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Our sister site ZDNet.co.uk has been receiving all kinds on entries to their HomeBrew competition, including one creative gadget that stops tumble dryers wasting energy by overrunning, which you can see in action in a new video.
Gren Mercer from Weymouth, Dorset created a prototype of the energy-saving device, which works by using a humidity sensor that switches the tumble dryer off when the clothes are dry. Expensive dryers do have this feature, but cheaper ones don't -- which is where this device would come in handy.
The prototype has two parts: a sensor and a switch unit. A small humidity sensor is held in a plastic clip -- with a heat-shield made from an oven glove, that's attached to the piece of clothing likely to take the longest to dry.
The switch unit plugs in between the wall socket and the dryer cord and there is a very low-power radio link between it and the sensor. The clip is put with the clothes into the dryer -- set to maximum to make sure the clothing is not under-dried. The sensor measures the humidity inside the machine and, when it meets a certain level, sends a signal to the switch unit which turns off the power to the dryer. Neat.
Obviously an even better move would be to hang your clothes up on an airer and let them dry naturally -- saves on bills, energy and machinery. But for those never-say-die tumble dryer addicts, we guess it's better than carrying on as normal.
If you want to be in with a chance of winning a £20,000 Toyota Prius, just tell ZDNet.co.uk about the tech project you're working on at home -- but be quick, you've only got one more week to enter.
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