In modern times, the eco-friendly and green cars are either all electrics or hybrids. In some places compressed natural gas is used as fuel, since it has lower emissions and is a relatively cleaner fuel. Taking all this one step further is the Ventile, designed by Thierry Dumaine, a French car designer and artist. He has designed this concept car so that the car is energy efficient.

When you see the picture you see a marriage of the modern and the traditional by way of looks. The car features huge wheels for a reason – so that wind can enter the base of the car. Air which comes in drives the fan to generate juice. The mini generator is near the wheel bases and serves to store the wind power to fuel the car. The wheels use very small tires and between them is another fan.

The Ventile has two separate motors, one which is electric and the other which uses fuel. Both motors are connected to the large fan. The body of the car is made of translucent material which is very light in weight. In fact the whole car weighs less than 350 kilos. Dumaine has already exhibited and demonstrated the Ventile at the 2011 Michelin’s Challenge Design exhibition, so it is not just a concept on paper.

There are many environmentally friendly solar gadgets and in comparison, wind power is used much less. However, this garden light looks right at home in a garden because it is shaped like a flower and uses wind energy as its source of power.

Its petals are the wind propellers and the slightest breeze is sufficient to move them. The propellers are connected to a machine which helps harness the wind energy to trun it into electricity. The energy is stored in a battery.

The garden light is even more eco-friendly as it comes with a light sensor which automatically switches it on when it is dark. This concept light is an ‘intelligent’ one as it uses wind to harness energy which is released only when needed. It looks good and saves energy as well. In fact if you were to put them in a row around your garden or even on the patio, you could achieve a stunning effect when the lights come on.

Everybody generates kinetic energy when they move. Usually this energy is just wasted energy. But now inventors are looking at ways that this energy can be utilized. What better way than to recharge your gadgets?

Tremont Electric is developing a personal charger which can charge small electronic gadgets like MP3 players, cell phones and the like. The PEG (personal energy generator) simply has to be put in a handbag, back pack, haversack or briefcase. The movement will help charge the device and enable it to convert the kinetic energy into a more usable form.

It looks small and sleek and is extremely portable. Tremont Electric hopes to release this device commercially sometime this year.

If you have small children in the house, you will well know how much energy they have. It is almost impossible to keep up with small kids running around and playing. Aaron Tsui, Irina Kozlovskaya, Jasen Mehta and Sergio Silva have together designed and created Rocco, a rocking horse for children which harnesses the kinetic energy unleashed when a child rocks on it.

This energy charges an internal battery which then lights up its ears cum handles. By the way, the ears are detachable and can be used as separate flash lights. The lights can also be used in the night. The fact that the ears light up will encourage kids to rock even more, thus using their energy. And it will also help as a teaching aid to make them more aware of the environment.

Rocco has been entered in the green gadgets competition and is a concept device as of now. It is eco-friendly not only because it uses kinetic energy but also because it is made of 100 percent non toxic and recycled plastic. The rocking mechanism houses magnets which transfer the kinetic energy via copper coils electric power which is stored in the batteries.

Can you imagine a scenario where cars passing by would be able to power highway lights along with natural winds via wind turbines? Somebody did, by thinking out of the box. The turbine light is a concept at present, but think of all the power and energy it can save if this can be turned into a practical application.

The system would feature a built-in wind turbine that uses the moving air from cars on the highways to generate clean energy, which is then used to power the lights. Clean and green, eco-friendly and free!

TAK designed this concept for the Greener Gadgets competition. While solar power is a widely used concept for lights, wind power is not so common and it could be a viable and greener option if it can be turned into reality.

There are many charging devices which work on solar power, but there are few that work on both solar and wind power. The Kinesis K3 is one such portable device which you can use to charge your various small gadgets like cell phones, iPods, digital cameras and the like, even if you are without electricity.

It can use solar power or the wind to charge and then transfer the charge to your device. For instance if you are biker, you can clip this on to your bike and wind will charge it. So it will work even if there is no sunlight and it is a cloudy day.

It comes with an electric charger so you can charge it before leaving so you are never without power. And it comes with a USB built-in port and various adaptor points to fit most gadgets. So now a cheap and renewable power source is within your reach.

While eco-friendly consumers often talk of and use solar powered gadgets in an effort to go green, it is difficult to envisage wind as a source of energy. This is simply because windmills have to be large and attached to a grid to generate power, thus making them an economically unviable for the domestic user.

However, fast paced developments in the field of sustainable energy may make wind power affordable and more user friendly. Graeme Attey of Fremantle, Australia designed the concept which uses a modular wind turbine that is small enough to sit on the roof of a house. This turbine is about a meter in length and half a meter in width and has blades which rotate with the wind, thus generating electricity.

It is supposed to be used in conjunction with solar panels and ought to generate enough electricity to power the house. The Australian government is helping Attey fund the trials and may think of offering people a discount when they install the system which is slated to go into production next year.

For people living in countries which get a lot of sunshine and wind, this could be a boon, because many third world countries have a severe power shortage. Electricity is expensive as well. And globally if the wind turbine is efficient in producing energy, it is going to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels for energy consumption