Everlite Led - Solar Headlamp Review

Do you ever have those moments when you really wish you had a third hand to hold the flashlight?  Maybe your car had a flat tire on a dark street while you were driving home and you need both hands to change it, but you don’t have anyone around to hold your flashlight while you do so.  Or maybe you’re doing some work up in your attic and just can’t find a place to wedge your flashlight so that it shines in the right spot.  Wouldn’t it be great if you had a headlamp for these occasions?

But wouldn’t it be even better if that headlamp never ran out of battery power?  Well, with the Everlite Solar Headlamp, that’s not a problem!  This headlamp has an adjustable, comfortable band that fits anyone from child to adult, and it securely holds the lamp to your forehead.  To charge it up, all you have to do is leave it out in the sun during the day.  After just two hours, you’ll have enough power to run the headlamp at full brightness for six hours or at half brightness for 12 hours.  That’s enough time to complete your projects, get your tire changes, or find your way back to camp if you were out hiking.

The LED in the headlamp has a 40 foot range and can be angled using the built-in hinges.  It has three different modes—manual on/off, light-sensing on/off (it automatically comes on in the dark), and an emergency blinking mode that will attract help from anyone in the area.  Everlite even has a range of different accessories you can purchase for the light, including a cable that allows you to charge your cell phone from the headlamp!

Find out more about the Everlite Solar Headlamp at Real Goods Solar.

Organic Cotton Bath Towels

Buying organic and natural products is all the rage these days, but sometimes I stop and wonder why.  For example, why purchase organic cotton towels?  Are they really that much better than standard, boring towels?  I did a little research and found out that yes, there are some reasons that buying organic cotton towels is a good idea.

Organic cotton towels are made without any dye, bleach, or other types of chemicals.  This makes them perfect for those who have allergies to these types of products.  Dermatologists often tell their patents with sever skin issues and allergies to switch to organic cotton towels since they will cause less irritation to their skin, especially if their skin illness is due to chemical allergies.

Organic cotton also tends to be thicker than conventional towels, making them feel more luxurious and decadent.  They absorb a great amount of water, too, although it make take a few washes for this to happen—since the oils are not removed from organic cotton towels, they don’t always immediately absorb a great amount of water.  However, after a few washings, the oils will be washed off and the towels will be as absorbent as any other.

While they don’t feature any chemical dyes, some organic cotton towels are dyed various colors using natural dyes.  This means organic cotton towels come in just as many different shades as traditional towels, so you’re sure to find some that match your bathroom décor.  If you’re looking for a way to go green in your bathroom or need a towel that won’t irritate your skin or allergies, organic cotton is the way to go.  You can learn more about organic cotton towels at Real Goods Solar.

Eco Thermo Bamboo Sleeping Pads

When going camping there is no item I can do without more than my eco thermo bamboo sleeping pad.  After roughing it for the day I can always be assured of a good nights sleep.  It is produced from a bamboo fabric which is long lasting and provides comfort from the cold.

The last time I was camping before I had purchased my eco thermo bamboo sleeping pad, I had to spend a night shivering as the weather had turned unexpectedly cold.  No matter what I did I could not get the heat into me.  I vowed from that moment that this would never happen to me again.  The very next week I purchased an eco thermo bamboo sleeping pad for less than $150.  And it was the best money I had ever spent. Read more

Slate Solar Stepping Stone - (Solar Walkway Light)

I love solar powered items, especially ones that help me out in the dark. I don’t know how many times I’ve left home during the day and returned at night only to realize I didn’t leave the porch light on. It can be difficult to avoid stepping on things or following the walkway when it’s really pitch dark, as it is in parts of my yard. But now I’ve discovered the perfect solution: slate solar stepping stones.

These stepping stones look like normal stepping stones with one major exception: the middle of the stepping stone features an integrated solar cell that charges up during the day. At night, the cell lights up so you can see to walk down your garden path or up your walkway to your front door. The solar cells will provide a good eight hours of light provided they get a full day’s charge, which is enough to illuminate your paths from sunset to sunrise. Each of these stones measures eight inches on each side, and you get two in each pack. Read more

Insulated Tab-Top Curtain Panels

If you’re like me, you want to drop your electric bill as much as possible.  During the hot summer months, the air conditioner tends to run all the time, especially if temperatures really climb.  This always translates into very high electric bills.  But what can you do?  Sure, fans can help a lot, but they can’t do it all.  Even turning the thermostat up a few degrees may not help that much.  Other than sweating it out, how can you work to cut down the amount of electricity used while still keeping your home cool?

