4 Big Green Trends at the 2011 CES

The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was impressive – and massive. At the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) alone, 3.2 million square feet of floor space were available to highlight the plethora of innovative products and ideas at the show.

"Convergence" products were huge at CES. For example, Panasonic's Viera Connect will allow users to watch TV, surf the Web, control devices, play games and more...all in one product. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911

Convergence, “smart” technology and revised use-case scenarios rocked the scene. Cell phones now control refrigerators, TVs surf the Web and stream online content, and glasses-free 3-D TV is already in the works.

Sustainability itself moved from a trend at past CES experiences to a practical expectation at this year’s show. Here’s a look at the top four themes that we caught onto in Earth911′s travels this past week.

1. Energy efficiency

The name of the game in greening up your tech starts with reducing its overall power consumption. “Smart” technologies in home appliances especially took this trend to a new level, with home appliances like refrigerators, washing machines and ovens that monitor the grid and can tell users when the least expensive time to run a cycle or cook a meal will occur.

These appliances will also learn when you most often use them (such as how many times a day and when you open the freezer) and adjust the temperature accordingly to keep foods fresh, even at slightly warmer temperatures, to reduce power consumption. You can even receive a text message from your oven to start and stop cooking cycles when you’re out in the backyard or even on the road.

Companies also met energy efficiency standards head-on, and the U.S. EPA is already revising its Energy Star program to take the requirements up another notch.

The bottom line is that consumers can expect their gadgets to strive to maximize efficiency and minimize power drain in new, intuitive ways.

2. Monitoring home energy usage

Jumping off of the efficiency trend, being able to monitor and control your home energy usage from any location is a huge theme in consumer electronics (CE).

“Smart” plugs offer a fast way to modify existing homes in order to monitor power usage, without needing a full-scale home energy monitoring (HEM) system.

While their features vary by manufacturer, essentially, smart plugs are outlet units that plug into regular household outlets to prevent vampire power drain, monitor energy consumption and generally reduce the overall costs to run various electronics.

Many versions offer wi-fi or radio wave technology that communicate consumption rates to energy profiles accessible from any location. This capability, as well as updates available by text or email, make unusual usage patterns easier to spot and money easier to save in the process.
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