How to Greenify Your Home Entertainment System
By Dan Mendes (from Inhabitat) on September 15, 2011
Home entertainment systems take up a lot of space in the hearts of homes across the country, however the only thing larger than a big screen tv and a massive stereo rig is the energy footprint of all that gear. Fortunately, whether you are a home entertainment fanatic or a just someone who watches the occasional soap, it's easy to your media fix without draining the grid. We've searched beyond the big box store promotions to bring you some of the most stylish and green gadgets for your home entertainment enjoyment - read on for our picks! 
1. Buy an LED TVAlthough we won't go into details about which TV to get (because as we all know there will probably be a better one tomorrow), we can definitely say that the most energy-efficient TVs on the market right now use LED backlights to provide excellent color while giving you great savings on your power bill. Thanks to their ultra low-profile design, LED TVs also take up less space in your living room, and they're a sure-fire way to get great picture quality, styling, and energy efficiency.
In general speakers tend to be relatively energy-efficient, considering that they use a few milliwatts of power to drive their magnets, but for those times when you're sitting around with some friends and need that perfect level of background music, try the PH III powerless amplifier. Using natural acoustics this ceramic piece of art amplifies the speaker of you iPhone to around 60 db!
Vampire power is one of the biggest problems with home entertainment systems and home theaters - they continue to suck power even when they are turned off or set to standby. Thankfully, with the EnergyHub Starter Kit you can easily monitor your energy usage wirelessly and even disable outlets from releasing vampire energy. This easy-to-use device sets up quickly, and its simple touchscreen interface allows you to become the master of your power usage.
There's a handful of great Apps out there that will make managing your home entertainment center easier and more efficient. There's no need to purchase those tree-killing TV guides - with the free i.TV app you can get your TV guide directly on your smartphone and it will update automatically. If you happen to drop your remote one time too many or if you'd rather use your phone for everything, you can download universal remote apps from DirectTV, Dish Network, Samsung, Sony, and many others.
See more from Inhabitat:
10 Tech Tips for a Green + Healthy Workplace5 Apps To Stop a Temper Tantrum in its Tracks
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Inhabitat is an online magazine devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and design towards a smarter and more sustainable future. Written by a young tech-savvy team designers and design journalists, Inhabitat delivers fresh content daily, showcasing emerging work from the cutting-edge of the global design community. Dan Mendes is an artist, musician and writer who is currently pursuing a Business Degree with a Minor in Studio art from Stony Brook University. Dan is also working to start his own organic apparel company focused on Men's wear. A new comer to the Inhabitat and Ecouterre team, Dan is eager to find his footing in the world of sustainable design, and he can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!
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