Best Green Web Hosting – Wind Energy Moo-ves FatCow to Greener Pastures

November 7, 2010 by Garen
Filed under: Choosing The Best Web Host

( The Best Web Hosting Service )- “Green” has become such a buzzword; you hear it every which way you turn. This color that used to be just part of a set in a box of crayons is now the universally-used (and –accepted) term to describe everything that has to do with humanity’s effort to save Planet Earth. The realization of the extent of damage inflicted on Earth and our natural resources, largely because of the way we live, has prompted everyone to chip in and play a part in reversing the harm done – and most importantly, preventing further damage. It could be as simple as segregating your trash, bicycling to work instead of driving, or recycling. In all likelihood you would have also heard the term “green web hosting”. And just as likely, there may even be some that are wondering, “What has green got to do with web hosting?” Plenty.

Although it might not be visible and apparent (and you probably haven’t given it much thought either), hosting a website has a detrimental impact on the environment and leaves a huge amount of carbon footprint on its trail. Think about the energy consumption that running your website entails: a huge amount of electricity is needed to power up the web server; the server itself churns out a great deal of heat and because internal fans are not sufficient to cool off the data centers, cooling systems in temperature controlled rooms become necessary. This adds up to further burden in energy requirement/consumption.

As the World Wide Web expands (as much as twice its size in every year of its existence, for the most part), the required servers grow in number as well; and subsequently, more and more energy/electricity has to be tapped to keep the servers running. Despite increased awareness and the dramatic improvement in the energy efficiency of most servers, energy consumptions continue to rise because of the rapid expansion of the Internet. At the current rate, rough estimation shows that by 2020, carbon emission from powering the Internet would be as immense as that produced by the airline industry.

Given this ominous scenario, web hosting providers have started to come up with solutions to counteract the negative impact of the energy-intensive services that the industry offers. Green web hosting is the concept by which web hosting companies try to neutralize their dire effect on the environment; while also providing a terrific means for ecology-minded consumers to put their money where their mouth is. These same consumers can support the development of clean, renewable energy by buying green web hosting. But what exactly is Green Web Hosting? Is it for real; or nothing but just one of those fancy words that the industry coined to portray an environment-friendly stance?

How Does Green Web Hosting Works? The Many Ways to Go Green

The primary concern of green web hosting is to monitor and control harmful carbon emissions from data centers. This works along the principle that technology doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. In recent days, there has been an increasing number hosting companies that adhere to the thrust of leading technology and quality service while also consciously making sustained effort to curtail the degradation of the environment and save Planet Earth from the irreversible effects of global warming brought by carbon emissions.

Any web host can become green – in more ways than one; but there seems to be a consensus that the most excellent way to go green is through the utilization of renewable energy. Simply put, this means creating energy by using the power of sun, wind and water. Renewable energy is sometimes referred to as the “holy grail” of the web hosting industry, that not only benefits the environment but the web hosting providers and consumers as well.

Some hosting companies that offer green web hosting set up their own facilities and directly operate their servers on renewable energy generated on-site; others purchase their utilities from certified renewable energy providers. By using wind mills or turbines, solar panels and dams, high energy resource can be generated to feed and keep the data centers up and running, without causing too much damage. However, this requires huge initial investment, and not all hosting companies can afford this transition. Fortunately, there is an alternative to this dilemma.

Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits (RECS)

In a nutshell, Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits (RECs), commonly called Green Tags, are certificates or credits purchased by web hosts from renewable energy producers (such as wind farms, for instance) to show that the electricity they use to power their servers and cover their electricity needs come from renewable energy sources. One REC is equivalent to the environmental benefits of 1,000 KWh (1MWh) of non-polluting energy produced from sources that can be easily replenished by the Earth’s natural systems (think wind, water and sun). Thus, a web host may still be using energy powered by fossil fuels; purchasing RECs indicates that it supports and helps expand the advocacy for going green.

