(April 1, 2010) — No longer will you need to find a universal AC charger to charge your iPod. The Illumicharger, presented at this year’s Greener Gadgets Conference, is a wall outlet charger that uses interior lighting and USB outlets instead of AC plugs. Energy from solar energy harvesting is stored in its rechargeable lithium ion battery for later use. The Illumicharger by Ryan Hess won third place at the annual Greener Gadgets design competition in New York on Feb. 25. The purpose of the Greener Gadgets competition is to “inspire more eco-friendly consumer products,” according to Newscientist.com. Coming in second place was the Empower chair by Ryan Klinger, a power-generating chair that uses energy from the sitter’s motions to generate electricity. It provides plugs to power laptops and other electronics. The Augmented Living Goods cell phone application by John Healy took first place. Using the barcode of an item, it informs the user of where his or her groceries come from, and whether or not they’re in season. A price history and comment board are presented as well. Other “green gadgets” include Adele Peters’ Corky, the eco-mouse made of recycled cork shell that features piezoelectric elements which collect energy from its movements. Electricity produced by clicks and scrolling is used to power a wireless link to a computer. In order to promote the use of green technology in the household, talks and presentations such as the Sustainable Show-Off and “Green Living Begins at Home” are held every year at the Greener Gadgets Conference. Ecovative, ThinkEco, and Tenrehte participated in the Sustainable Show-Off this year, while the “Green Living Begins at Home” talk evaluated household devices and their levels of efficiency and greenness. In giving the opening presentation to the Greener Gadgets Conference, industrial designer and founder of fuseproject Yves Behar referred to the design competition as the most thrilling test that designers have had in the last two or three decades.