By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

Some St. Cloud residents will have a chance to be a part of a “Green revolution” simply by plugging in a free power adaptor coming their way.

Celebration-based Logicor USA has partnered with St. Cloud’s Mercury Marine, who will culminate a year-long process to get the Logicor Green Adaptor to market by manufacturing and distributing the device.

Residents will soon receive a box of 20 devices, which are used to reduce on or eliminate the “phantom energy” used by appliances that are plugged in and not in use. The company claims that users could save up to 40 percent on their monthly power bill by utilizing the device throughout their homes.

David Lane, CEO of the St. Cloud/Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to residents in May touting the legitimacy of the product.

“I am excited for the economic support this will bring to St. Cloud,” Lane said in the letter, noting the project has added jobs at Mercury Marine, thereby pumping more money into the local economy. “By using these adaptors, you are reducing carbon emissions which will ultimately improve the world’s environment.”

The concept behind the device is an air-driven timer function that switches off the power supply to appliances that are not in use. A microwave, for example, uses energy the entire time it’s plugged in; the LGA could save a homeowner $150 annually by eliminating the power supply when not cooking with it, according to Logicor Marketing Director Alan Shafer.

“A microwave, when not in use, is a very expensive clock,” he said.

Other appliances that create standby energy that the LGA can help eliminate include computer printers, speakers, lamps and those that actually pose a fire hazard if left unattended such as irons, coffee makers, cell phone chargers and hair dryers.

But it’s not all about curtailing standby energy drain. Lower power usage creates a smaller carbon footprint by way of reduced emissions, and that’s how Logicor will profit as a business.

Once they receive and plug in their LGAs, residents will be asked to log their savings through a web portal, or a future phone app, to Logicor. The company can then report those results to Gold Standard, an internationally-accredited resource management agency, who will issue Logicor “carbon credits” that can be sold to worldwide companies with heavy carbon footprints like airlines and industrial manufacturers. Those credits cost less than the taxes those companies pay for their high level of emissions; $350 billion worth of them have been sold in the last five years, Shafer said.

Paul Hawkesworth, a native of England, who helped start Logicor with wife, Jane, after building the largest electrical testing service in the United Kingdom said as long as the company can offer proof of consumers’ energy savings, it can continue giving the LGAs away.

“It’s an easy system for people to work with,” he said. “We’re looking at a full education process. An average home not currently energy conscious could see as much as 45 percent savings, and by using less energy, people are doing their part to help the planet.”

The Hawksworths relocated to Central Florida, after vacationing in Florida annually for 14 years, in order to make the LGA project a reality.

“I passionately wanted the product to be made in America, and we really want to make a difference to people here, Paul said. “Energy has always been abundant and fairly inexpensive in America, but it’s quickly catching up.”

Shafer said residents who need more than 20 plugs will eventually be able to purchase them from the LogicorUSA.com website.

“We think that most homeowners have about 40 in-home products that could benefit from it,” he said.

Further Logicor products include arming the plug-ins with pellet-based fragrances or imbedded oxygen molecules.

St. Cloud is the first community to receive the LGAs, a part of the company’s plan to eventually offer households nationwide a free box of adaptors. Its start here is due to partnering with the University of Central Florida Business Incubator in St. Cloud, a partnership with the university that provides companies that have unique business models or products with tools, training and infrastructure to create financially stable growth and impact in their enterprises.

“The journey starts in Florida, and in St. Cloud,” Hawkesworth said. “It’s a very exciting and different project. I’m really looking forward to when people grasp what we’re trying to do.”