Green hosting also referred to as Eco-friendly web hosting is a company hosting a website without having negative effects on the environment. These companies strive to attract green consumers and make the world a “greener” place. Green hosting services also use Green Marketing to help decrease the demand on the Earth’s resources. Green hosting consists of many efforts such as carbon offsetting, reducing energy consumption, planting trees, and using energy saving appliances.
Most companies go green by using a carbon offset, which is a financial instrument intended to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere. When companies purchase a carbon offset, they help fund projects that reduce the release of harmful gases into the air and aid in planting trees.
Companies also buy Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or “Green Tags”, which use energy created by a green source such as hydropower, solar power, and wind power.
Green web hosts often use virtualization to share resources between customers to create effective use of server hardware. This concept has the potential to significantly reduce the number of servers that consume energy. Green web hosts use more Eco-friendly web servers. Some use two servers that are located in the same box that use the same power source to reduce energy consumption. Others use “speed stepping”, a server technology that decreases the voltage and heat amounts that a server uses, particularly during peak usage times.
The layout of data centers can decrease energy usage from the positioning of the air conditioning to weatherizing the center.
Many web hosting companies are using additional methods to become green or greener web hosts, such as using propane gas as a back-up energy source, installing solar panels, using data centers that are solar powered or driven by windmills, having telecommuting employees, having a paperless office, and creating incentives for alternate work transportation.
People would be interested in green hosting because it helps save the environment. In the United States alone, non-green data centers used as much energy power as 6 million homes in 2005. The energy usage is projected to increase 2 fold by 2011. The planet will only be able to sustain this amount of energy for so long and it is important to start decreasing energy consumption to help save the planet and create a better world for everyone.
Many green web hosts provide unlimited worldwide access so there will be less travel, more time, less carbon dioxide, and more money. Employees of large and small businesses can work from anywhere so they do not need to travel to an office. Signing up for e-documents is also a green practice. Consumers and companies use less paper which saves more trees and decreases carbon dioxide. E-documents allow users to save them in a file on their computer or email and reduce the amount of paper clutter in their homes and companies. Green web hosting can cut heating costs by using energy saving heating appliances, which saves money and reduces carbon dioxide. Also, when people work from home an office does not need to be heated.
It can often be difficult to choose a green host, as there are a lot of opinions on which companies are green enough. When choosing a green web host, consumers and companies must take into consideration what they think is important and weight the pros and cons of each host. In general, any company that is doing something to save the environment is a better choice than a host that is doing nothing.
Three of the best green web hosting companies that are currently available: AISO, Super Green Hosting, and Canvas Dreams.
AISO owns and operates its own 100% solar powered data center and the business office is also powered by solar panels. There is no electricity for lighting needed during the day because AISO uses solar tube lighting. Their data center is Eco-friendly with wood only used in the doorframes. AISO is also in the process of creating a green roof for the data center. AISO is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and an accredited member of Co-Op America.
Super Green Hosting has its own green data center that is powered 100% by solar and wind powered energy. They use greener servers that produce 20% less carbon dioxide than the average web server. They plant one tree for every thousand customers. Super Green Hosting recycles most office waste and offers incentives for employees to carpool to work. They also provide customers with a Green Seal to place on websites to show environmental support.
Canvas Dreams has a hosting center that is powered by 100% new wind energy from local wind farms in Washington and eastern Oregon. It uses greener servers and the CPUs are very efficient and developed through a halogen and lead-free manufacturing process. The CPUs also use less energy and generate a low amount of heat. Canvas Dreams recycles old equipment and office waste in an aggressive manner. Canvas Dreams has an open telecommuting policy for its workers and offers non-profit sponsorships and discounts. It is also an accredited member of Co-Op America.
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