Shop smart! Shop Eco-Smart!

Not that we need a fireplace when it’s 90 degrees in April, but the Eco-Smart is unique because it runs on ethanol instead of gas or wood. The freestanding model in the article’s picture is called the Zeta, apparently, and looks like something you’d find in Eldon Tyrell’s office. Not sure if their other models are as modern/sci-fi in design, though.

In any case, all the Eco-Smart models burn ethanol “at a rate of about half a liter per hour…(that’s about 0.15 gallons),” fed into it in liquid form. It’s also an open fire that burns clean into water vapor and CO2, so it’s a very clean alternative to wood and gas fires. Plus, who doesn’t want a portable fireplace? Communists and Freemasons, that’s who.

This is an avenue for ethanol use that’s worth exploring - if people are uneasy about fueling cars with it, or if electric cars really take off and drag all the R&D grants away behind them, stuff like Eco-Smart illustrates domestic uses for ethanol that could save people a lot of money down the road, and help the planet at the same time. If nothing else, a boost in ethanol generator development would certainly be nice.