In tough economic times, it can make sense for consumers to be both transumers—eschewing the burdens of ownership in favour of shorter-term privileges—and sellsumers, making the most of what assets they do own. Aiming to facilitate both is NeighborGoods, a brand-new site that helps consumers borrow, lend, rent, sell and buy stuff in their community.

Focusing for now on Southern California, NeighborGoods is an online community that lets consumers save and earn money by sharing with their neighbours and friends any of the assorted tools, ladders and other things they use only occasionally. Users of the site, which just launched into beta, can decide how they want to share their stuff. They can allow their friends to borrow an item for free while charging others a rental fee, for example, or they can decide to make the item available only to friends. NeighborGoods helps facilitate transactions with a reservation calendar, automated reminders, wish-list alerts and private messaging. It also tracks and shares the transaction history of each member. Neighbours can rate each other and even flag another member's account if something goes wrong. Borrowing and lending items on NeighborGoods is free of charge. Members who want to earn money by renting or selling items must have a Pro account—currently free, but ultimately by paid subscription.

Besides the obvious financial advantages for those involved, of course, sharing tools and equipment—much like cars, bikes and boats—has distinct eco-benefits as well, minimizing the redundant things so many households typically buy. Looks like another sharing-enabled win-win-win—for borrowers, owners and the planet—and one to be emulated in communities around the world! (Related: Neighbourhood approach to renewable energy.)

Website: www.neighborgoods.net
Contact: info@neighborgoods.net

Spotted by: O Magazine

Private wine cellars are typically associated with the upper echelons of society, limited as they tend to be to large, old and expensive houses. A UK company aims to change all that, however, with a precast storage system that can be installed in virtually any room of any house.

Spiral Cellars are watertight storage spaces that can be sunk into the ground in an existing ground floor room or incorporated into the build of an extension or new property. Capable of storing almost 1,900 bottles of wine, the spiral-shaped systems rely on the surrounding earth for insulation but also employ a unique air-flow system to maintain constant temperature without requiring any power. Three size options are available, ranging from the Mini Cellar—capable of storing at least 650 bottles—up to the White Spiral Cellar, which can accommodate up to 1,870 bottles. Pricing begins at GBP 9,200. A variety of trap door styles and optional extras such as LED lighting are also available.

Spiral Cellars has installed more than 23,000 Spiral Cellars in France and the UK over the last 25 or so years; one to bring to the growing ranks of oenophiles in other parts of the world...? (Related: Urban tasting room plays host to 8 local wineries — Wine selling & storytelling.)

Website: www.spiralcellars.co.uk
Contact: info@spiralcellars.com

Much the way DesignYourDorm gives college students 3D modelling tools to customize and shop for their dorm rooms, so RoomsByYou aims to bring such capabilities to the rest of us.

The California-based company goes well beyond simply allowing consumers to mix and match existing products, however; instead, it offers a combination of customization tools and build-to-order, on-demand manufacturing capabilities to give consumers a way to personalize the textiles used in their room. Beginning with baby rooms, the site lets consumers customize quilts, baby blankets, changing pads, pillows, crib bedding, diaper stackers and more using its assorted fabrics made of cotton, linen or polyester—silk and organics are coming soon. Consumers begin by choosing whether they want a classic or contemporary room. From there, they can mix and match fabric styles created by the site's participating designers, or they can upload artwork of their own for use in creating a new design. A retail calculator keeps track of the running total cost, and rooms can be shared, tagged or used to create a registry. An assortment of precustomized rooms are also available. All items from RoomsByYou are hand-assembled on demand in the San Francisco area. Coming soon are options for designing rooms for kids, teens and others as well.

Similar in many ways to DesignMyRoom—which unfortunately got repurposed since we covered it last year—RoomsByYou is further proof that when it comes to customization, there's no such thing as too much. Keep the design-your-own innovations coming! (Related: Design-your-own duvets — More design-your-own fabric.)

Website: www.roomsbyyou.com
Contact: support@roomsbyyou.com

While recent interest in sustainable building has spurred the creation of eco-minded materials like Greensulate and Cow Dung Bricks, drywall is one building component that has remained e ssentially the same over the past 100 or so years. That's about to change, however, thanks to EcoRock, a new drywall material that's made of 80 percent recycled materials.

Due to become available from California-based Serious Materials next year, EcoRock is used the same way as traditional gypsum-based drywall, but it's made of recycled industrial materials and uses 80 percent less energy to produce. The termite-resistant material also generates 60 percent less dust than traditional drywall and is 50 percent more resistant to mold. Perhaps best of all, EcoRock is fully recyclable, and can be used as a pH additive for soil or as a raw material in the production of new EcoRock and other building materials. Using EcoRock in a building project can contribute up to 8 LEED credits, Serious Materials says.