One thing you can do is add insulated curtains to your home.  These curtains look no different from regular curtains.  In fact, some of them look much better!  The secret, though, is in the backing and interior material.  These fashionable curtains hide a functional side—they are actually made from insulated material that blocks out a great about of heat.  While it may not seem like it, our homes actually absorb a good amount of heat through windows.  The sunlight that looks so great streaming in through the windows heats up our homes, and blocking out these rays can save a lot.

These insulated tab-top curtain panels are made from a heavy duty suede material that is able to block out both the heat and keep cold drafts from coming into your home during the winter.  This will help keep your heating costs down in the winter.  In addition to this, the curtains will block out nearly all sunlight, making them ideal for those who work at night and sleep during the day.  You’ll no longer be woken up by the bright morning sun on weekends, either!  Many of these types of curtains reduce noise, too, which is also ideal for daytime sleepers.

Click Here To Learn More About Insulated Tab-Top Curtain Panels

Portable Solar Battery Charger

You’ve probably had this happen to you: you’re out of the office or out running errands, and you suddenly realize that your cell phone is dead. Even worse, you’re out of town for a business conference and you forget to pack your cell charger. What happens if you’re out camping or hiking and need to charge your phone? When your battery runs dead in these cases, you can always turn to a universal solar charger to repower your phone (of course, this assumes you remember to pack it!).

A universal solar charger, or portable solar battery charger, is basically a solar panel on the go. It’s small and light, and you can easily fold it up and stash it in your backpack, briefcase, or even your purse. Whenever your phone has gone dead, you just pull out the universal solar charger, connect the necessary adapter to the mini-USB cord, plug that into your phone, and set the solar panel in the sun. After two to three hours, you’ll have a fully charged cell phone! There’s no need for electrical outlets at all, and you can charge your phone anywhere.

The universal solar charger comes with a number of different adapters so you can use it with almost any phone, including those made by Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, Samsung, and Sony. The charger even works with most BlackBerry models and iPods, too, so you can charge up your smartphone and keep your music playing.

While it is another piece of equipment you have to carry around (and, let’s face it, if you forget your phone charger, you may forget the portable solar battery charger as well), it’s one that can actually replace several different chargers. If you travel with your spouse, for example, and you both have cell phones, you can take the universal solar charger instead of both chargers. You can also leave the iPod charger at home so you have less stuff to keep up with.

Sanyo Solar Module

Many people are interested in adding solar paneling to their home because they believe it will save them money.  However, when they see just how much solar panels cost, they realize they won’t actually make back their investment for years.  Fortunately, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper.  The Sanyo Solar Module is an example of a cheaper solar panel that generates a good amount of energy and pays for itself fairly quickly.

This solar module can produce around 16.2 watts of power per square foot of solar panel.  When everything is added up, that means that each Sanyo Solar Module will provide 195 watts of energy per hour, which isn’t bad at all.  This allows you to get as much power as you possibly can with a small number of solar panels.  The Sanyo Solar Modules also need fewer attachments and materials, so you save there as well.

There are some solar panels that claim to provide a certain amount of energy, but the actual amount of power is much lower.  Sanyo’s panels, however, provide you with all of the power they say they do; in fact, in some situations, the panels may even generate more power (such as during an incredibly sunny day).

In addition to these many benefits, the Sanyo Solar Module is also one of the lightest solar panel.  In addition to providing solar power and helping drop your use of traditionally-created electricity, the modules are also packaged in eco-friendly packaging that uses a minimal amount of cardboard.  This also reduces the amount of fuel necessary to transport the modules, plus it means more modules can be transported in the same vehicle.

