Skip to main content

Holy shih tzu, this woman wants to power homes with dog poo

finding rover facial recognition app dog face big eyes
Petr Vaclavek
When your dog goes number two, what do you do? Daintily pick it up with the plastic bag you have wrapped around your hand? Let the dog walker take care of it? Leave it for the poor schlub who wore sandals that day to find? In any event, that’s valuable fuel that you could be using to power your phone.

At least, that’s the idea behind designer Océane Izard’s Poo Poo Power. Very much a concept at this point, the device is meant to solve two problems: the dwindling resources the world uses to power their gadgets and the excrement they leave all over the sidewalk when their dog does its business.

Recommended Videos

To use the Poo Poo Power, users would pick up their dogs’ poop with a biodegradable bag then put it in the machine, where special bacteria would turn it into methane that could then be transformed into electricity and stored in the unit’s removable batteries. The next time an appliance needs a charge, they could grab one of the waste-fueled batteries and power up.

Of course, your little Chihuahua isn’t going to be as useful as your neighbor’s Dalmatian. “For a beagle, it creates between 250 and 340 grams of feces per day. This allows you to run a fan for two hours,” Izard tells Fast Company. “For a German dog, it’s twice as much. It could almost run your fridge.”

As crazy as it sounds, Izard isn’t the first to think of the potential power stored in animal waste. Just recently, the Detroit Zoo announced its plan to utilize some of the 400 to 500 tons of feces its animals produce every year make power. The zoo will invest in a larger-scale version of Izard’s device called a biodigester, which will break down the waste into methane-rich gas to power the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex. The project should save the facility money in both energy cost and waste disposal.

The power of poop!

Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Tesla Powerwall is the best solar, home backup, and EV charging companion
Tesla Powerwall 3 installed on outside of home

Solar power, and having solar panels on your home, is a fantastic way to conserve energy and cut down on power bills, especially if you live somewhere sunny like Florida or California. There's just one glaring issue. When the grid goes down you still lose power because of how it's connected. Your solar panels cannot generate enough energy or keep it stored to keep your power on. So, essentially, your power setup doesn't offer much benefit there, unless you get a home power backup system. More specifically, something like a Tesla Powerwall is a compact home battery that stores energy generated from the grid. That energy is then used as a backup when traditional grid power is unavailable.

To make it even more clear, with a Tesla Powerwall, the power stays on even during a major blackout or outage. It's whole-home backup, too, which means you can power your lights, appliances, electronics, you name it. If you've ever had to throw away an entire refrigerator's worth of spoiled food because of a multi-day outage -- like I have -- you'll certainly appreciate the option to keep your appliances running. But that's not all it can do. The Tesla Powerwall is an excellent companion for Tesla EV owners, creating an entire smart ecosystem of power. Let's explore.

Read more
Air fryer or cordless vacuum, you choose: Two deep Black Friday discounts worth shopping
Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum in use with pet nearby

Going down probably as two of the most random, unique contenders for smart home and Black Friday deals in a mashup together, we have the COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer and LEVOIT LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum. One will cook your food fast and crispy the other will clean your home fast and effectively. Why not, right? You could even throw some food into the air fryer and get to cleaning while it heats up with the vacuum. Okay, maybe it really is an excellent combo. Nevertheless, these Black Friday discounts will have you a little more excited than normal, let's take a closer look.

 
COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer -- now $88, was $120 26% off

Read more
Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale
These are the best security camera deals available right now
Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

If you're the sort of person who worries about the physical safety of their home or live in a rough area, then having home security cameras can help give you much more peace of mind. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Security Camera -- $27 $50 45% off

While this is ostensibly made for your garage, there's no reason the Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage can't work for other uses as well, especially if you don't need the highest quality of recording. It has an HD camera, which isn't a ton, but it does have an impressive 130-degree field of view. The MyQ also connects through dual-band Wi-Fi for a better connection, and it even has two-way communication, which is impressive for something at this price bracket.

Read more