JOIN USSmartphones and tablets may not seem to be designed with the environment in mind, being made of complex layers of plastics, metals and electronics, with chemical batteries. But apps may help you adopt environmentally sensible habits in your daily life.
BrightNest, free on iOS, is a beautiful general guide to improving your home. One of its many categories is simply called Green.
When you sign up for your free login, you can choose to receive only green tips - from “conserve water like a pro” to ideas on performing a home energy consumption audit. Tapping on a tip brings up more detailed information that is nicely illustrated, well-written and easy to follow.
Green Tips & Tricks, free on iOS, is much simpler. When opened, it presents an environmental tip composed of just a few sentences of text - a source of daily ideas for making your life a little greener.
A similar option is Green Tips by Mobilendo, which is free on Android and Windows Phone. While idly trawling through this app, I found some simple conservation tips that I’d never thought of - like dusting the coils on the back of the refrigerator to improve its energy efficiency.
One thing you can do to make your life greener is avoid throwing recyclable items into the trash. The iRecycle app, free on both iOS and Android, can help.
The app is simply organised. First you pick the category of item you need to recycle, like paper or batteries. The app then offers a detailed list of options - recycling particular types of paper, for example.
GoodGuide, free on iOS and Android, helps you identify environmentally sound household items to buy. You can search for items by name or scan a product’s bar code, in which case the app will try to identify the item for you. When you have found an item in the list, the app displays detailed information about how it is made, its environmental impact and even data on the company that makes it.
GoodGuide has filters that allow searches for items that are not tested on animals or have other characteristics. Though it was recently updated, it does not have information on everything.
Installing solar panels is a way to improve your home’s green rating and possibly save money. But choosing the right kind of solar power installation can be complex. Solarchecker, free on iOS, may help with that.
The app performs some calculations based on your geographic location and where you would like to put your panels. It then reports how much power the panels could generate. If you enter some more details, it can help calculate how much money you would save.