.3 watts, $549.99 via Amazon
• Panasonic's 32-inch VIERA X1 Series (TC-L32X1) - 120 watts, $484.95 via B&H Photo
• Sharp Aquos 32-inch LC32D44U - 135 watts, $499 via Amazon

Now I did not have a chance to verify power consumption on all these other TVs with my handy Kill-a-Watt meter, but I did test the Vizio VO320E and found that it came pretty close to its claimed power consumption, generally drawing around 86 or 87 watts of electricity when in use. Watching analog or digital channels did not seem to make any difference in terms of power consumption.

I also liked the fact that the Vizio VO320E was lighter than many of the other 32-inch TVs I considered. The 32-inch Sony Bravia, for example, weighs approximately 28 lbs when mounted on its base pedestal. For comparison, the VO320E on its stand weighs just 22.5 lbs - nearly 20% less. Less weight equals less raw materials, which should generally mean a smaller environmental footprint. (Note that this calculation is really just educated guesswork since Company A could theoretically extract more raw materials and produce more plastic in a more eco-friendly manner than Company B, but in the absence of details on extraction and production methods, weight seems like a reasonable factor to consider when calculating the environmental impact of household machines.

Conclusions:

• Unfortunately, I no longer have the receipt for my old 20-inch CRT TV, but I'm fairly confident that the TV cost somewhere north of $500 when I purchased it back in late 2001 or early 2002. That makes the Vizio at least 20% less expensive for a television that weighs almost 70% less, is almost 80% thinner and provides a screen more than twice as large (as calculated by square centimeters) compared to the old TV. That certainly sounds like remarkable progress.

• LCD manufacturers are making remarkable strides in terms of power consumption. As measured in my original Kill-a-Watt review last year, the 20-inch Sony CRT required approximately 70-watts of power consumption. The new Vizio delivers a much brighter, clearer and more than twice as large image with only 25% more power. And the amount of electricity needed to power a flat-panel TV will surely fall further if history is any guide. Consider Vizio's VX32L LCD HDTV launched in 2007. That earlier generation Vizio LCD TV weighed 32 lbs (42% more than the VO320E) and had an average 180-watt power consumption! Take a minute to consider that fact - in just two years, Vizio lowered the power consumption on its 32-inch LCD TV sets more than 50%. If the trend continues, the latest generation 32-inch sets sold in 2011 will need only around 40 watts of power. A 2013 LCD TV will need only 20 watts of power and so forth. If we can achieve similar reductions in the energy needs of other household appliances, imagine the cumulative effect on the energy needs of the our nation and other nations around the world.

On the other hand...

• It's great to highlight the latest and most energy-efficient appliances and electronics, but do better/smaller gadgets solve our environmental problems or contribute to them? Consider that nothing was truly wrong with my old Sony CRT TV. The television still worked fine. In an age where television technology had stagnated, I (and millions of other consumers) would probably have kept our CRT televisions for another 10 or 20 years. My parents kept televisions for decades. The calculation is complicated by the fact that my new TV may be more efficient than my old TV (it certainly uses less energy than a 32-inch CRT), but in absolute terms it actually increased my energy consumption a little bit.

• To extrapolate on this last point, Good Clean Tech recently ran a story about a French report suggesting that any efficiency gains in electronics have been outweighed by skyrocketing demand. The argument goes something like this - each new PC may be more energy efficient, but if falling prices and increasing functionality prompt a family to upgrade from one family computer to four computers (one for each famly member), energy usage will actually go up.

How can consumers who are concerned about the environment deal with this challenge? It sounds obvious, but I think all of us simply need to consider the environmental impact of each purchase decision. Are you purchasing a new television because it will significantly enhance your quality of life or simply because you want the latest toy? Manufacturers are experts at stoking consumer wants and getting us excited about the latest bells-and-whistles on their gadgets. But is it worth going into debt or stressing the environment simply to keep up with the Gateses?

In our household, we watch a lot of movies on DVD and the new TV has made a huge improvement in this entertainment experience for only a small increase in energy usage. It's slim size has also made our one-bedroom NYC apartment seem a lot more spacious. So it's had a major impact on our lives, but I can't see upgrading to a larger or slimmer TV anytime soon unless the manufacturers had made another major improvement in energy efficiency - saying reducing the energy usage to just 20 watts without losing performance. (Of course, if efficiency improvements continue apace, we could reach that point in just another few years.)

Ultimately, I believe most people do want to reduce our impact on the environment. Simply by taking the time to consider environmental factors like energy consumption in our purchase decisions we can perhaps accelerate the move toward greater energy efficiency and lower overall energy usage.

