~~~ Eco Button ~~~

It was this time last year that I first purchased my Eco Button and being quite impressed with this nifty little gadget, I purchased more as little Christmas stocking fillers for my family. Usually such little gifts are just whimsy and nonsense, but the Eco Button is just as practical as it is fun (in a nerdy sort of way).

The Eco Button is aimed towards people who regularly utilise a home computer, be it desktop or laptop, as it reduces energy used, and CO2 emissions, and keeps a tally of your savings.

~~~ Price ~~~

Prices fluctuate immensely, so shop around. Today, it can be found around the £8.00 mark, although I paid only £6 each last year. I still think it's a bargain, and it will pay for itself in no time.

~~~ The Product ~~~

When you buy the Eco Button, it comes packaged in a bubble of plastic, mounted on a piece of cardboard. Getting into the packaging is the most difficult part of setting this product up. Along with the button, the packaging contains a cardboard sheet with a few facts about electricity usage, and instructions for installation.

~~~ Installation ~~~

The Eco Button plugs directly into your computer via a USB connection. A metre long length of wire links the button to the USB, so you can position your button within easy reach. When in use, the button glows and dims with a neon green colour, it's quite unobtrusive and it becomes quite soothing after a while. I do find the colour is quite effective at reminding me to use it, as well as going with the 'green' theme.

You are then asked to visit the website http://www.eco-button.com/home/home.htm where you'll be given the instructions for downloading the software required. This is a simple process and all you really have to do is click on 'download software' and it will be all done in less than 30 seconds. As I don't still own the packaging, I had to check how much of your memory this equipment utilises, and it's a minimal 5.25MB.

I found that once the software has finished downloading, it started to load automatically. At this point I was greeted with a screen in which you select which type of computer you're using (desktop/laptop) and then it will ask you for statistics about electricity usage. I'm not at all technical minded (although I love technology and gadgets) so I clicked on the default setting for my laptop.

~~~ How it works ~~~

The idea of the Eco Button is that if you should need to turn off your computer for a short while; instead of having to wait for the machine to shut down, and then boot back up, your computer will be put on standby mode.

While the computer is dormant, the Eco Button will add up how much electricity you're saving in real money, and also calculating how much CO2 this equates to. If you are like me, and not sure how much electricity a watt is, or a megawatt; I simply cannot visualise the two - having a monetary equivalent enables me to measure exactly how much money I am saving by not leaving the computer running, and putting it on standby instead. This is a great motivator for using the product, rather than see it languishing unused, especially with utility prices rising year upon year.

When pressed, the Eco Button will immediately begin working on your statistics, and when the button is pressed again, you'll be presented with a page listing how much electricity you've saved in £'s, and how much CO2 you've saved in KG. You will also get a total of how much you've saved so far each day, and also a running total how much money you've saved since you installed it. It is estimated that you will save approximately £50 per year, and 135kg of CO2. Sadly, I cannot confirm this as my computer decided to play silly beggars last month, and it had to be taken back to factory settings, but in the three to four weeks I've been using this button again, my total is back up to £3.00 saved; not bad considering.

~~~ My Thoughts ~~~

I love this little money saving gadget. It's handy to have my work saved, and all my tabs open where I need them, so I can resume what I was doing before I got called away from my computer; be it to answer the door, or pop to the shops etc. It may not be a necessity, and to some people it may be deemed a waste of money; I would argue the point though, that as it saves money how can it be a waste?

Most highly recommended.

Thanks for reading my review. I do hope it has been of some use to you.

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