It doesn’t matter if you’re obsessed with the latest and greatest in the technology world or are just trying to save a little money on energy costs, there is an eco-gadget for you. Each of these energy-efficient technologies can help you conserve energy and save money.

Programmable Thermostat

Since heating and cooling is the biggest energy expense in your home, new technology is constantly hitting the market to help you cut back. One of the most helpful inventions is the programmable thermostat, which range from simple to high-tech. The most basic device allows you to create a schedule for your heating and cooling needs. You can set the temperature to turn up or down at scheduled times during the day, allowing you to save energy when you’re sleeping, or not home.

More advanced programmable thermostats allow you to control you home temperature from a phone or computer. So you can adjust the temperature in your home while you’re at work. Some of these devices can even learn your energy behavior and automatically adjust temperatures accordingly.

Vacancy sensing light switch

If you have trouble remembering to turn off the lights when you leave a room, a vacancy sensing light switch may be the perfect solution. This eco-gadget makes your home more efficient by sensing when a room is not in use and turning off the lights. As an added bonus, the lights will turn on automatically when you walk into a room. The device can even sense natural light and dim or turn off depending on how much light is needed.

LED light bulbs

While a light bulb may not seem like a cool eco-gadget, new LED light bulbs are actually revolutionary. Thought the technical reasons LED’s are so innovative may be confusing, the most important thing to take away is they use significantly less energy and last a lot longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. In fact, if every American replaced just one incandescent bulb with an LED, the country could save $600 million in energy costs and enough energy to light 3 million homes for an entire year.

Eco-chargers

From cell phones to computers, charges seem to be taking over power outlets everywhere. But did you know chargers can still use energy when you’re not charging anything? A constant flow of power travels through a charger regardless of whether or not you actually need to charge something. If you have trouble remembering to completely unplug your charger from the wall, you might consider an eco-charger. Instead of sucking power out of the grid all the time, eco-chargers turn themselves off when a device is fully charged.

Shower timer/alarm

Water heating costs can add up when you get your monthly energy bill, especially if you enjoy taking lengthy showers. In fact, if you don’t have a low-flow showerhead, you could be using more than five gallons of water each minute! Cut down on your water heating costs and your water bill by installing a shower timer and alarm. This little gadget can measure your water use as you shower. You can set a goal to shower in a certain amount of time or decide to only use a specific amount of water and an alarm will sound when you have reached your target volume.

Ashley Joyce – webmaster/blogger at EnergySavings.com.