Which wind-up gadgets could we use to save fossil fuels/ electricity and save the planet?

Question

I know about wind-up radios. Any other devices you know about or have used?

Answer 1

Wind up technology is developing.  There are already radios and torches, as you are probably aware, there are also wind up phone chargers and laptop computers(olpc.)

All wind up technology is an effective replacement to burning fossil fuels but it is sadly still in its infancy.  Fortunately progress is spurred on by the increasing efficiency of international communications and clever marketing.

Answer 2

I think solar power is a better option, even if its only used to recharge batteries.

Wind-up is a non starter for large scale use.

The problem with saving the planet is in making a big impact in a short space of time,

Wind-up gadgets will only power low power devices, and hence have little impact.

Fitting Low energy lamps, switching things off, instead of standby, less air miles and less car miles will have a much more important impact.

Answer 3

Bringing back the clockwork technology might have a bit of an impact if enough people used it. Things like alarm clocks, pocket watches, Victrolas, etc all ran on human energy stored in a spring.

Answer 4

I remember seeing an MP3 player that had a dynamo with a crank.  That was pretty sweet.  Generally, it's small items that have hand-cranked dynamos, such as lights and even small laptop computers I saw once on TV--these were given to kids in various countries.

Answer 5

egg beater.

that's about it.

well, there are windup flash lights.

they don't stay lighted very long.

the problem is that windup devices must have very low power consumption.

you'd be winding for hours to create the energy in a single D battery.

Answer 6

I was in a camping shop at the weekend and they had a windup phone charger, which would save considerable electricity.  Also, a wind up lantern - save on batteries (re-charging, etc).

I'm sure there are many other ways of saving!

Answer 7

Torches they save the planet