Use your phone to Go Green

Author: Angela Stewart, Marketing Intern

Living sustainably can be difficult. Thankfully, the world of technology has plenty of solutions to help in your sustainable quest! Today, we’d like to focus on one of the biggest trends of the last five years—cell phone apps. There are an endless supply of applications available for Android and iOS operating systems that can help you navigate your eco-friendly lifestyle.

Here are our top 3 apps for reducing your energy consumption.

Leafully

Leafully measures your energy usage by the amount of trees it would take to offset your carbon usage. The app is free and connects to many utility companies so that your energy usage is automatically entered. Leafully also won the Department of Energy’s Apps for Energy contest in 2012. Good news for our Maryland readers—PEPCO and Potomac Edison are participating companies.

It’s free in the App Store for iOS users!

Alternative Fuel Locator

Alternative Fuel Locator locates sources for alternative fuel (such as: electric, biodiesel, and natural gas). It gives users the closest locations and a link to driving directions.

It is free on in the App Store and is available on Google play for $1.

You can also use the locator online.

Kill-Ur-Watts

Kill-Ur-Watts is similar to Leafully but tracks your energy usage in a more traditional way. Users can access customizable graphs and charts of their energy usage and carbon footprint. It partners with Green Button, the Department of Energy’s program to connect consumers to data on their electricity usage.

Kill-Ur-Watts is available for free in the App Store.

And one last app just for fun…

GasBuddy

This app is our guilty pleasure. It doesn’t have an environmental focus like the rest of the apps we’ve mentioned, but it will save you money at the pump! GasBuddy compares gas prices in your area so that you can find the cheapest gas. Best yet, it’s also free and available in the App Store!

Hungry for more? Check out Alliance to Save Energy’s article to get the scoop on even more energy saving apps.