Final thoughts - I haven't spent much time talking specifically about the Vizio VO320E's performance in this rather long review, but overall I'm extremely pleased. The picture is bright and beautiful - especially on digital HD channels. The menus are easy to use and the TV's scan feature found us several channels we could not access before. I only have three quibbles:

1. The remote control started acting very wacky on the first day of usage. Essentially, it started communicating with my stereo (turning it on and off) and refusing to communicate with the TV. After 10 nerve-wracking minutes, I finally managed to get the TV and remote talking to each other again. I'm still not sure what went wrong, so I'm a bit anxious at the thought it might happen again.

2. The VO320E lacks a headphone jack. As mentioned, I share a one-bedroom apartment and office with my spouse. Sometimes one of us wants to watch TV while the other works. Our old TV made this easy with a headphone jack right on the front panel. The Vizio VO320E has no headphone jack. Apparently, Vizio's consumer research indicates that most people don't want this feature and don't care about it, so Vizio eliminated it to save money. I do appreciate the good value of the Vizio set, but found the headset jack's absence extremely annoying. Ultimately, I was able to find a cable (RCA input to female headphone jack) at J&R that allowed me to connect the headphones, but encountered another problem when the volume controls on the TV had no impact on the uncomfortably loud sound coming through the headset. Fortunately, I had a backup pair of headphones with an in-line volume control on the headset wire. With this ad-hoc setup, we are able to watch TV and use the headphones, but it isn't very customer friendly.

3) The third quibble is the most annoying for me. Most television manufacturers insist upon putting obnoxiously large and prominent versions of their logo and name on the front of their television sets. Personally, I can't imagine why they think that viewers want to be distracted from their shows by obtrusive set logos. I'd prefer a tiny logo/name in the same color as the rest of the set. In any case, Vizio has outdone their competitors in the Logo Distraction wars by making their logo glow - orange when the set is off and white when the TV is on. I have to admit that the soft orange glow doesn't really bother me when the set is off. It wastes a little bit of power (which is annoying from an eco perspective), but I guess it also helps keep me from bumping into the set if I get out of bed in the middle of the night. On the other hand, having a glowing white logo below an active screen seems just totally idiotic.

I'm not the only one bothered by the glowing logo. Plenty of other online reviewers have complained and message boards are filled with Vizio owners asking if there's any way to turn off the glowing logo. (Apparently there isn't.)

In any case, there is an easy way to solve the problem - just go out to Staples or whichever office supply shop you like and buy some black card stock paper. Cut a little rectangle just large enough to completely cover the Vizio logo and tape it to the frame of the TV. If you pick your card stock carefully, the paper will be unobtrusive by day and invisible when watching the TV in a dark room. Again, this problem was not insurmountable, but forcing the customer to come up with an inventive solution to a unnecessary problem is just stupid from a design standpoint. At the very least, Vizio should give consumers a menu option to turn off the glowing logo. (I'd make the 'off' setting into the default option, but that's just me...)

Would I recommend the Vizio VO320E to a friend?

Yes. I still think this is a great TV for the price with nice eco-friendly qualities and efficiencies. I'd like to see Vizio address some of the flaws listed above, but in the meantime I've got plenty of leftover black card stock if you need it.

Where to buy:

Vizio's website directs shoppers to Walmart.com where the VO320E is on sale for $398.

Paragon Eco-Conditioner by Haier

I live in New York City, where we have four seasons - fall, winter, spring and 'smelly'.

With the last few days of 90-degree heat, we had an early introduction to the smelly season.

I also live in an apartment building that has centralized heating and air conditioning. According to the building's maintenance man, the air conditioning won't be turned on until May 15. Fortunately, the heat wave broke today, but the last couple of days I found myself wishing for a room air conditioner like the Paragon Eco-Conditioner(TM) from Haier America.

According to the press release I received today from Haier, the Paragon (model #ESAD4066) was just named by Consumers Digest as a "Best Buy" for Small Capacity room air conditioners.

Haier says that Consumers Digest called the Paragon "the most efficient room unit that you can buy."

As far as I can tell from the press release and online product descriptions, here are the key eco-friendly selling points:

1) Haier says the Paragon uses 11% less energy than other energy-efficient room air conditioners.

2) The air conditioner is Energy Star qualified.

3) In addition to providing cooling power, the Paragon also uses ultraviolet light to purify the air.

4) Apparently uses a refrigerant that does not damage the ozone layer (although I couldn't find any information on the product page about exactly what chemicals are used in the Paragon ESAD4066).

Very, very sadly, I did not have a chance to test this air conditioner myself this past week.

Where to Buy:

The Haier Paragon ESAD4066 is available via Amazon.com for $259.99 - $289.99 from several sellers.

Tidbits - Hilton Arc de Triomphe, Scandle, Earth Essentials Room Mists, Vespa S-50, Vectrix VX-1, Zipcar, Pizza Fusion, Preserve Gimme 5 and More!