More Options – How You Can Identify Green Web Hosting Providers

There are several more options for web hosting companies to go green. You can further determine if the hosting provider you are planning to sign up for is a green web hosting company when it utilizes these options to power its data centers and server farms in a more environmentally friendly manner.

Carbon Offsetting and Carbon Credits. Putting a price on carbon emission is another excellent way to make Earth a better planet. In carbon offsetting, green web hosts often engage in environmentally constructive projects to reduce (if not totally eliminate) carbon footprint of the servers. A very good way of doing this is through participation in activities such as tree planting and other energy conservation schemes. Carbon credits on the other hand, do not prevent carbon emissions per se. Purchasing carbon credits enables green web hosts to take the edge off the environmental impact of their servers’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by investing on alternative eco-friendly projects and helping to fund green initiatives occurring elsewhere. This theoretically cancels out their carbon usage and helps realize sustainability goals. Each carbon credit represents one metric ton of CO2 equivalent.

Energy-efficient Servers. Green web hosts see to it that the servers they run has the capability to cut down on power and energy usage. A specific technology known as “speed stepping” can considerably reduce the amount of voltage and heat that a server uses. Green web hosting efforts also include using propane gas instead of diesel for generators and backup resources.

Enhanced Data Center Design and Landscape. Green web hosting companies design their data centers and server farms in such a way that they can optimize functionality with the least amount of energy usage. Some of the most ideal green web hosting data centers sits on vast open space with plenty of room for tree-planting and are set up for proper ventilation. Data centers and server farms that use fewer energy resources for air conditioning and cooling system are always perceived as more eco-friendly.
Green Business Practices. Green web hosting involves more than just having carbon neutral servers. Web hosts that offer green web hosting also focus on energy conservation in the workplace itself by implementing less-energy-consumption strategy and other proactive steps with the goal of driving down overall energy consumption in nearly all aspects of operation. This is commonly observed in offices using fewer computers and other types of hardware, lighting, and other electronics. Employees are encouraged to recycle paper and other office waste (some even go totally paper-free), use green cleaning products and services, and allow some staff to telecommute.

Go Green with FatCow – The Greenest Web Host of Them All

Established in 1998, FatCow was designed to be a unique alternative from the very moment it was conceived. Since its inception, the company has grown bigger and better in its more-than-a-decade existence; yet, still exists by the code of delivering excellent value and best customer service hosting experience that website owners (especially, small online businesses) look for in their providers. FatCow is known for providing real business value and for making their services easy to own and easy to use.

In July 2009, inspired and encouraged by diligent employees and the customers’ positive response, FatCow finally decided to go green and announced the company conversion to 100% wind energy. This gigantic move propelled FatCow’s customer base to green web hosting with a much-reduced carbon footprint. The recently purchased 4,412,000 KWh per year of wind-generated RECs results to a mind boggling offset of approximately 2,260 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Now what could be greener than that!

But that’s not the only reason why FatCow is considered the Best Green Web Hosting in the industry. Apart from being a green web host, FatCow definitely knows its business and provides the pioneering one-price-plan philosophy that offers unlimited bandwidth and disk space along with fantastic features. But most importantly and even more impressive than all features combined is that FatCow truly provides authentic 24/7 customer support. FatCow has the most fabulous hosting plan that has everything you need to put your money for your own piece of the Internet – right out of the box!

For the very low regular price of $3.96 per month (only $2.95 per month with coupon), FatCow has put together an assortment of free green badges that you can add to your website to announce how you’ve already gone green. Clicking on the any of the green badges will show the FatCow certificate that authenticates and verifies that your website is powered by 100% renewable energy. Jump on the band wagon and start promoting your energy-efficient website with FatCow green badges today. To fully appreciate why FatCow is the Best Green Web Hosting provider on the market today, check all the outstanding features and services that the company offers in my Full FatCow Review. There is no better way to go green than signing up with FatCow – the greenest web host of them all.

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