Each panel costs $1,245.  While that is a lot, the amount generated from the panel will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Sun Cookers

Do you enjoy camping but hate all the stuff you have to drag out to the campsite with you? For some people, building a campfire and cooking hotdogs over it is great, but if you’re going to be camping out for several days or even a week, there’s only so much you can cook on your fire. You probably won’t want to eat hotdogs for every meal, but it can be difficult to cook other types of food over an open fire. You can take a small grill with you, but that often means taking grilling accessories, charcoal or other fuel, and more.

However, there is a new alternative to cooking outdoors: sun cookers. You may have never heard of sun cookers before, but they are basically a solar powered way of cooking meals. They can make a number of great dishes, and one of the best things about them is that they require no fuel at all! You don’t have to gather wood, purchase gas, or get charcoal. Instead, all you need is a sunny area to set up your sun cooker. Once you’ve found the ideal spot, you just unfold the solar reflectors and put your food in the cooking area. The glass door lets you watch as the sun’s rays cook your lunch or dinner while you wait.

Sun cookers come with built-in thermometers and are adjustable. They heat up to 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which is enough to cook many different meals. The interior of the solar oven is large enough to fit several dishes at once. While it’s not the fastest cooking oven around—it takes about 40 minutes to cook a cup of rice—it can provide you with alternatives to eating hot dogs every day. If you go camping often, one of these sun cookers may be exactly what you need to open up your menu.

Water Distiller Review

Are you looking to drink more water but don’t think your tap water is good enough?  Some people turn on the facet and get some very nasty looking water.  Others, especially those who have older homes, find flecks of things like rust in their water.  No one wants to drink water like this, but buying all that bottled water seems like it will cost an awful lot of money, not to mention the build of BPA in the system over time.  The same goes for installing a water filter system—the filters have to be changed monthly, and they can be quite expensive.  However, with a Home Water Distiller, you don’t have to worry about cost.

What does a non-electric water distiller do?  It uses any heat source to create pure, distilled water that is perfectly safe for drinking.  All you have to do is add in the water, put it on a heat source like your stove, and in just an hour or so, you’ll have water with absolutely no impurities in it.  It can create 3.2 qt. of fresh water in one use, so if you and your family drink a ton of water a day, you may need to constantly use the distiller.  This may not be the best option ever.  However, if you’re out camping or are traveling to an area where the water is questionable, creating this amount of pure water in an hour is certainly reasonable.

But why drink distilled water?  Well, according to many studies, distilled water has a number of benefits.  It has no parasites or other harmful things in it, and it can actually help your health.  Drinking a good amount of pure water every day can help you look younger, make your joints move better, and help flush out toxins and other wastes from your body.  It’s also helpful in combating some diseases and illnesses.  Drinking distilled water is, therefore, absolutely essential if you want to live healthy.

Click Here For The Non-Electric Water Distiller Available @ Real Goods Solar

Solar Hot Water Panel

Many people are looking for ways of cutting costs, and while installing solar paneling on their homes may not be the best cost-cutting method, adding a Solar Hot Water Panel can considerably help. In addition to cutting your electric bill down, a solar hot water panel is also a great way of becoming a little more ecologically friendly.

One of the top solar hot water panels was created by Heliodyne. The Heliodyne Cool Climate Packaged System is a hot water panel system that has been designed to work in all weather regions and with all types of water. It works with hard water, in areas that often have freezing water, and even in areas where there is little sunshine. The system is available in two mounting options: rack or flush. The Heliodyne is a closed loop system, which means that the heat transfer fluid actually moves through the collectors, not through the water. This results in fewer problems with the system and causes less wear on the parts.

How does the Heliodyne Cool Climate Packaged System work? Well, when the system has enough heat stored in the collectors, the system automatically turns on your water pumps. The solar fluid starts moving from the collectors into the heat exchanger. There, the heat is transferred from the fluid to the water in the tank. The solar fluid is them pumped back to the collectors, where it gets heated before going through the cycle again. As long as the collectors have heat stored in them, the cycle will continue. If it’s cloudy for several days and the collectors don’t store up heat, a backup system will come on that heats water using standard methods.

In addition to the standard system, a premium package is also available. It features upgraded heat transfer capability that will monitor how well the Heliodyne system is working and allow you to fine-tune how it works. It also comes with a Wi-Fi hub that gives you the option of accessing the system from any computer.

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