Going green seems to be the mantra these days, and this line of thinking is exhibited in the Energy Tree concept from Yanko Design. Designer Ben Arent aims to bring together technology and the physical environment by developing a system that uses a real life tree which is hooked up to a microprocessor. This device will then control the watering and feeding of the tree automatically – but with an interesting twist. The ability to feed and water your tree depends on the amount of energy you and your household use. This is made possible by the implanted (pardon the pun) device monitoring the entire household’s appliances, heating/cooling, and recycling habits.

Such information will then be processed and used to sustain the tree with water and some fertilizer. Assuming your energy usage is less than stellar on the green scale, the Energy Tree device will poison and malnourish the tree, eventually killing it. Hence if you love the tree and can’t bear going to sleep thinking you had a part to play in murdering an innocent plant, you had better do your bit by keeping your energy usage within manageable levels and not use more power than you actually should.

In addition, the Energy Tree will be hooked up online and use something known as the collector, encouraging people to recycle by indicating at the depot whether you’ve done your job or not. This idea is pretty neat, and the article claims that “The Energy Tree will change the perception and view of how power is being used, implementing a complete system looking at device consumption, home consumption and long term sustainability.”

Source: TreeHugger