New Home Products For Eco-Friendly Living

Having an eco-friendly home requires more than just installing bamboo floors and having a composter in the kitchen; it's also important to change our everyday behaviors. Fortunately, as the green movement continues to gain momentum, more and more products are becoming available to help regular people like us lead greener lives.

The Bware Water Usage Monitoring Meter is a new green gadget that attaches to toilets, faucets, and showers, and shows homeowners how much water they're using in real time. The Bware Meter uses no electricity, and the monitor is made out of recycled ABS.

By allowing us to see the amount of water we're using in the moment, we instantly become aware of the environmental impact of our actions. With this new awareness in place, we can adjust our behaviors so that we're using water in a much more responsible way.

If you're an avid recycler, but hate the mess that all your recycling containers create, then it's time to consider investing in an All-in-One Home Recycling Centre. Resembling a filing cabinet, the design of the Recycling Centre is minimalist and sleek. No more garish blue bins and overflowing containers!

Manufactured by Mode, the Recycling Centre replaces all your old recycling bags or bins. With large compartments for metal, glass, paper, and plastic, it's easy to stay organized. The Recycling Centre also has the handy feature of being able to crush cans, and can be programmed to notify you when it's recycling day.

If you're trying to teach your children to be environmentally responsible, Bill Nye has created his own recycling gadget called that Paper Recycling Factory. This kit teaches children how to turn scrap paper into greeting cards and stationary. The Paper Recycling Factory is a fun way to teach kids about the science of recycling, and to stimulate their creativity.

Got stains, but hate pouring chemicals all over your clothing? The BioWashBall is a new product that eliminates the need for laundry detergent. The ball works by releasing negative ions and increasing the wash water's pH level. These two processes work together to release dirt and stains from your clothes—without using chemicals that can cause skin irritation and pollute the earth.

Every time you purchase laundry detergent, you're shelling out money for plastic containers filled with chemicals that get released into the environment. One BioWashBall however, can be used for approximately 3 years before needing to be replaced, and is recharged by simple sunlight.

As the temperatures outside rise, so does our need for air conditioning. Unfortunately, air conditioning wracks up our energy bills, and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. One new solution is the GreenCore Solar Air Conditioner. Utilizing the power of the sun to charge the battery, this air conditioner provides environmentally responsible cooling.

When the sun's not shining and the batteries have run down, this unit switches automatically to AC power. Within just 3 hours, the batteries are fully recharged. A heating component can be added as well, so homeowners can stay warm on crisp nights using this unit.

Another option for home heating is the Radiator Booster, which circulates heat from your radiator throughout the room. This heats up the area more quickly, and causes your boiler to shut off in half the time. This device alone can reduce your heating bills by about 10%.

To reduce draughts year-round, Black & Decker has created the Thermal Leak and Draught Detector. A simple color-coded light tells you where cold spots are in your home, and where there may be flaws in your insulation. Once you've identified where the cold air is coming in from, you can repair the crack, or add insulation as necessary to fix the problem. The less draughts, the lower your energy bills will be.