Here are some eco-friendly product and destination Tidbits that caught our eye this month:

• Ah springtime in Paris! If you're visiting the City of Light, why not opt for an eco-friendly hotel. We've heard that the Hilton Arc de Triomphe is a leading participant in Hilton's We Care European Environmental Programme that emphasizes water efficiency, energy efficiency and waste reduction. The hotel may be functionally sensible, but it's also quite stylish. When we stayed at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe last September, we found that the hotel has a slinky, jazzy Art Deco feeling reminiscent of a 1930s ocean liner. If you're a member of Hilton's HHonor program (or if you've got the dough), try to swing an upgrade to the executive level where you'll have access to a super tasty morning-to-night buffet in the top-floor lounge. Kudos to the hotel for providing some relaxing green space via its lush, tropical and beautifully landscaped Andalusian courtyard.

• Looking for clothing that's comfortable, stylish, classy and organic? Sounds like a tall order, but actually Stonewear Designs has you covered on all counts with its Spring 2009 collection. A member of the Organic Exchange (a nonprofit working to promote organic agriculture), Stonewear Designs offers a range of comfy and flattering tops and pants perfect for yoga, jogging or just lounging around the house. The Stonewear website doesn't have a separate section for organic clothes, but if you browse the site, you'll notice that several stylish items including the Twister Top and Echo Sleeveless Top contain 90% organic cotton content.

• Like candles? Like body oil? Get the best of both worlds with The Scandle(R) Body Candle. As the candle melts, it produces a warm massage oil. It sounds a little painful, but actually feels quite relaxing. Scandle says all its candles are made with 100% natural ingredients like soy butter, shea butter, jojoba, vitmin E and essential oils. The 10-ounce candle ($24.95-$25.95 MSRP) comes packaged in a re-usable ceramic container. You can then purchase additional candles on their own at www.abodycandle.com and insert them into the container. The travel size 4-ounce candle ($12.95 MSRP) comes in a metal tin made from recycled materials. FYI, Scandle says its petroleum-free candles use a 100% cotton wick. Purchase Scandle online or search for a store near you.

• It's nice to see eco-friendly products make their way further into mainstream stores. The most recent evidence of this trend: CVS has begun selling its own brand of Earth Essentials(TM) Aromatic Room Mists. Packaged in recyclable 7-ounce aluminum cans, the room mist uses a non-aerosol spray to disperse essential oils. The mist itself is apparently non-toxic, fully biodegradable and has not been tested on animals. The mists are available in CVS stores nationwide and at CVS.com for $3.99. Interestingly, I've been reading lately how essential oils have excellent antimicrobial properties, which suggests that using essential oils to freshen the air could kill nasty bacteria and viruses at the same time... (Here's another related story on the potent power of peppermint essential oil from Discovery.com...)

• Did you shiver through last winter? Or are you looking for a way to lower your cooling bill this winter? Maybe more home insulation could save you money and make your home more eco-friendly by cutting down on the energy required to heat and cool your house. Johns Manville claims to be ahead of the curve in completely removing formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, from its fiberglass attic insulation. Johns Manville also says that it uses the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled glass (20% percent) among all fiberglass insulation makers. Click on the Where to Buy link on Johns Manville's homeowner website to find a contractor near you who carries Johns Manville insulation.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #1 - The Vespa S-50 (MSRP $3,199). Introduced late last year, this scooter offers classic Italian styling, top speed of 39 mph and sips gasoline at 85-90 mpg. Available now at a Vespa Dealer near you.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #2 - The 100% electric 2009 Vectrix VX-1 (MSRP $10,495). An update of the first Vectrix scooter introduced in late 2007, the 2009 VX-1 is highway-legal with a top speed of 62 mph and an approximate range of 35-55 miles. Since Vectrix scooters burn no gasoline, they're much better for the environment than vehicles with internal combustion engines. If the price seems a little steep, look out for the VX-2 (30 mph top speed, 40-50 mile range, MSRP $5,195) scheduled to arrive in Vectrix dealerships by this coming June.

• Alternative eco-friendly transportation option #3 - Scooters aren't ideal for carrying huge loads (although they can manage in a pinch, apparently).
  If you only need a car occasionally, why endure the enviromental waste and expense of owning your own vehicle when you can share a fleet of cars with a bunch of other folks in the same situation. That's the premise behind various car-sharing services including Zipcar, U Car Share, Mint (NYC only) and Connect by Hertz. Save money on parking, gasoline (generally included in the car-sharing hourly rates), insurance, maintenance and more while still having access to a car when you need it most.

• Pizza Fusion is a chain of pizza restaurants with locations in 13 states using organic ingredients in its pizzas, delivering pizzas in hybrid vehicles, offsetting 100% of its energy use with renewable energy certificates, serving food in containers made from corn starch, providing utensils made from potatoes and generally adhering to a lengthy and extremely impressive list of environmentally-friendly practices. How about the taste? It generally gets good reviews on sites like Yelp, particularly from folks who like the vegan and gluten-free options.

