Six DIY Inventions for Energy Efficiency

The winners of the Earthjustice/Instructables United States of Efficiency Contest show off elegant, creative and effective solutions to saving energy on a dime.

The winner of MacBook Pro grand prize is How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -- aka a MightyMintyBoost. This is like duplex DIY, in that it takes the MintyBoost open-source, make-it-yourself device charger (one of my personal favorite devices), and gives it a solar powered twist.

I do tend to be skeptical of individualistic solutions to the society-wide causes of global warming. But the inventor of this device puts it into a perspective that reminds me how small, multiplied many times over, can be effective as well as beautiful. "Apple has sold over 30 million iPodTouch/iPhone units- imagine charging all of them via solar power," writes instructable.com member Honus (a dedicated maker, judging by the diverse instructables he's created).

If every iPhone/iPodTouch sold was fully charged every day (averaging the battery capacity) via solar power instead of fossil fuel power we would save approximately 50.644gWh of energy, roughly equivalent to 75,965,625 lbs. of CO2 in the atmosphere per year. Granted that's a best case scenario (assuming you can get enough sunlight per day and approximately 1.5 lbs. CO2 produced per kWh used.) Of course, that doesn't even figure in all the other iPods, cell phones, PDAs, microcontrollers (I use it to power my Arduino projects) and other USB devices that can be powered by this charger- one little solar cell charger may not seem like it can make a difference but add all those millions of devices together and that's a lot of energy!

The five first prize winners in the contest:

Solar powered stove using 100% recycled materials: "This is an exercise in recycling and alternative energy use. I used a discarded 62 inch satellite dish and used CD's to create this along with materials that I had laying around. Nothing was purchased for this project."

Kitchen faucet with foot pedal: "Clean water is more valuable than most of us realize. Clean water requires energy, so by conserving water, you're also conserving energy! You can help minimize its waste by installing a foot pedal to control your kitchen sink."

{THE LED LIGHTBULB}: "LED spots are still at an extremely high price, making it cost a fortune to convert over all of your existing fixtures to this technology. But this is instructables, so we can make our own! What we will end up with is one of the most energy efficient light bulbs you have ever had in your midst, made at a ridiculously low cost."

TRULY insulate your loft - and save the planet: "I fixed SF40 SuperFOIL to the underside of my rafters to keep warm, cut bills and save the planet.

Green Solar Powered Water Barrel: "A Green way of using rainwater with the convenience of city water. The attached solar regenerated pump enables you to water plants with pressure, even when the water in the barrels falls low enough that it barely passes the level of the faucet. The sun-warmed water also aids in the growing of plants as it does not shock them."