EcoRock won a Popular Science Green Tech Grand Award last year and is priced about the same as high-end drywall, Popular Science reported, at USD 14 to USD 20 per 4-by-8-ft. sheet. Distribution of EcoRock will begin on the West Coast of the U.S.; one to partner with on availability in other parts of the world...? (Related: Library of green building materials.)

Website: www.seriousmaterials.com/html/ecorock.html
Contact: info@seriousmaterials.com

Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel

There's no doubt solar energy is a compelling alternative to fossil fuels, but implementing it has traditionally meant installing the standard, costly and ungainly solar panel. SRS Energy's dual-purpose roof tiles offer one way to get around that requirement; now another comes in the form of thin, flexible solar sheets that can be integrated with architectural building materials.

Iowa-based PowerFilm makes low-cost foldable and rollable solar panels in which the solar technology is monolithically integrated in a polyimide substrate that's flexible and durable, yet as thin as 0.025mm. With an absorber layer made of amorphous silicon, PowerFilm solar panels use as little as 1 percent of the amount of silicon used in traditional solar panels; they're also cadmium-free. Since 2005 the company has been using its technology to manufacture solar field shelter tarps for military applications, and now it's developed the ability to combine it with standard building materials as well. Standing seam metal roofing, single-ply elastomeric membrane roofing and architectural fabric can all be combined with PowerFilm's flexible paneling for a variety of low-cost, building-integrated solar applications. In such uses, the electricity generated by the solar panels is stored in local batteries and converted to 110 AC for general wall outlet use or—in some cases—used directly for low-voltage lighting systems. The buildings can be either off-grid or grid-connected. PowerFilm recently completed a 10-kilowatt demonstration and evaluation project on metal roofing, and is now in the final stages of developing the technology.

PowerFilm also makes a variety of portable solar chargers—one of which won second place in the Mobile CE Fashion & Lifestyle Products competition at CTIA Wireless 2009—and it manufactures for OEM and custom orders as well. The lightweight and durable nature of its thin paneling, meanwhile, seems eminently suitable for use in the developing world. One to get in on early for the application of your choice...?

Website: www.powerfilmsolar.com
Contact: www.powerfilmsolar.com/contact

Spotted by: Katherine Noyes

Voltage optimization technology has been around for years, providing a way to cut energy costs and carbon emissions by reducing a building's incoming voltage and maintaining it at a stable level. Whereas traditionally the technology's costs have been prohibitive for all but large organizations, recently a British company created a low-cost device that puts it within reach of everyday consumers.

VPhase's namesake device, which was developed in conjunction with Liverpool University, gets fitted by an electrician next to a home's fuse box and operates on socket outlets and lighting circuits. From there, it optimizes the incoming voltage to a constant 220V in the UK, giving homeowners energy savings throughout the house without requiring any changes to their behaviour. The amount of energy saved will vary depending on the incoming voltage and type of appliances in the house, the company says, but typical savings include a 17 percent reduction in the electricity consumption of fridges and freezers, and 15 percent savings on lighting and central heating pumps.

VPhase CEO Lee Juby explains: “Many electrical appliances will work more efficiently and use less electricity at a much lower voltage. If every household in the UK used voltage optimization, a typical home could save carbon emissions of 270kg every year—the equivalent of taking 2.3 million cars off the road."

Currently available only within the UK, VPhase is priced at GBP 299 including VAT and delivery. Its maker is working with Scottish & Southern Energy and Ofgem to determine the product's lifetime CO2 savings. It's also working with British Gas to market the product through British Gas’s existing supply channels. One to partner with and localize for other parts of the world? (Related: Home energy monitoring, delivered by Google — Visualising energy use — Energy meters get tweeting — Smart thermostat is always online.)

Website: www.vphase.com
Contact: info@vphase.com

Vacation rentals require a certain degree of trust, which is why it makes sense for house-swapping services like Creative Caravan to target their offerings at consumers who work in the same industry. Aiming to capitalize instead on the trust shared among Facebook friends, Second Porch is a Facebook app that lets users list and rent vacation homes through the popular social network.

Using Second Porch, Facebook members can list vacation properties for rent or trade and control whether their ad is visible to everyone on the network, or just their friends. Listing a home is free, and those looking for a place can search by map, location, amenities, price or relationship. Not only are they able to see the "face behind the place," as Second Porch puts it, but they can also view detailed descriptions and photos along with comments from past guests. In addition, they can "follow" properties they like and see the recommendations of friends anywhere in the world. Currently there are some 600 listings on the site.

Though using Second Porch is currently free, the company plans to introduce a paid service for USD 99 per year that gives owners additional ways to promote their listings, according to a report in TechCrunch. What other kinds of transactions could be improved through a little directed "friendsourcing"...?

