Energy is vital, and that’s the reason we see electricity companiesstriving to generate those extra watts that are usually wasted due tothe careless attitude of homeowners. This includes everything from being just too busy in work or sluggish enough to get out of the couch tounplug. Industrial designers often come to the rescue with innovativeenergy saving solutions that can make it easy for sloppy homeowners todo their bit in conserving energy and the environment. Here is a list of 12 such power plugs, cord and outlets that can reduce load on the gridby simply ensuring that appliances that aren’t being used aren’tconnected as well:

• Ace Plug:

Designed by Lai You Cheng, Liu Kai Ping and Liu Chen Guang, the Ace Plug is designed to save every milliwatt of electricity that iswasted. The Ace Plug is a gadget that annoys you with its pesky noisesif an appliance is connected to the wall socket if it’s not being used.Moreover, the device is also equipped with the Ace LED, which can beturned on to find wall sockets in the dark.

• AlertMe Smart Plug:

The Smart Plug by AlertMe is a new energy monitoring device that allows youto check the consumption from any particular outlet in your home. Allyou need to do is to plug in the Smart Plug into the particular outletand you will receive instant data on the energy that is being consumedin the form of real-time stats. You can access this from your system, on the web or even on your mobile.

• Energenie:

The Energenie has been designed to let users prevent any energy wastage with anapplication that automatically switches off the power to appliances left on standby. To use, simply plug your appliance into the Energenie andas soon as the device goes into standby it will be disconnected.

• Saver Clip:

The Saver Clip is perhaps one of the simplest ways to save energy. The clipis designed to pick up electromagnetic field around an electrical wireand uses it to show you how much energy is being used. The more theenergy is wasted, the higher is the intensity of this field. Justconnect it to the some wires and it will tell you how much energy youare wasting and how much energy is being put to good use.

• Eco-Switch:

The Eco-Switch lets users reposition the power point to a preferred spot where it’seasy for them to control their appliances using a single switch. Thedevice has been designed for individuals who often forget to turn offcomputer peripherals after switching off their computers. The Eco-Switch is easy to install and even reduces fire risks. The developers of thesystem believe that these switches can save users more than $80 a yearby reducing the standby power.

• E-Pick:

The E-Pick energy saving system is based on the use of sensors that recognize your presence in your home and can automatically turn off lights in a roomwhere no one is present. Users can change the settings of the device and can also enable it to turn off all lights after a specified period oftime, which is great for all those who don’t what to turn off the lights before they go to sleep.

• Energy Saving Power Cord:

Designed by Anton Gustafsson and Magnus Gyllensward, the Power Cord alerts the user about the flow of electrons through the cord.When energy is being consumed by the appliance, the cord illuminates tokeep you aware about energy consumption. The more the power used, thebrighter is the light in the cord.

• Sticord:

The Sticord by industrial designer Dongyeon Kim is an innovative plug concept thatallows the user to save energy without the hassle of finding aparticular cord from a hectic bunch of cables. The user-friendly devicefeatures an intuitive indicator that lets the user know if the plug isconnected to a device that no longer needs electricity. The device shows a yellow light if electricity is passing through and the device isn’tconnected. However, if electricity is being directed to a device that is switched on, the indicator lights up in blue.

• Energy Lock:

Designed by industrial designer Young Suk Kim, the Energy Lock is a concept plug that prevents energy from being consumed byappliances that are not being used. The device is a timer stylemulti-tap plug that can be cranked to a specified time. Once the timeris over, the plug shuts down the appliance, preventing any waste ofenergy.

• Energy Saving Adapter:

The Energy Saving Adapter by Gilles Belley monitors your electrical gadgetsindividually and informs you when your electronic device is in standbymode. On sensing the sleep mode, a cool organic light pattern appears on the top of the unit that asks the user to power off the device. If thedevice is still connected, the Energy Saving Adapter automatically cutsoff power after three minutes.

• Wind Up Socket:

The Wind Up Socket by Dongwon Joo and Jieun Choi has been designed for those who are tired of systems that keep alerting them about the energy being consumed in their house. The conceptual product automatically switchesoff appliances connected to it after a specified interval, preventingany waste. The socket features a wind-up mechanism that can be set at an interval when the appliance is being plugged in. Once the wind-upmechanism finishes its rotation, the appliance is automatically switched off.

• Glowing Socket:

Designed by Shane Ellis and Terry Brown the Glowing Socket is designed to act as a powerful reminder for all. Thesocket has a hidden LED that lights up when current is drawn from it. It keeps on glowing until the flow of the current seizes altogether. As abetter measure, the more the current gets drawn, the greater becomes the intensity of the glow.