• Looking for a way to recycle #5 polypropylene plastic (used in many containers for yogurt, cottage cheese and other dairy products)? Many municipal recycling programs do not accept #5 plastics. That's why Preserve, Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm have teamed up with Whole Foods to let customers drop off #5 plastics in "Gimme 5" bins at a growing list of Whole Foods stores. Preserve then recycles the plastics into a wide array of kitchen and bath products -- some of which we have previously reviewed here on 1GreenProduct.com.

• There are lots of hip (and often expensive) organic cotton shirts out there, but sometimes you just want a basic long-sleeve organic cotton t-shirt. For those occasions, Macys delivers in spades with its Field Gear Organic Long Sleeve Tee (MSRP $39.50, but we've seen the sale price fluctuate between $9.99 and $14.99). Given the sale price, we found the shirt is surprisingly comfy and well made. The cotton had a substantial, almost sueded feel and even a couple of grommets under the arms for ventilation.

• Men looking for white organic cotton underwear have an option with the Calvin Klein Naturals collection available in boxer brief, trunk and classic brief styles. (Note - The underwear is technically available in black and willow colors too, but when we tried ordering some black briefs from Amazon.com, we received the white underwear by mistake. When we returned the product and tried again, we got the white underwear the second time too. That's why we think you can have any color you want, as long as it's white.)

• Not satisfied with the expert eco-friendly reviews here at 1GreenProduct.com? You can get loads of reviews from consumers like yourself at Buzzillions.com, a site where verified purchasers write reviews about products they've bought. Buzzillions has lots of non eco-friendly products, of course, but they've also got sections on Energy Star products, products made with recycled materials (more than 300 reviews on the Keen Ventura Canvas shoe!) and organic products. Don't be surprised if a given product, like that popular Keen shoe mentioned above, shows up in more than one category. FYI, Buzzillions said they would monitor this blog and would be happy to get comments/feedback on how 1GreenProduct.com readers like their site. This is your soapbox! Feel free to speak out.

• Should every business strive to be a Green business? In the sense that being Green means reducing waste and figuring out how to improve efficiency, the answer is probably Yes. If you're a small business owner looking for some practical ideas on making your business more eco-friendly in the hopes of saving some money, improving customer loyalty, boosting employee motivation and having a lighter impact on the planet, you might glean some useful information from Daniel Sitarz's new book, Greening Your Business. (FYI, publisher EarthPress says it prints on 100% recycled post-consumer waste paper using soy-based inks and offsets its carbon emissions with the purchase of wind-energy credits used to subsidize the construction of wind turbines on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.)

Air Purification Week -- Blueair Eco10

Welcome to installment #2 of Air Purification Week here at 1GreenProduct.com!

On Monday, we explained that indoor air pollution can be a real health concern according to the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Air purifiers can be help improve indoor air quality, but of course it's best from an eco standpoint to get one of the greenest and most energy-efficient air purifiers on the market.

Which brings us to today's featured air purifier - the Blueair ECO10.

Blueair promises that the Eco10 will get the job done (i.e. clean the air) while using up to 95% less energy than other air cleaners in its class.

Thanks to our trusty Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter (available from Current Energy), we're able to test just how much energy the Eco10 actually uses.

First, we have to admire the simplicity of the Eco10 purifier which has just three settings operated by one sturdy knob:

1) Off
2) Minimum HEPASilent(TM) speed
3) Maximum speed

On HEPASilent speed, the Eco10 draws just around 6 watts of power.

Even more impressively, on Maximum speed, it uses only between 10-11 watts of power. (This pretty much matches the literature on Blueair's website, which claims maximum 10 watt usage.)

According to Blueair, the 10 (or 11) watt power usage is "nearly 10 times more energy efficient than the minimum performance requirements for energy-efficient room air purifiers established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its ENERGY STAR program."

What else is there to like about the Blueair Eco10?

1) Excellent build quality. The Eco10 feels solid, which is probably because it's made in Sweden out of high-quality galvanized steel.

2) Great design. We like the fact that the Eco10 doesn't have any bells or whistles. There's just one knob that controls the on/off and fan speeds. The external parts are "powder coated for endurance and environmental protection (with no introduction of chemical outgassing)," according to Blueair. Translation - this machine should last and keep looking good in your home for many years.

3) Wheels! By U.S. standards, we have a relatively small home (600+ square feet), but there are still times you want to move the purifier from the bedroom to the living room, or from the office to the kitchen. Having smooth, easy-rolling wheels on the bottom of the Eco10 makes all the difference in the world.

4) Quiet. The first page of the Blueair Eco10 manual cautions that you might not hear anything when you plug in and turn on the air purifier. If the cool blue power light is on, everything is probably OK. "Bueair is so quiet on min speed, you may not realize it's on," says the manual. Believe it or not, that's really true. But the fan is on and pulling air through the filters to help you breathe easier.

