power

Don't Forget Earth Hour This Weekend!

jplatt — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Who knew the brightest idea in fighting climate change was sitting in the dark?

This weekend, people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour to show their support in the fight against climate change.

The Earth Hour event takes place this Saturday, March 28th. Everyone who signs up is encouraged to turn off every light in their homes from 8:30-9:30 pm (that's your local time).

Earth Hour started two years ago, when 2.2 million people participated. This year, sponsor WWF is trying to take it to the next level, with a goal of 1 billion participants in 1,000 cities. So far, they have signed up more than 1,100 cities in 80 countries.

Time is running out, but there's still time to sign up for this year's event, so go ahead and send a message about our impact on the planet and fight climate change!

Start Saving Power in Your Datacenter -- Before It's Too Late

jplatt — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Businesses are going to have to start thinking about ways to conserve power in their datacenters immediately, according to a new report which says that two-thirds of all datacenters will not have enough electricity to handle all critical computing functions in less than three years.

The survey, conducted by Emerson Network Power, found that 64% of respondents said they would run out of data capacity by 2011, because they will not be able to get enough power to run everything.

Some respondents said they are already unable to add more data capacity due to energy concerns.

Meanwhile, only 25% of respondents said they had a plan in place to reduce their energy consumption. Oops.

Of course, at the same time, the amount of servers needed by most businesses only continues to increase. More servers equals more power consumption, which means more heat, which means more refrigeration, which means more power consumption, which...

We'll be posting several ideas to reduce IT energy consumption over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for some solutions. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas that have worked for your IT department, feel free to share them here!

An Idea to Green Your Grave

jplatt — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Looking for an idea that can help the people you leave behind? The Spanish town of Santa Coloma de Gramenet has turned its cemetery into something better than a memorial. By installing solar panels on top of mausoleums, they have turned the cemetery into a green-power-generating lifeline for the town.

According to an AP report, the cemetery boasts 462 solar panels, which produce enough energy to power 60 homes.

Cemeteries take up a great deal of land that could be better put to use as untouched wilderness, but it's good to see someone producing green change out of death.

Signed up for Solar Energy Installation Evaluation

C2 — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:08:43 -0400

I finally signed up for an evaluation from one solar installation company. I expect to hear back in three business days...I'd like to see if it makes sense to use solar energy to take us off the grid one day (wait until another blackout then we're all off the grid). Environmentally it is a compelling scenario...economically is another story...aesthetically it may be problematic too...should I worry that in 20 years when I want to sell our house that it will be outdated (like the Brady Bunch ranch houses)? hey, bite the bullet, God did not put me on this earth forever to exploit and plunder and not care..I plan to sign up for more installation companies...

New Gadget Can Save You Money on Electricity

jplatt — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Whether you're at home or in the office, your electric bills these days probably hurt. Not only are they higher than ever, but the impact of all of that electricity generation is spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every day.

What can you do to help cut your electric usage? A good first step is to monitor how much energy you are actually using.

One way to do that is with a Watts Up? meter from Electronic Educational Devices. Plug any device into one of these meters and it will tell you energy it is using. The higher-end Watts Up? meters come with USB connections and software so you can upload the data into your computer and keep track of usage over time.

EED says their monitors are particularly effective in identifying the "vampires" in your home or office -- the devices that continue to suck in electricity even when they are "off." According to the company, "A typical system consisting of a set top box, VCR, TV, stereo, and ampliier can consume 50-75 watts or more, even when not in use. This can add up to $25-50 years per year."

The basic Watts Up? monitor costs less than $100 -- a pretty low-cost nvestment for helping to lower your total electric bill.