"Eco-bling" - I love that term... I heard it a while ago and it really does sum up well the inevitable rise of "stuff" that we can buy that now has a slight eco angle. The actual eco-benefits can even be highly debateable, but if it SELLS that's all that matters to the makers.
I met a guy on the train the other day who was interested in what we're doing at ZapCarbon. Before I'd had a chance to say that we're all about improving home efficiency, he'd rattled off what he'd like to do at home.
"I'd really like to get one of those wind-turbine chimney pots that I saw on Dragon's Den - they look good. Brilliant solution."
I haven't analysed it in detail, but my estimate is that such a unit might cost around £1000 once it's all wired in and generate perhaps 1000kWh / year at best. Which is all well and good, except that most households can save 1000kWh / year extremely easily with nothing more than a bit of behaviour change.
For example, the old chestnut of changing your home's light to low energy bulbs.
So do you spend £20 on more efficient bulbs or £1000+ on a roof-top turbine ? Completely up to you, but if you want to save 1000kWh and still have £980 pounds in your pocket I know which I'd do.
Then if you want to really save some serious kWh's and Carbon, go spend £100 on some loft insulation. Three times the energy saving and still £880 in pocket.
The trouble is that to many a roof-top turbine is infinitely sexier than loft-lagging or new bulbs. Rolls of loft lagging are a really tough sell in a market geared around "status symbols". I mean when was the last time you asked people round to see your 270mm of fibre glass in the roof ?
Yes, it's the ZapCarbon mantra all over again...
http://www.zapcarbon.com/zapcarbon_mantra.aspx
So basically it's a case of resisting with all your might the temptation to do Step 3 until you've done Steps 1 & 2 !