5) Great design #2. Many air purifiers have a filter on one side (usually the back). Put the air purifier next to a wall and you may end up blocking most of the air flow and thus purification power. The Eco10 has three intake filters - one on each side of the unit and one on the bottom. (The bottom filter is made possible since the unit is elevated on wheels - another reason we like the wheeled design.) Clean air returns to the room through the top of the unit and also on each side after passing through one of three Polypropylene HEPA-Silent Filters. We're not the only ones who like the Eco10's design -- it has won a design award in Sweden and is even featured in the permanent collection of Stockholm's National Museum!

6) Lifetime warranty. The Blueair website indicates that the Eco10 comes with a lifetime warranty against defects in material or workmanship, provided that you change the filters every six months. (Interestingly, the user's guide that came with our unit mentioned only a 10-year warranty, but perhaps Blueair has upgraded the warranty since then...)


Incidentally, the warranty brings up one of the few drawbacks we could find in the Blueair Eco10 -- there are three filters that need to be changed every six months. A set of three filters (available directly through Blueair) costs $139.95, which could add up over time.

(The small air intake inlets can simply be vacuumed with a brush attachment, according to the user's guide.)

You could call the price another drawback. The Blueair Eco10 retails for $929.95 through Blueair's website.

We'll finish on a high note by mentioning something else that could justify a Blueair investment. The user's guide notes that Blueair air purifiers are built for years of use and are designed to be disassembled so the components can be recycled after the product has eventually reached the end of its working life.

We're not sure how many buyers will actually go to the trouble fo figuring out how to recycle their Blueair instead of just discarding it. It would be nice if Blueair had some sort of program to pick up and recylce old units. But at least the company tries to build durable products and thinks about how parts of these products can be recycled years down the road. From our experience, that's pretty a pretty rare attitude for a manufacturer to have and one that wins significant kudos from 1GreenProduct.com

Where to buy:

You can order the Blueair Eco10 online directly through Blueair's website (second to last machine from the bottom of the list, $929.95), but you may be able to find it elsewhere at a significant discount.

When we checked, Amazon.com had the Eco10 for around $712. Through Shopping.com, we found another highly-rated online retailer called Air & Water selling the Eco10 for $699.95 including free shipping.

Air Purification Week -- Sharp Air Purifier KC-C150U

Sure, you've heard of Fall Fashion Week, maybe technology week or auto week. Heck, even the Discovery Channel (and the awesome Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) celebrate Shark Week.

But now we inaugurate the first ever (to our knowledge) Air Purification Week!

That's right - one week, three posts, all devoted to some of the greenest, most eco-friendly air purifiers on the market.

And why should you care about air purification? Well perhaps because metaphorically, the air we breathe in our homes could be comparable to the dirty fish tank scene from Finding Nemo!

Put another way, indoor air pollution is a big problem. For a comprehensive look at the issue, check out The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Pollution from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here's one excerpt from the guide's introduction -

In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.

The guide has many suggestions for ways to improve air quality. Some of the suggestions involve better ventilation or allergen-proof mattresses. But the guide also discusses the virtues of air cleaners, while also emphasizing the importance of 'source control'. (In other words, if you have moldy carpets, get rid of them.)

Which brings us to our round up of some of the most eco-friendly and energy-efficient air purifiers on the market. Thanks in advance to all three companies for giving us a chance to test their products.

We start with the Sharp Air Purifier KC-C150U.

Sharp says that unit uses a triple filtration system consisting of -

1) A permanent washable pre-filter that traps dust and other large airborne particles

2) A washable active carbon filter to absorb odors

3) A true HEPA filter with an antimicrobial coating to trap 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. The HEPA filter should catch pollen, smoke, dust, dust mites, dander and mold spores.

Now the KC-C150U is a little pricey (MSRP $499.99), but it's worth noting that Sharp says maintenance costs should be low since the active carbon and True HEPA filters should last 5 years before replacement in average conditions. (Some other air purifiers require yearly filter replacement, which can quickly run into serious money.)

Sharp has also incorporated a proprietary air cleaning method called Plasmacluster ion technology into the KC-C150U. According to Sharp, Plasmacluster is "the leading air purification technology in Japan". What's more, the technology has supposedly been refined to the point that it is now on its 5th generation and therefore twice as efficient as the previous generation of the technology.

Just what is Plasmacluster technology? Here's how Sharp describes it -

Plasmacluster Technology splits water molecules into positively and negatively charged ions which spread through the room, surrounding airborne particles. This system effectively treats the air the way nature cleans the environment, just after a thunderstorm or near waterfalls, to help keep the air healthier and cleaner smelling.

