With winter now officially barking at your door, it may be an opportune time to consider adding another component to your home heating arsenal — an inexpensive ceramic space heater like the Crane EE – 6490. Crane’s stylish compact heater can easily keep a small home office toasty and warm, while allowing you to set the rest of your home’s thermostats a few degrees lower to save on your monthly heating bill.

Details: 600/1200 watts settings, a compact 8″ tall, and whisper quiet. The heater also features a tip-over switch and overheat protection.

$34.99 @ amazon.com

Related:  more eco-friendly home products featured on The Alternative Consumer

The product has vast, global potential, particularly in developing countries where there is an urgent need for water purification. It will be interesting to see how Philips plans to market its product worldwide.

Related: more green gadgets featured on The Alternative Consumer

The home laundry room goes hi-tech…Samsung has introduced its new WiFi-enabled WF457 washer and dryer at this week’s CES in Las Vegas. The washer’s Smart Control system allows consumers to stay connected to the washer cycle without having to remain in close proximity to the machine. Consumers can monitor and control the machine’s operation via a wireless router and a smart phone application. Busy moms and dads can monitor cycle selections, remaining time and finishing alerts, as well as remotely start or pause the washer without having to access the laundry room.

Though the front-loading washer has the industry’s largest capacity (a whopping 31 bath towels) it’s recognized by ENERGY STAR as a ‘Most Efficient 2011’ clothes washer. The WF457 is leading the charge toward eco-efficiency within the industry. It uses just 96 kWh/year in electricity and up to 70 percent less water than top-loading washing machines, helping consumers save money on water and utility bills. In addition, the WF457 is the first Samsung washer to be Smart Grid-ready, a national program created in conjunction with utility providers to enhance the overall efficiency of consumers’ electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. The WF457 was also named a 2012 CES Innovations Award honoree in the eco-design category.

Some other features:

• the industry’s largest 8” color LCD touch screen
• the washer’s SpeedSpray process delivers a cleansing shot of water with dissolved detergent and then a rinsing shot that results in a cycle time that is up to 25 percent shorter than conventional washers
• PowerFoam Technology infuses detergent with air and water to create a cleaning foam that penetrates fabrics quicker
• both washer and dryer feature steam cycles for enhanced stain removal, wrinkle reduction and fabric refreshing
• vibration reduction technology makes the washer so quiet, it can be installed on second floors and near bedrooms
• Smart Vent Sensing in the DV457 dryer indicates blockages in vents and notifies consumers when it’s time to clean them – increasing performance and reducing potential fire hazards

The WF457 Washer and matching dryer will be available in Onyx and white at major retailers in Spring 2012.

Source: Samsung press release.

Related: more eco-friendly appliances on The Alternative Consumer

Plants are Mother Nature’s super-efficient air filtration system. The ANDREA system utilizes award-winning technology to accelerate a plant’s already potent capacity to remove airborne toxins from the air. The gadget employs active plant filtration in concert with layers of water and soil to provide a multistage system that cleanses indoor air of harmful toxins that can irritate and be harmful to your lungs.

It naturally purifies air by drawing it in and propelling it through the leaves and root system of a plant, then out through water and soil filtration and back into the room environment. 

Faq: The unit is said to consume very little energy and operate quietly (some reviews question this claim). Any plant can be used in the system and it contains no replaceable filters.

Tests have shown that Andrea exponentially improves the efficiency of formaldehyde removal from the air relative to plants alone. Tests performed by RTP Labs estimate an improvement over standard HEPA filtration systems of 4400%.

The data confirms that plants alone outperform HEPA and carbon filters at removing toxic gases from the air – though they are significantly less efficient than Andrea. Lab tests have shown that the device removes airborne pollutants 1000% faster than plants alone.

ANDREA was invented by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur with Harvard professor David Edwards.

$169 @ amazon.com

The COOKUP200 solar grill from the French company iD Cook, is a portable solar cooker that can be taken on the road and assembled in a few minutes – just add some sun and you’re ready to cook. No propane, toxic lighter fluid or messy charcoal needed. The whole deal folds-up into a handy little carrying case.

The solar grill requires a separate grill-safe dish such as a casserole dish, pan or griddle for cooking. Cast iron is recommended for optimum results.

The company claims that the COOKUP200 will cook food in a similar time-frame to that of a traditional propane or charcoal grill – roughly 15 minutes for sausage or bratwurst, between 15 and 25 minutes for fish, chicken, or meat depending on the size, and about 40 minutes for large stews – all of course if you have a sunny day.

Currently available in Europe for 299,00 € and available in the USA, soon.

I don’t usually look to JC Penney for my eco-friendly appliances, but this 2-slice toaster is estimated to use 35% less juice than comparable 2-slicers.  This little toaster from JC Penney’s Cooks by Home line uses infrared heating technology to bronze your toast twice as fast as a typical toaster.  Features extra-wide slots and a 7-level electronic browning control.

What better power source for reducing the heat produced by the sun, than the sun itself?

LG Electronics recently unveiled, (in Korea), an eco-friendly solar hybrid air conditioner.  Using energy captured from the sun to power the air conditioner via solar panel attached to the top the outdoor unit, this solar unit is estimated to produce up to 70 watts of power per hour.

According to the manufacturer this new solar air conditioner is capable of reducing the carbon footprint of the user by around 212kg of CO2 over 10 years — equivalent to saving 780 pine trees (over the 10 yr. period).

via: akihabara news

Saw this little item on GreenMuze.  It looks great, and it’s conceivable it might just add a little humidity to an arid, small room.

The passive Mast Humidifier designed by Shin Okada is constructed from rot-resistant Japanese cypress.  The elegantly folded cypress absorbs water placed in the base and diffuses it into the room via the wood’s natural capillary action and evaporation.

6,300 Yen @ Japanese shopping site masuza.co.jp (be prepared to translate)

Whirlpool has announced that it will produce one million Smart Energy clothes dryers by the end of 2011 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant program.  The U.S. manufactured dryers will be capable interacting with information communicated by the smart grid to modify their energy consumption to save consumers money on their home electric bills.  In markets where utilities offer variable or time-of-use pricing, these dryers could save a typical consumer $20 to $40 per year, while also benefiting the environment.

Now we just need a smart grid.

source: prnewswire/reuters

This hand powered portable washing machine is an extremely eco-friendly product providing a cheaper alternative to hotel laundry service if you travel and can’t find a green hotel, enjoy camping or need a break from trekking to the laundromat or laundry room of your apartment building.

What intrigued me about this mini-appliance is its small size, portability and the fact that it requires no electricity or batteries – just a little elbow grease.  When we travel, especially with kids, we can go through a lot of clean clothes, and doing the wash is the last thing I want to do when I get home.

This little washing machine is purported to hold up to five men’s shirts.  It’s lightweight, easy to operate and uses a lot less water and detergent than an electric washer.  To wash clothes, you turn the hand crank on the side of the tub.  The company states that about 2 minutes of cranking will result in clean clothes, though I’m not so sure about the clothes of highly active, grunge-covered children.  Most of its parts are plastic and reviews indicate that the hand crank mechanism may be weakened after 6 months to a year’s steady use.

I wouldn’t recommend this for big loads of laundry at home – I’m all for energy efficiency, but not enough to give up the necessity of my super capacity automatic washing machine…just yet, but this little portable washer may provide a quick on-location, or off-grid, laundry solution.  And of course, there’s nothing better than air-drying your clothes.

It retails for about $50.00 and can be found at cleanairgardening.com.  A similar product called, Wonder Wash, can be found at laundry-alternatives.com for a few dollars less.