Monthly Archives: October 2013

environmetally-friendly-server-computers

Environmentally Friendly Online Backup

As more emphasis is consistently being put on worldwide eco-friendly initiatives and as technology improves almost daily, the focus of attention for transitioning to green energy has shifted to a significant technological innovator: the cloud backup industry.

The Predecessor:

Before cloud and online backup services sprouted which largely occurred in the mid to late 1990s, people were using floppy disks and CD’s as their main source of data backup. While on the surface this did not seem to pose any sort of risk to the environment, after just a few short years environmental activists found several flaws in these backup approaches. These disks could only hold a miniscule amount of data, especially compared to cloud backup which use massive servers with the ability to hold an unlimited amount of data. Consequently, dozens (if not hundreds) of disks were needed to store the data for each individual. The colossal amount of energy exhausted from manufacturing this kind of volume for these disks was simply unacceptable. More importantly, according to the CD Recycling Center of America, floppy disks and CD’s were many times improperly recycled and still continue to this day. This assists in the increase of unnecessary waste, while this waste stays in these landfills forever. And the dagger? Hours, if not days, were required to back up your data via these disks. Multiply the number of hours or days by the amount of people using this method and what you get is an unwarranted amount of energy expenditure.

New Business:

The .com boom was a major catalyst for corporations looking to fine-tune productivity. One of the key factors limiting company efficiency was the floppy disk or CD backup process, particularly for larger enterprises that required a full team to manage the data storage.

Enter:

cloud storage. Nevertheless, business was business and initially bottom line profit was the only factor that mattered. Due to substantial growth expansion over time as more people rapidly transferred to the cloud, more servers and data centers were needed to maintain the business and its reputation. Any server down time would have likely extensively wounded the brand name and ultimately profits. However, there was one gigantic problem. Not only mid-sized online backup companies such as MyPCBackup were expanding their server farms, but enormous corporations such as Microsoft were increasing their number of servers by the thousands (Microsoft currently houses more than one million servers in its data centers). Within a short time frame, the amount of harm being done to the environment due to extreme energy usage for the servers could no longer be ignored.

The Solution:

Cloud storage was already helping in the reduction of energy waste as it no longer took hours or days to backup data. Yet, the waste levels were still unjustifiably high, especially due to the fact that there were green options that could significantly cut energy waste levels. Furthermore, after a few years of establishing themselves as major entities in the cloud industry, these corporations now had a stable customer base and readily available resources to look into these more eco-friendly options. As a result, many of these organizations have moved to renewable energy such as solar and wind power to help fuel their data centers’ energy needs.

If you are looking at cloud storage solutions for your data, online backup provides a far more efficient and eco-friendly alternative for you.

Author Bio:

Eric Silver is a senior contributor at OnlineBackupMag.com, a leading web resource on cloud technology. As a technology enthusiast, Eric enjoys reading PC Magazine and working on old computers.

Ideas to save energy for your home

Is it Time to Invest in Solar Power?

Over recent years the developments in solar power have been optimistic in terms of whether it will soon be possible that homes would generate at least some of their own power – saving money and aiding the environment. Sadly however the cost of creating solar panels has been somewhat higher than most homes would like, with some specialised solar panel services charging some of the cheapest prices around £45 ($72). This of course was for some of the lower power producing solar panels; in most cases either multiple or more powerful solar panels would be needed.

With costs this high it seems rather counter-productive; you could be spending around £3000 – £4000 just to save around £40 on your bill. Not to mention the solar panels can look too big, bulky and ugly, so why would you want one? Besides the fact you would be creating energy from nothing but sunlight, which is of course going to help to protect the environment, you’ll be generating power that you can use – you won’t have to buy it from anyone else. That is of course assuming you make enough to use. It is more likely that you won’t be able to generate enough power to get rid of your electric costs altogether but you might be able to trim them down a bit.

save-energy-solar-panels

However, with enough solar panels and light on your roof you could generate enough power to start selling it back to your provider – not just save money on electric but actually earn money from it! This is doubtfully going to happen in the British sun, but the possibility is still there, the fact that it’s possible is encouragement enough for a lot of people and what should be even more encouraging is that the cost of buying solar panels should be going down very soon.

In late August 2012 researchers at RTI international declared that they had developed a new form of solar technology, it works in very much the same way but is constructed of much cheaper materials. Research is still ongoing as to what else can be done and the best way to manufacture these new solar panels but the most important fact is that they too are a possibility. The estimation is that these new, cheaper solar panels will actually be as good if not better than the solar panels that are already sold, but will cost around £12.50 ($20) to produce. This huge improvement in price is likely to encourage a rise in sales for the solar panels in the years to come.

It is also thought that when the new version of this solar energy becomes commercially available the power of absorption will be increase, research scientists at RTI are already working on methods that will stop low levels of light from becoming the end of the power, which can only be good news for members of the UK.

The hopes of many of the scientists researching this technology is that there will soon be a greener world, with more energy being drawn from natural sources like the sun, not only to protect our environment but to demonstrate our own advances. As we advance technology like this should be more present in our live, particularly when it can be at such a low cost high output state. With the issues of cost cast aside there are no reasons not to invest in solar energy. It might be that you just want your home to be more independent and free from the issues of paying for electric, it might just be that you really care about the environment and the use of more harmful fuels. Whatever you reason for considering solar energy, it is bound to be a beneficial investment. When the price of solar energy drops, there will surely be a number of people lining up to become part of it.

Author Bio

Katy writes for JR Wood Electrical Contractors and is very passionate about energy conservations and preservation of your future environment. By making a few small changes everyone can make the world a better place to live.

 

 

How Much Energy Is Needed To Power a Light Bulb?

How much energy is needed to power a lightbulb?  Well, it depends on the source of the energy.  Here in North America, we are stuck on using fossil fuels and are struggling to free ourselves from this energy trap we created for ourselves.

Many countries, particularly in Europe, have been making tremendous strides in moving towards renewable energy resources to power their cities.  Here in America, even Google is funding initiatives to help get us moving towards renewable energy.

When you think of a lightbulb, we don’t think much about the resources required to power it.  Take a look at the infographic below showing us how much resources are required in order to power a lightbulb for an entire year.  As you can see, coal (a fossil fuel) requires a tremendous amount of resources, including manpower to mine it, in order to power a single lightbulb.  We need to start thinking about alternative and renewable sources of energy if we want to leave this planet a better place then when we started on it.

What are your feelings on renewable energy?  What power source do you think is the right choice in creating a balanced energy strategy?

 

How much energy to power a lightbulb infographic