To make it easier for the Plasmacluster to work as intended, Sharp has also incorporated a humidifier into the air purifier. So if you live in a desert environment or just need a bit of extra humidification in the dry winter months, the KC-C150U could solve two problems at once.

(Note that the humidifier has its own filter, which the KC-C150U manual indicates should be replaced every two years.)

So far so good, but what makes the KC-C150U a good Green choice?

Sharp says that the KC-C150U is 35 percent more energy efficient than standard models -- good enough to win an ENERGY STAR rating.

Thanks to our Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter (available from Current Energy), we can actually test these claims. Based on our tests, here is the sort of electricity consumption you can expect from the KC-C150U (with humidifier off) measured in watts.

On Maximum power - 75 watts
On Medium power - 14 watts
On Low power - 5 watts (!)

Note that using the Plasmacluster function (which can be turned on or off) didn't seem to affect energy usage much, although switching off the lights on the front of the unit did seem to save 1-2 watts.

I tend to leave the KC-C150U on auto, which seems use the low fan speed, but just a smidgen more power (7 watts). The auto setting really does seem able to detect whether it needs to ramp up the fan. One evening when a neighbor in an apartment down the hall was smoking, I used the KC-C150U to erase the smoke smell from my home. The unit worked on medium power until the smoke particles were trapped and then lowered itself to minimum power once the smell was gone.

Does it work as directed? Yes, the KC-C150U does seem to do a good job at trapping both particles and odors. It's easy to tell that the KC-C150U traps dust because the outer filter gets dusty fairly quickly, at which point you just snap it off and vacuum or rinse off the dust.

We were very impressed with the unit's quiet operation, which Sharp calls Library Quiet (TM) and compares to rustling leaves. We're not sure the unit sounds quite as nice as rustling leaves, but the KC-C150U does provide a soothing sort of white noise to have in the background when operating on the lowest power setting.

Things we're not crazy about -

1) The KC-C150U is made in China and feels/looks a bit plasticky. The design (particularly the integration of the humidifier) is very clever, but we still would have liked to see slightly higher quality materials for the nearly $500 MSRP.

2) Wheels! Another air purifier we tested had a set of wheels on the bottom. This wouldn't cost Sharp very much to add on the design and makes it ten times easier to shift the purifier around your apartment or house as needed.

Overall, we think the KC-C150U is certain
ly an excellent choice if you need a humidifier and an air purifier. After all, it's certainly eco-friendly to combine two separate machines into a single energy-efficient device.

Maintaining the humidifier (per the manual) and keeping it clean takes a bit of extra work, so if you already live in a humid environment, you may want to opt for a different purifier. Basic Sharp models can be much more cost-effective. If you don't need the Plasmacluster technology, for example, you could get the FP-P35CX - which still has a True HEPA filter - for just $229.99 (MSRP).

Where to buy:

You can purchase the Sharp KC-C150U for $499.99 directly from Sharp or at resellers such as Newegg.com (which offers the discount price of just $379.99). Abt.com also has the KC-C150U for $379.

The Sharp KC-C100U offers the same features for smaller spaces (254 square feet vs 347 square feet for the KC-C150U) and costs a bit less - $399.99 directly through Sharp or just $329.90 through Amazon.com.

Home / Technology - Kill A Watt™ EZ Electricity Meter

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we're incredibly thankful for all the support and enthusiasm from our wonderful readers. (Yes, we’re talking about you.)

We hope you get to eat your fill today of sustainable, local and organic food.

We're also thankful for gadgets that make it easier for us to live greener. For example, we're grateful for the Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter, which came to us courtesy of Current Energy.

The Kill A Watt is a nifty device that lets you measure how much energy your refrigerator, computer, microwave, lamp, stereo, TV and other appliances use.

You just plug the Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter into an outlet, then plug the appliance into the Kill A Watt. The LCD display can display power consumption in volts, amps, kilowatt hours (kWh) or watts.

If you know the rate your utility company charges for energy (usually expressed in kilowatt hours), the Kill A Watt will even tell you how much your appliance costs to run.

In our line of work, the Kill A Watt is invaluable for measuring the accuracy of manufacturer claims. In fact, we've been using the Kill A Watt to test the energy efficiency of appliances like the Sharp Air Purifier KC-C150U or the Blueair ECO10 (two of the air purifiers we'll be featuring during next week's special 1GreenProduct.com Air Purification Week!)

We plan on employing the Kill A Watt regularly as a way of verifying that the products we profile really do help you make your home more energy efficient.

Of course, we won't have a chance to test all the products you already own. Therefore, you might want your own Kill A Watt to determine which appliances use the most energy, giving you the ability to make decisions about which appliances to replace if you wanted to lower your energy bill (and shrink your eco footprint).

