Kanga, one of two cats in our household, doesn't know it but the Bionaire cat box she's about to use is solar-powered!

Did you know there’s such a thing as a solar powered fridge? A solar-powered computer? A solar-powered TV? A solar-powered washing machine? And, check this out, a solar-powered kitty litter box?

No, we’re not kidding – they do exist, but maybe not in the form you’re thinking right now.

These solar-powered appliances don’t actually have solar panels on them. Instead, the electricity they use is generated by our 5.59 kW home solar system on our perfect-for-solar, south-facing Aurora, Colo. rooftop.

In fact, our system – which first went online with Xcel Energy on June 28, 2010 has pumped out 1,419 kWh of electricity in less than two months. Of that total, we’ve used just 447 kWh to solar power our fridge, computer, TV, washing machine, and, yes, kitty litter box -- and every other electrical appliance and gadget in our house.

The other 972 kWh?

A 100 percent solar-powered home
We’ve banked them for a future electric car. Those 972 kWh will power an electric car for 3,888 gasoline + air pollution free miles. We’re also amassing future gasoline savings right now -- to the tune of $583 ($3 per gallon, 20 mpg) in savings so far with $2,500 in banked "gasoline" a distinct possibility before we get an electric car in about a year and a half.

Oh yeah, you're probably wondering what we mean by solar-powered kitty litter box --which quite possibly could be the world’s first, and, if not, at least Colorado’s first solar-powered kitty litter box.

The thing has got a small electricity driven air filter to, well, you know, help get rid of that stinky cat box odor. It actually works pretty well – if you clean the box out daily.

For those of you with kitties (we’ve got two), you might want to check it out. It’s the Bionaire Odor Grabber Litter Box. And, as I just discovered, it’s now selling for about $30 dollars less ($67) on Amazon.com than what we paid for it about a year ago.

And if you do grab one of these nifty little “Odor Grabbers” for yourself, please be sure to solar-power it too!

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