Website: apps.facebook.com/secondporch — www.secondporch.com
Contact: admin@secondporch.com

Spotted by: Ruben Feith

We wrote about Omlet's do-it-yourself chicken-farming kits back in 2005, and since then interest in urban farming has only gotten stronger. A number of updates on the topic have graced our virtual pages since then, and now Omlet has added do-it-yourself beekeeping to its line of offerings.

We've covered urban beekeeping atop a hotel and a department store, but Omlet's Beehaus kit brings the practice back down to earth for individual consumers. The Beehaus comes as a complete hive ready for colonization, with all the parts necessary including honey jars and a comprehensive beekeeping guide. Priced at GBP 465, the Beehaus is available in a choice of colours, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. An optional starter kit, meanwhile, includes the accessories a first-time beekeeper will need, such as a bee suit, veil, smoker and hive tools. An average, colonized Beehaus will produce 50 jars of honey per year, UK-based Omlet says, with the potential for up to 100kg if things go well.

Will consumers tire of producing their own, hand-cultivated food? Survey says no, particularly during these rough economic times. One to bring to sweet-toothed consumers in your part of the global hive...?

Website: www.omlet.co.uk
Contact: info@omlet.co.uk

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

More than 90 million tons of construction and demolition waste are generated each year in England and Wales alone, and at least 13 million of those tons are surplus new materials that could have been reused. Hoping to keep such waste out of landfills, BuilderScrap is a free site for the construction trade that aims to connect builders who have extra materials with those who need them.

Similar in many ways to the salvage operations of Buffalo ReUse, UK-based BuilderScrap was established by builders for builders as a way to use up surplus new and high-quality second-hand material in the supply chain. Users begin by registering and then uploading any extra building materials they'd like to sell or give away. Allowable items include timber, doors, floorboards, stair components, joists, tiles, window frames and office furniture, to name just a few. Other users who are interested in an item then contact the relevant user via the BuilderScrap website, which in turn notifies the listing member, who can respond to work out the details. Once the item has exchanged hands, the original listing member then de-lists it from the site. A video on BuilderScrap explains the site's premise in more detail.

Given the increasing interest in green building practices, it won't be long before such exchanges are set up in building markets around the world, and it's not hard to imagine the likes of Home Depot and other large vendors getting involved--not just for the good karma that would result but also for a front-row position as builders make their supply decisions. Who will be first to bring such an exchange—maybe with ad support?—to *your* neck of the woods...? (Related: Library of green building materials — Free plans for eco homes.)

Website: www.builderscrap.com
Contact: info@builderscrap.com

Spotted by: Ben Davis

Just last week we covered SRS Energy's Solé Power Tiles, which disguise solar panels as clay roof tiles. Now a similarly unobtrusive solution for cloudier climes is on the horizon. RidgeBlade is a wind-power system that can be fitted to buildings with minimum visual impact and maximum energy conversion potential. This micro-generation system employs discreetly housed cylindrical turbines positioned horizontally along the apex of a sloping roof. The slope of the roof naturally channels wind into the turbine chamber, meaning RidgeBlade can "produce electricity under low or variable wind conditions." This high efficiency means that the system could pay for itself within a few years.

Designed by a former Rolls Royce turbine engineer under the wing of UK-based The Power Collective, RidgeBlade is one of six finalists in the Dutch Postcode Lottery's Green Challenge. Director Dean Gregory presented the design to judges today at Picnic '09 in Amsterdam. If they are successful, the team will receive a EUR 500,000 grand prize (or EUR 100,000 if they are one of the two runner-ups) to help them bring the design to market within the next two years. It's a rapidly accelerating industry—one to get involved in now! (Related: Urban windmills.)

Update 25 Sept 2009 | RidgeBlade won the EUR 500,000 Green Challenge Prize! "It's beyond a dream,” said English entrepreneur Dean Gregory when Skype founder Niklas Zennström, a contest juror, announced his name. "This means we can focus solely on bringing this to market." Gregory entered the Challenge on behalf of the English company The Power Collective Limited—after finding out about it two days before the deadline.

Website: www.thepowercollective.com
Contact: info@thepowercollective.com

Spotted by: PICNIC Amsterdam

High-end appliance manufacturer Gorenje is showing ovens and fridges in a different light through their recent collaboration with New York-based designer Karim Rashid. Appliances in Gorenje's new line feature colour-adjustable LED strips, making the Slovenian company the first home appliance manufacturer to offer a solution that allows the users to change the colour of their oven or refrigerator. Gorenje is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of home appliance design. Back in 2006, we featured their Swarovski crystal-encrusted fridges; since then there have been collaborations with top designers Pininfarina and Ora-Ïto.