Although you can leave the Kill A Watt plugged in to measure average energy usage and costs over time, we suspect you'll often get a good idea of energy usage just by plugging your appliance into the Kill A Watt for a few minutes. So why not lend the Kill A Watt to your friends and neighbors? There's no reason why 3, 5 or 10 households couldn't all benefit from a single Kill A Watt device.

In terms of gripes, we did find the instruction pamphlet slightly confusing. We also wish the Kill A Watt were made in the USA, to reduce the pollution costs associated with shipping from its Chinese manufacturer. And wouldn't it make sense if a device intended to help people live greener lives could incorporate a bit of recycled plastic into the design of the device itself (as with the HP Deskjet D2545)?

Enough grumbling. What did we find in testing the 1GreenProduct.com household? Here's how our appliances stacked up according to the Kill A Watt:

• Fan = 36-43 watts (depending on fan speed. Interestingly, the top speed uses almost the same energy as the lowest speed...)
  
• 20-inch CRT TV = fluctuates around 70 watts
  
• DVD = 12-15 watts
  
• Treadmill = 107 watts (at 2 miles per hour)
  
• Lamp with 60-watt ncandescent bulb turned on = 61 watts
  
• Lamp with 13-watt CFL bulb turned on =14 watts
  
• Sharp air purifier (low setting) = 5 watts!
  
• Sharp air purifier (high setting) = 75 watts
  
• Blueair air purifier (low setting) = 6 watts
  
• Blueair air purifier (high setting) = just 10-11 watts!
  
• Toshiba 15-inch laptop = 27 watts
  
• Compaq desktop (Presario 6000) = 70-109 watts, depending on what the processor is doing
  
• 17-inch LCD monitor =32 watts
  

Incidentally, based on these tests, it seems that a laptop is a much more energy efficient choice than a desktop and monitor. Even taking into account the fact that we were testing an old desktop computer and that desktop efficiency has improved, we still ended up using a minimum of around 100 watts for the desktop and monitor combined versus 27 watts for the laptop. (Naturally the equation changes if you're using a desktop like the 11-watt  Zonbu Desktop Mini...)

Where to buy:

A Google search will reveal lots of places to buy the Kill A Watt. We obtained our sample unit thanks to the generosity of  Current Energy, a Dallas-based company that operates what it calls the world's first energy efficiency store™.

You can order the  Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter ($56)- along with lots of other nifty energy efficient products, through Current Energy's online store.

PureAyre Odor Eliminator

One of the little tricks I have for deciding what products to buy is to look at the warning label.

If the label screams CAUTION! or DANGER!, I think twice about putting the can or bottle in my pantry or bathroom. 

So even though I find it ... helpful to keep a scented spray in the bathroom, I'm not fond of the bilingual (Spanish and English) caution warning on the back of the bottle. Most of these scent sprays are pressurized, which explains the bulk of the warning (keep away from fire, flame or pilot light, container may burst at temperatures over 120 degrees Fahrenheit, do not puncture or incinerate, etc.) There are also bold warnings to keep the product out of reach of children and pets, and an additional warning that deliberately concentrating and inhaling the contents can be fatal.

Phew. 

In contrast, the unpressurized spray bottle of PureAyre Odor Eliminator label is much friendlier, sporting the big bold letters "COMPLETELY SAFE AND 100% READILY BIODEGRADABLE".

Now that's what we like to hear! 

Where our old scented spray didn't even bother to provide us with an ingredient list, PureAyre explains that it's made of just distilled water, food grade enzyme technology, natural mint and food grade preservative.

So how does it work and what's this about 'food grade' ingredients?

First the 'food grade' part. According to PureAyre, the enzymes and preservatives it uses are not only non-toxic, but actually edible. That's right, if you're cooking up an odiferous dish of liver with garlic and onions, you can actually spray PureAyre around the kitchen without worrying about risks from ingesting any droplets that settle on the food. 

(PureAyre does include what it calls "Common Sense Precautions" on the label, noting that PureAyre is not meant for internal use! It also says that in case of direct eye contact, you should rinse your eye with cool water if necessary. But frankly that's probably good advice if you got anything sprayed in your eye!)

So back to the original question - how the heck does PureAyre eliminate odors anyway? PureAyre says that the naturally occuring plant-based enzymes in its spray actually break apart odor molecules to clean the air and permanently eliminate odors.

Want more information? Wikipedia has a nice page on Enzymes and wikiHow talks more about enzyme-based odor removal. 

Note that if the odor source comes from a stain or spill on a carpet, rug or sofa, you'll need to find a way to penetrate to the source of the odor to completely eliminate the smell. PureAyre has a booklet (available online in English and French) that explains useful techniques on deoderizing carpets, fabrics, furniture, floors. There's even specific advice on eliminating skunk spray from pets or eliminating odors onboard boats and RVs. 

