Smart Products That Can Save You Money

Water-saving shower head is one of the easiest solutions to reduce water usage in the bathroom and save money. There are two main types of water-conserving showers - Aerated, which mix the water with air, creating a misty spray and Laminar-Flow, which release dozens of individual water streams that makes it feel like more water. Some people would say “less water – double the time in the shower”, which can be true for low quality products, but high quality units (Delta Faucet) maintain the pressure and feel of the flow while conserving water. An additional benefit to the water saving feature is that you will have hot water a lot longer, which means that you will use less energy to heat it.

Disposable razor blades are getting more and more expensive and this clever gadget can save you money by sharpening them and making them as good as new. Some of the brands available on the market such as Razorpit can extend the life of the blades with up to 150 shaves. The way the Razorpit Sharpener works is similar to the way a barber sharpens his knife on a leather strap. It is a silicone pad on which you make several “shaving” movements and the created friction removes the residue of skin, hair and soap from the blade (things that make the blades dull). The best part is that the sharpener will easily pay for itself in couple of months.

Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to save money and energy is to switch off all electrical appliances before going to bed. However, this is not part of most people’s nightly routine. In this case an energy-saving power strip such as Belkin’s Smart Strip can do an amazing job. The unit is designed to save power by automatically turning off all devices plugged into it (BluRay player, wii etc.) when the “master” device (e.g. your TV) is turned off. Studies have shown that standby power can account for as much as 10% of an electric bill, therefore, cutting down on wasted power will save you money.

Laundry balls can wash your clothes without detergent and softener and save you money in a long run. They are made from plastic and filled with cleaning pellets. Some laundry balls such as Robby Wash Ball are made to last at least 1 year or 120 washes before replacing the cleaning pellets. What the pellets do is pretty much the same thing a regular detergent does - they alter the pH level of the water in the washer but without any of the harmful chemicals. A Laundry Ball will not only save you money on laundry products but since it leaves no soapy residue, you can skip the rinse cycle and save on water and energy too.

Waterless car wash not only helps the environment but also saves on your water bill. If you wash your car at home, chances are, you use more water than a professional car wash. A professional car wash uses about 35 gallons of water for each car, but most garden hoses spray about 10 gallons per minute, which means you can easily use up to 140 gallons. A bottle of waterless car wash will get you between 4 and 6 washes and will cut on your water bill.

Miscalibrated toilet fill valves are one of the biggest sources of water loss in toilets and when water is wasted, that easily translates to money spent on higher water bills. Ordinary fill valves send water to the bowl throughout the entire tank-filling cycle. This means that while the tank fills, water is constantly delivered to the bowl. Since the tank takes longer to fill, the bowl is overfilled and the excess water is send down the drain. A water-saving fill valve can be calibrated to fill the bowl at a slower rate so it takes the same time that the tank takes to fill. Valves such as MJSI HydroClean also detect leaks and are proven to reduce water usage by 36%.

Another way of saving money by saving water is to install a dual flash kit to your toilet. Products such as One2flush can make your 3.5 gallon toilet use only 1 gallon of water for a half flash and about 2 gallons for a full flash.

Smart lights such as Glow Brick can save you energy and money especially if you have small kids who can’t sleep with the lights off. The Glow Brick glows at night and uses zero electricity because it charges from the natural light during the day.

Solar chargers are not made just for campers and travelers but they are a great source of alternative energy for your portable gadgets at home too. People do not pay much attention to how these electronic gadgets actually consume energy and money. A solar charger such as Solio that includes several adapter tips and can provide power for more than 3200 devices (form cell phones and iPods to GPS systems) can help you reduce your electricity bill.

Everybody knows that that turning down the heat at night or the AC when you are not at home saves you money. A programmable thermostat can make heating and cooling more efficient by automatically adjusting things for you so that you are not wasting electricity and money. If used correctly, it can save you up to 30% on annual heating and cooling costs, depending on the region you live in and your energy usage.

Thermal curtains are another good way to lower your electricity bills in winter. They are designed to increase the insulation around your windows and retain more heat within your home.

Homes with fireplaces are notorious for energy leaks. A chimney balloon offers a cost-effective way to stop cold fireplace draft. It is an inflatable plug that you install above the chimney damper while it is still flat and then inflate it to plug the opening.

The problem with electricity is that it’s invisible – you have no visual clue as to how much you are using or wasting. Fortunately there are gadgets such as Belkin’s Energy-Use Monitor that can help you reduce your power bill. The monitor is really simple to use – you just plug it into a wall outlet and then plug an appliance into it. With the push of a button, you can see how much it costs you to run this appliance, how much energy it uses and how much CO2 is produced. Knowing this, you can then find ways to reduce your usage.

Another painless ways to save water is to install aerators on faucets. As the name suggests, the aerator mixes the water with air, thus reducing the gallons per minute that flow through. The flow is more than enough for things like brushing teeth and washing hands. You use less water and you pay less.

Energy efficient heaters can help you cut down on your energy costs by giving you the flexibility to heat small areas of your home that you don’t use often (bathrooms and extra bedrooms). You can even turn down the central heating of your home by a several degrees and use the heater to heat only the areas you are using (office or sitting room).

A solar oven can cut your electric bills because its only source of power is the sun. It uses no electricity or fuel and costs nothing to run. If there is enough sun, a solar oven can cook your food as fast as a regular one. However, when it is cloudy the oven will be less effective.