Five green gadgets to buy now

Save your energy

I don’t pay enough attention to the amount of energy my family burns through. I’m not proud of this: I glimpse the bill, I might raise an eyebrow, in winter months I might grimace slightly. But I also know that it’s incumbent upon us all to take a more active interest in our energy consumption, to think about pursuing a personal net-zero and perhaps gain a little independence from the grid. Crucial to making these kinds of changes is a system that allows you to accumulate, store and manage energy, and EcoFlow’s newest residential offering – a single-phase system designed for UK homes – makes a strong case for doing so.

Visually, the PowerOcean is nothing flash: it comprises an inverter along with one, two or three 5kWh LFP (lithium ferro-phosphate) battery packs that are water-resistant, weather-resistant, meet stringent safety guidelines and stack neatly against a wall (the stack can rest on the floor or be wall-mounted). The clever bit is the way they integrate with a domestic energy ecosystem, which might comprise solar panels, immersion heaters, heat pumps and EV chargers as well as connection to the grid. Maybe charge up when it’s sunny, or even from the grid off-peak, and use it when you need it.

The interaction between all these elements can be managed with a startling level of granularity using the EcoFlow app, so certain energy sources can be prioritised over others and specific appliances can be set to turn on when, say, there’s an excess of solar power. The semi-open API means that third-party appliances (smart washing machines, lighting systems, smart thermostats and Matter-enabled devices) can be added to the app to be managed and monitored, although you’ll need to purchase EcoFlow’s 10in wall-mounted PowerInsight panel for extra functionality.

EcoFlow works with local installers to look at your energy usage and tailor the installation for your property. The only real danger is becoming too obsessed with the intricacies of your consumption patterns. But maybe that’s no bad thing. 

An open and shut case

One of the ecological black marks against tech products is their irreparability, leading us to assume that any faulty gadget is a dead gadget. Danish firm AIAIAI is on a right-to-repair crusade, making products that can be disassembled with just a spudger and screwdriver. In the case of these portable wireless speakers, the parts that have a shorter lifespan (eg, batteries, drivers) can be swapped out without breaking a sweat. Sonically, they’re exceptional reference monitors; there’s a Bluetooth option for streaming from your phone, but if perfection is your thing, connect an audio source to the bundled transmitter and you’ll soon be streaming uncompressed audio with rock-solid stability. 

Sound fair?

Fairphone has, for more than a decade, championed ethical manufacturing – conscientious supply chains, use of post-consumer recycled plastic and upping the pay of factory workers. It’s now channelled this ethos into a pair of unpretentious earbuds that come with minimal packaging, a muted matte case and no extras save for a selection of eartips. But they’re more impressive than their appearance might suggest: tap and swipe controls respond perfectly, noise cancellation is excellent, and the sound, while not pristine, is very good (and can be improved to “great” with some EQ adjustment in the app). The replaceable batteries in the charging case and buds make for a long-life product, too.

Power plants

The donkey work in most air purifiers is undertaken by HEPA filters that need to be replaced every 12 months. Italian-based Vitesy is waging a more sustainable war on pollutants by using plant power, specifically phytoremediation, where air is filtered through the soil around the roots of a plant. You supply the soil and the plant (Vitesy gives advice on the best type), place it into the unit and plug it in. The soil, coupled with a washable ceramic photocatalytic filter, gets to work filtering VOCs, viruses and bacteria, and from that point you can largely forget about it (the plant self-waters for a month or so). The accompanying app advises you of pollutant levels via alerts or neatly designed graphs.

Balancing act

I see many garish plastic balance bikes coming in and out of my son’s nursery, and Choppy is wholesome by comparison: it’s made in Latvia from Baltic birch plywood, it assembles quickly and easily (no screws!) and it arrives in a glueless, FSC-certified box printed with a fetching toy car racetrack that doubles as a board game. The curved seat has a natural spring to it (that’s where the strong, bendy plywood comes into its own) that acts as a suspension system. You can also adjust the handlebar and seat positions to suit the child, whether they’re tiny toddlers or four-year-old terrors. Available in black, brown or green, Choppy has won a clutch of design awards and deserves all of them.

@rhodri