CES 2010: Green Companies Deck Halls Of CEA Eco Tour

By Jamie Sorcher -- TWICE, 1/9/2010

LAS VEGAS - It was easy to be green at International CES, a booming trend as many expected, and as further evidenced during a guided tour of the show given by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on Friday.

The one-hour tour, which canvassed the South, Central and North halls of the LVCC, highlighted a handful of the myriad companies exhibiting here who are focused on home energy management, power consumption and recycling.

Jennifer Bemisderfer, CEA's senior manager for specialty areas including recycling and environmental policy, who led part of the tour, noted that home energy-management systems have become a huge trend and had a significant presence at this year's show.

The tour's first stop was Control4 to view the company's Energy Management System 100 (EMS100). It includes an energy controller, a thermostat, an engaging interface and interesting applications.

The controller, which has a color touchscreen, gives consumers actionable information about energy usage so that they can take a more active role in the energy management in their homes.

Not only does the system manage home energy use, it also provides detailed energy usage information per device in the home as well as projects billing information based on usage patterns. Additionally, it simplifies thermostat programming. The controller features weather, clock, digital photos, traffic updates and more.

The tour's second stop was to Panasonic. The company's Eco Ideas initiative, given significant floor space at the booth, highlights home energy management and the company's efforts to reduce power consumption with its televisions and other electronics.

Indeed, power consumption for 2010 Viera plasma TVs vs. ones from 2009 will feature a 40 percent reduction.

Parker Brugge, CEA's environmental affairs and industry sustainability VP, then led the tour group to the 5,500 square-foot Sustainable Planet spotlight area in the North Hall, which features 30 companies largely comprised of start-ups focused on green initiatives.

The tour group visited Regen, a CES innovations award winner for its ReNu solar panel, $199 available this June.

Mark Reidy, the company's communications director, also showed the company's new Reverb, a solar-charging iPod dock, that will be available in June for $2,499.

Embertec, the final stop on the tour, is showcasing its power solutions saving products which work with in conjunction with traditional power strips.

The technology behind the company's EmberCeptor Computer Series (for laptops and computers) and EmberCeptor AV series (for TVs, game consoles and home theater systems) reduces appliance power waste - including standby power - decreasing CO2 emissions and saving money on energy costs.