We all love being lazy, but can you be lazy and be green. We look at three eco friendly remote controls. If you are always finding that your remote control for the television is running out of juice, or maybe you just want to be eco friendly, then this might be the gadget for you. The Wind-Up Remote Control uses hand power instead of battery power.

Just winding the dial at the bottom of the remote 30 full turns is enough to provide a full charge, which should last you about a week according to the makers. According to Gizoo, the online shop selling the gadget, it is quick, easy and works with a huge variety of devices on hundreds of brands, including Samsung, Sony, Phillips and Panasonic and can control up to six devices at once.

The Standby Buster energy saving electrical socket with remote is an excellent eco friendly device. Plug the Standby buster from Ivy Energy Saving into your regular UK plug socket and then plug your device into it. Once connected the energy saving eco friendly electrical socket allows you to control it via remote control, meaning you can switch it on and off without getting up out of your sofa.

It is literally as simple as that. Anything can be added to the system as long as it has a plug and the rather lurid green remote control comes with the ability to set up to four different zones around the house be it a lamp or television. Helpfully Standby Buster uses Radio Frequency or RF rather than Infra-Red or IR, to switch appliances on and off, so it is not impaired by objects in its way.

In practice in our office we love it. The Standby Buster is easy to install, easy to use, and means you can control all your gadgets around your house or office at the push of a button. There is an increasing amount of competition in eco friendly electrical appliances, one being the Energy Saver remote. This eco friendly remote has two basic aspects, the universal remote and a remote controlled plug, which we will deal with in turn.

Out of the box, the remote supports up to four devices, defined as TV, set-top box, DVD and AUDIO. The first stage in setting-up the remote is to program in a code to allow it to take over the function of your devices. So where does the Energy Saver come in? Well, in the box you also get the remote controlled plug, which you can put into a wall socket before a multi-way extension. Then you simply press the green button on the remote, the plug switches off, and all your devices are off.

Effectively, it reduces all your standby devices down to one, the plug. An interesting concept and a universal remote that works very well with no problems. The Energy Saver element is something of an eco friendly convenience. The reality is, perhaps, that you want a universal remote, rather than a remote controlled socket, but if this reduces the number of devices you have on standby, then so much the better.