But this latest line of products is perhaps conceptually their most interesting. Rashid builds on a trend that started in a London hotel: St. Martin's Lane enabled guests to sculpt the lightscape of their rooms back in the '90s. The concept then moved into homes with Philips Living Colours lighting range, which allows people to change a room's colour to suit their mood or to create a different ambience. Applying the concept to large appliances like fridges and ovens is a logical next step. “Today we are dealing with a society based on experience, so objects need to blur experience with form", explains Rashid, reflecting the theme of trendwatching.com's 2006 briefing on insperiences. (Related: White goods morph into whiteboards.)

Website: www.gorenje.com
Email: info@gorenje.si

Converting to solar energy means covering a roof in unsightly solar panels. Not necessarily: Philadelphia company SRS Energy has developed the Solé Power Tile, a roof tile designed to sustainably convert sunlight into electricity without compromising aesthetics. The dark blue tiles, manufactured by SRS Energy, are jointly branded and distributed by US Tile and specifically designed to be compatible with the clay roof tiles manufactured by US Tile. Customers who purchase clay tiles will be given the option to upgrade a section of their roof to Solé Power Tiles. When installed, the system can offset a large proportion of a homeowner's energy costs—not to mention cleaning their carbon conscience. The tiles are available in select West Coast markets this autumn, with a nationwide rollout planned for spring 2010.

SRS Energy says that the Solé tiles, made from a high-performance polymer often used in car bumpers, are lightweight, unbreakable and recyclable. Flexible solar technology by United Solar Ovonic is embedded inside each tile, allowing them to function independently of each other. Meanwhile, the performance of the system as a whole is monitored remotely by SRS Energy and US Tile. The director of engineering at SRS Energy is J.D. Albert, who also developed the electronic ink technology used in Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.

What's so attractive about the Solé Power Tile system he and his team have produced is that it makes it easy for consumers to make a green choice, without having to settle for a product they find unappealing. With more tile styles and colours in the pipeline, SRS Energy could soon be enjoying a big chunk of eco-bounty, as will any other company that can remove the disincentives from sustainable technology.

Website: www.srsenergy.com
Contact: www.srsenergy.com/ContactUs.aspx

Spotted by: Anne-Marie Fischer

Eco houses may not yet be the norm, but there's no doubt green-minded consumers have increasing options for making one their own. Last year we wrote about FreeGreen's downloadable green house plans, and now a German company has come up with a modular design based on Lego-style blocks that consumers can put together themselves.

The HIB-System is an eco-friendly home design that's soundproof, insulated, energy-efficient and structurally sound without the use of any chemicals or toxins. Based on modular blocks created from naturally cut timber, local Black Forest pine and insulation materials including wood chips, clay, mussel shells and pea shingle gravel, HIB-System homes can be assembled quickly by consumers themselves or with limited help. The blocks, which weigh no more than 25 kg each, are easily handled without the need for expensive lifting devices and lock into each other in Lego fashion. The resulting construction is earthquake- and storm-proof even at three storeys tall, and a concrete floor can be added for even greater strength and stability. Interior and exterior walls can be finished in plaster, wood, brick or metal finishes; they are also mould-proof, and the insulation used achieves energy-efficiency levels 40 percent higher than those attained using standard insulation materials, HIB says. Consumers who use the HIB-System can either design their own houses or choose from an array of models pre-designed by professional architects. For construction, HIB can recommend local, certified partners to provide assistance, or consumers can do it themselves using HIB's pre-planned system whereby components are cut to size and numbered in the factory prior to delivery.

Meißenheim-based HIB is currently seeking partners for planning, building and sales throughout Germany. Alternatively, how about being the first to bring the concept to eco-minded consumers in your neck of the woods...?

Website: www.hib-system.com
Contact: info@hib-system.com

Spotted by: Alexander Maurer

Housing referrals are a tried and tested way of connecting landlords and tenants by inviting current residents to refer people in exchange for a finders fee. Aiming to leverage the strength of social media, RentMineOnline took the next natural step and added Facebook to the mix. The venture is effectively an online affiliate program for real-world house rental. Through RentMineOnline, property managers send bulk messages to their tenants informing them of a new campaign. Tenants can then send notifications via their social network of choice: Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter or email, and property managers can monitor the reach of each referral campaign in real time.

It's a win-win service on all sides. Current residents have the opportunity to help out friends and earn some extra cash (typically from USD 50 to USD 1500). Referred tenants have the security of signing with a vouched-for landlord, and possibly moving in next door to a friend. RentMineOnline takes a sales fee for each campaign from property managers, while the managers themselves benefit from a massive catchment pool of potential tenants, most of whom will be related by both demographic and location to current tenants.

The last point is key. As the presence of social media continues to grow, the question is increasingly becoming not whether, but how companies are going to harness it. For entrepreneurs, RentMineOnline looks to have created a model that should work equally well in other parts of the world. (Related: Crowdsourcing the sales force — Referral community for domestic help — Tapping into the referral economy.)

Website: www.rentmineonline.com
Contact: sales@rentmineonline.com

Spotted by: John Greene