Being green in IT seems to be the issue of the month.
Dan Zambonini wrote:
> Having been in the large data-centres of some major ISPs, I've been
> witness to the sheer volume of air-conditioning that server
> farms need;
> this has to contribute massively to the negative
> environmental impact of
> the internet.
There is some investment in technologies that can help alleviate this:
"One of the biggest issues facing the IT industry is the cooling of data centres. As more equipment is installed to meet demand, power consumption rises, and so does the need to keep those systems cool.
This activity has become a key focus for TAG Technology, the Melbourne-based creator of a nano-chemical with some unique thermal properties. When combined with a coating, such as paint, and applied to a surface, TAG is capable of restricting the flow of heat through it to one direction only.
If the TAG paint is applied to the wall of a building, it can act to block any heat from sunlight entering the building, but still allow any heat that is contained within the building to escape. The laws of thermal conductivity mean that a building coated with TAG will cool more readily than one that is not, hence reducing the cooling costs for the building.
TAG's chief executive officer, David Forder, says his company discussed with Cisco the possibility of coating its data centre buildings, in line with Cisco's goal of reducing its energy use by 25 per cent over the next five years. Microsoft and Google are also believed to be interested in the technology.
"TAG works most effectively when you have a big internal temperature, and a much smaller external temperature," Mr Forder says. "And in a building with heat being generated internally, we can re-radiate about 32 watts per square metre of energy off a surface. That should mean that on a hot building, like a data centre, 40 to 50 per cent of the energy used on air-conditioning should be saved.""
http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/it-goes-green/2007/02/12/1171128897451.html?page=fullpage
See also http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/it-world-must-tackle-an-inconvenient-truth/2007/02/12/1171128897487.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
cheers, Mia
Mia Ridge
Database Developer, Museum Systems Team
Museum of London Group
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