Energy Making and Saving at Green Festival

The 2007 Green Festival, a series of conferences celebrating socially responsible business, made a stop in Washington, DC, this weekend. Among the exhibitors were companies featuring green ways to light up your life and power up your gadgets.

Just when you've adjusted to replacing energy-sucking incandescent bulbs with fluorescents, C. Crane Companywants your next bulb to be an LED. The company claims an impressive lifetime for these bulbs of 6,000 hours, 6 times that of the average Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL). LED's could also lessen the load on your eco-conscience since they don't contain mercury like CFL's. C. Crane says that the lifetime savings in energy costs of $350 per bulb make the $15 - 60 bulbs well worth it, but sticker shock suggests that it might not be time to brand compact fluorescents the laser disc of efficient lighting just yet.

The Solio Hybrid 1000 solar-powered portable charger ($80) is a creative alternative to fossil fueling your gadgets with traditional electricity sources. It's compact, light (just slightly heavier than an iPhone), and includes clever features such as a rugged carabiner to clip to your pack in the backcountry. The H1000's rechargeable battery soaks up the rays and can store that energy for up to a year before doling it out to your Blackberry, iPod, PSP, or other portable device. For all its features, the Solio isn't a fast feeder as it takes 8-10 hours to fully charge. Maybe that's why the "hybrid" in the name stands for the fact that it can plug into your wall socket too, charging in 1/2 the time.

Also in the portable energy market is Juice Bags, which sells messenger bags and other "stuff" carriers with integrated flexible solar panels. The high 7 watt output of the bags compares well to Solio's 1.5-5 watts, although Juice Bags don't have the ability to store that power for later. The most innovative feature is the cigarette lighter-style plug that can use the same cord that juices up your electronic devices in the car. Super cool, but at a cost of $225 to $299, you may need to store some of your earning power before picking one up.