Gift guide: gifts that save energy and money

You don’t have to be a geek to appreciate the savings from these.

A year ago people laughed at me when I suggested that they get energy-saving power strips as gifts. Now at least one of those friends tells me the whole family’s getting one this year.

In a year in which energy prices rocketed to all-time highs followed by a collapse of the economy, there’s something very appropriate about gifts that help others to save energy and money. Truly a gift that keeps on… saving.

So here are three of my favorite energy-saving gifts from the TerraPass store that I hope you’ll consider giving this year:

Smart strip with energy-saving technology

Personally I think that every house with a tv or computer should have one of these. The power strip turns off peripheral items (DVD players, speakers, printers etc.) when they’re not in use. This saves the standby energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Scangauge II car computer

This has been one of our most popular products this year. And there was a notable spike in interest when gas prices peaked. Put simply, this plugs in to your car (just about anything made in the last ten years) and gives you your real-time mpg information and how much a trip is costing you. Thought it was fun trying to get somewhere as fast as you can? Try driving somewhere as efficiently as you can. This makes an especially good gift for sons. I can’t think why…

PowerCost monitor

Like a Scangauge for the home, the PowerCost monitor tracks your home electricity usage and tells you how much it’s costing. One customer is confident it will pay for itself within a year, while Erik used it to discover he was going to bed with the broiler left on.

We have plenty of other energy-saving and eco-friendly gifts: have fun browsing the store and happy holidays!