I recently came across this article that I thought would be of interest to you. It is not only a way to create less waste but many of these new chargers do not act as vampires of energy when they are plugged in and your phone is not attached. Little steps… Little steps… add up to big advances. Enjoy the reading… more yesteryear technologies soon to be posted.

One size fits all phone chargers on the way: ITU

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -

Ever forget your phone charger and no one around has the same kind of handset?  

Have a drawer full of useless old phone chargers at home?

Breathe a sigh of relief.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ telecom arm, said on Thursday it had given its stamp of approval “to an energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution.

“Every mobile phone user will benefit from the new Universal Charging Solution (UCS), which enables the same charger to be used for all future handsets, regardless of make and model,” the ITU said in a statement.

“Some manufacturers are already incorporating the UCS in their devices,” an ITU spokesman said.

The association hopes a universal charger will help reduce waste by cutting down on the number of chargers produced and then thrown away with the purchase of a new handset.

There are already more than 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions around the world.

In June, top mobile phone suppliers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors agreed to back an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, which means phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year.

The EU estimates unwanted phone accessories account for thousands of tons of waste in Europe each year.

Now, if only they could come up with a single plug.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske, Editing by Michael Shields and Dan Lalor)

New Smart Thermostat

EcoFactor, a provider of personalized solutions for managing residential energy use, has announced the availability of its residential energy management solution.

Their technology will analyze and act upon thousands of data points collected throughout the day from the thermostat, local weather stations and other geographic inputs,  to create a unique but continuously evolving heating and cooling profile for your  home.

Its solution operates with a two-way communicating thermostat and a broadband Internet connection, and is hosted on-demand so there is no software to install or maintain.

EcoFactor was founded in 2006 to provide an effective alternative to the current one-size-fits-all residential energy management solutions. More can be found online at www.ecofactor.com.