Does it work? You betcha. In our testing, we found that PureAyre performs better and more quickly than the old scented spray. It really does seem to eliminate the unpleasant odors rather than just masking them or covering them up. And we really like the minty smell that PureAyre leaves in its wake. (We think it was smart of PureAyre to add the minty scent since most everyone is a fan of mint. But perhaps there should be a completely unscented version too for people who prefer no smells at all?)

Personally, I'm looking forward to taking a small spray bottle of PureAyre with me to Europe this fall. If I find myself in any smoky hotel rooms - or perhaps even smoky restaurants - I can take out my PureAyre and start spraying! 

Where to buy:
You can buy PureAyre online ($19.99 for 22-ounce bottle to $175 for a kit that includes a portable electric fogger).

Offline, find PureAyre at PetCo Stores (nationwide, $7.19-$10.39 on sale) and at Whole Foods (West Coast only).

FLOR Modular Carpeting / Act2GreenSmart Sweepstakes Winners!

I'm a big happy face guy.

I doodle happy faces all the time.

So I was pretty much overjoyed to discover that I could carpet my apartment in eco-friendly happy faces thanks to FLOR Modular Carpeting.

Flor's new approachably hip Alexander Girard Fonda del Sol collection contains a cornucopia of cheery smiling faces. You can choose from four different styles to match the color palate of any apartment.

Of course, happy faces are cool, but eco-friendly happy face carpeting is even sweeter.

FLOR says that its carpet products are formaldehyde-free and meet the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Green Label Plus standards for VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions.

We love the fact that FLOR has a super-strong Return & Recycle program. Let's say you get tired of happy faces (impossible!) and decide to switch to the cow-themed Stampede design. FLOR will arrange for your old tiles to be picked up, returned and recycled - all at no cost to you.

What happens to old tiles after they're recycled? Some of them probably get turned into FLOR's Fedora tiles that contain 80% post-consumer fibers and are sold for just $6.99 per tile.

(As for the backing on FLOR carpet tiles, that contains at least 39% pre-consumer recycled content. Various FLOR styles are also made from renewable materials including cotton, wool and even corn!)

Want more info? You can get an overview of FLOR's green side at FLORisGreen.com.

For now, I can't imagine returning and recycling my floor tiles. I've got six faces smiling up at me each day, protecting my floor, adding a bit of spring to my step. Life is good.

Where to buy:

You can purchase FLOR online or offline at select retailers. Prices generally range from $6.99 (Fedora) to $19.99 (Counting Sheep). The La Fonda Del Sol collection is sold in sets of six-tile rugs for $159.99 each. You can of course buy more than one set to spread the happy faces even further throughout your home.

We have our winners!

Congratulations to our two winners of the recently concluded 1GreenProduct.com Act2GreenSmart sweepstakes!

Paula from Garden City, Michigan won an Act2GreenSmart messenger bag, while Barbara from Parkersburg, West Virginia won an Act2GreenSmart tote.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Sweepstakes. Remember, as long as you're an active subscriber to our 1GreenProduct.com email updates, you're automatically registered to enter any upcoming sweepstakes.

We'll be on the road quite a bit this month (stay tuned for European green travel updates), but you can look forward to some new eco-friendly sweepstakes in October!

JCPenney Simply Green Collection

When times are tough, we must all tighten our belts.

Perhaps reconsider the annual summer jaunt to the Riviera. Skip the pedicure when getting a manicure.

But shall we give up our environmental ideals and settle for non-green products? Never!

Relax. There's no need to get so emotional because JCPenney has introduced a complete line of amazingly affordable eco-friendly home and fashion products with its Simply Green collection.

The items in the Simply Green collection adhere to three basic principals:

1. Organic (grown without synethetic pesticides or fertilizers)
2. Renewable (at least 25% of the content from a source like bamboo or soy that regenerates at a rate equal or greater to the rate at which it is harvested)
3. Recycled (containing content left over from the production process or reclaimed after consumer use)

We had a chance to review some of the Simply Green home furnishings products first-hand:

• The 300 threadcount cotton and bamboo rayon blend sheets (on sale for $19.99 to $59.99) may not be quite as breathable as 100% cotton, but they have a sumptuous feel - particularly for the price. They haven't gone through the wash yet, but the build quality seems strong and durable.
  

• The 100% organic cotton woven blanket (on sale for $39.99 to $44.99) has a great summer weight, but we recommend washing it before use to remove any loose fibers. (Using the blanket on the couch before washing, we found that light-colored blanket + dark-colored pants = lots of visible fuzz.)

• The 100% organic cotton towel (on sale for $5.99 to $9.99) is a fantastic green value as far as we're concerned. Dries quickly, has an appealing soft texture and holds its color well (at least through initial washing). What's not to like?

Frankly, at these sale prices, all the green products listed above seem like excellent buys.

Where to buy:
Order online at JCPenney.com or at more than 1,000 JCPenney retail stores nationwide.