Greening Your Air Conditioning -- Clever New System Makes It Good To The Last Drop!

With today's global temperatures on the rise, things are getting extra sticky inside and outside. In an effort to be as carbon-lite as possible, the most conscientious greenie can flap a hand-held paper fan all they want, but sometimes it's necessary to pull out the heavy artillery. The allure of Freon cooled air is often just too sweet to pass up, but the sad fact is that the heat and toxic gases that are pumped right back out of our units and into our external environment are just heaping insult upon our global warming injury. 2008 was the tenth warmest year on record, Asia's temperatures have been far above average and in the last 5 years alone, Europe has experienced sweltering summer temperatures that have claimed many lives. Talk about being hot enough outside to fry an egg...you could easily add a batch of dashboard chocolate chip cookies to the mix.

Aside from swamp coolers, fans, solar-powered air conditioning units or roof cranks (to literally air out our homes during the summer months -- okay, I made that one up but it would be handy), most of us press the little start button on our old fashioned fossil fuel gobbling air conditioner. Could this dark resource sucking, toxic gas emitting cloud possibly have a green lining? Well, if you use a standard 3 to 5 ton air conditioner to cool your home, then you're probably aware of the fact that it generates approximately 15 gallons of condensation daily. What happens to all of that moisture? Chances are good that it evaporates (if it's really steamy outside) or it collects in a little pool right outside of your house, perfect for pesky mosquitos to dive in and multiply.

Wouldn't it be great if you could make something positive come out of your not-so-green AC habit? With the AIR-igator, you can reserve all of the condensation that your unit produces -- about 5475 gallons of H20 yearly -- in a 24" diameter 65 gallon underground storage tank reserved for all of your landscape irrigation needs! The $500 system includes a water tank with a float, pump, timer, drip emitters and tubing. When water capacity in the tank has been reached, the AIR-igator pumps it through micro drip system emitters that you strategically place around your landscaping until the tank is drained. The built in timing device ensures that your garden is hydrated at the optimum time of day so that precious water is absorbed by your thirsty plants rather than the sun's rays. This isn't a bad idea in terms of partially greening one of the worst energy offenders in the common household. Couple it with a xeriscape garden (a la Los Angeles & Las Vegas) and you are well on your way to earning a shiny green halo. The water conservation aspect of this device alone earns it two green thumbs up!