Goal For The Green

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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

The Patio Guys

Jun-23-2013 By Barbara Zak

Summertime is filled with lazy days at the beach, lounging around the pool and endless tanning in your backyard. Maybe your favorite part about summer is the water balloon fights. Maybe you love the cook outs.

Regardless of what your favorite summer activity is, the right yard furniture can bring your summer from “okay” to “unbelievable.” Many families have lawn furniture for their backyard or patio. This could be something as simple as a table and chairs or an elaborate set of lounge chairs for tanning and laying out.

Deutsch: Liebermann Villa, Blick von der Terra...

Deutsch: Liebermann Villa, Blick von der Terrasse zum Wannsee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unfortunately, most families do store their furniture during the cold winter months. Sometimes patio furniture can become damaged during storage. Something like a fabric tear or even the start of rust can be disheartening. Homeowners may wonder if they have to buy a new patio set, but this can be very expensive and time consuming. Instead of becoming upset over damaged patio furniture, consider contacting a commercial furniture sales and repair person.

There are a number of companies who work to repair lawn and patio furniture. This not only saves you money, but it saves you from the difficulty of having to pick out and haul home new furniture. Your lawn furniture can quickly be repaired with little cost. You won’t believe how fantastic your furniture looks after it’s been taken care of by the Patio Guys.

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VPS Hosting Keeps Your Website Green

Jun-19-2013 By Barbara Zak

The Greenpeace International Smart 2020 study projects 4 billion PC devices will be in use worldwide by the year 2020. Emissions are expected to double as compared to 2007 levels, and the demand for information and communication technologies (ICT) services will rise exponentially, as India and China experience rapid economic growth. Sustainability measures to address the significant carbon footprint created by maintaining large data centers are integral to reduce emissions. Virtual private servers (VPS) offer promising green solutions, but some VPS are greener than others. Here is what to look for when choosing a VPS for your website or business.

Server room in datacenter

VPS Infrastructure

Building and maintaining data centers to respond to increasing customer demand for ICT will necessarily involve continually working to offset negative effects with innovative and creative green technology and environmentally friendly operating practices.

To gain a better understanding of the physical footprint and the magnitude of impact that data centers have on the environment, consumers can take a tour of Goggle’s data center online.

Viewers will see massive cooling tubes used to control the temperature surrounding towering rows of servers. Eco-friendly processes that utilize sea water for cooling tubes in Finland and recycled water in Belgium are incorporated into the infrastructure to lessen harmful effects on the environment and enhance sustainability, Google’s senior director of data center construction and operations told eWeek journalist Todd R. Weist.

Finding a Responsible VPS

There is not a universal protocol for rating VPS providers and measuring sustainability or environmental impact. Comparing a multitude of factors to reach the bottom line that determines who has the most ecologically friendly system and practices is difficult without leveling the playfield.

The most efficient way to measure sustainability and environmental impact is through calculating transaction carbons—examining the efficiency of the process along with the machines used to complete the process, according to Salesforce.

Look for a services company that provides reliable, environmentally safe options, including these features:

  • Dependable uptime. Linux VPS hosting from MyHosting.com guarantees 99.9 percent uptime with 24/7 support.
  • Internal green practices. Companies that limit printing internal documents to absolutely necessary items required for compliance or communication reduce paper waste significantly, along with providing green VPS support.
  • Wind energy credits. Providers committed to protecting the environment may choose alternative energy sources such as water and solar. Other companies purchase wind energy credits to offset the high-energy consumption required to operate a data center.
  • Reducing fuel. Many companies support telecommuting when possible. This practice reduces fuel consumption of daily commutes and also eliminates the necessity of relocating employees from other regions to a central office.
  • Utilizing resources wisely. Data centers that incorporate architectural design features that limit negative impact on the natural landscape and utilize water reclamation reduce potential harm to ecosystems in the surrounding area.

All indications are that businesses and consumers will rely more heavily on the Internet in the future. Virtual Web hosting providers must embrace technology and policy that supports the environment. Business owners can encourage that participation by choosing web hosting providers that actively pursue greener business practices.

Know of a VPS business you admire for its green practices? Join the discussion with your comments.

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Facts on RTO’s

Jun-14-2013 By Barbara Zak

Industrial use of a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) is both economical and versatile. Units can be programmed for various situations, modified as conditions change, and are useable where catalytic oxidizer systems, bioscrubbers, and biofilters are not.

English: Shows heat transfer, conduction, conv...

English: Shows heat transfer, conduction, convection,and induction (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The system works in a three-stage process. First, the hot exhaust passes through a ceramic layer. It takes the heat and uses it to preheat the next chamber. Here, the exhaust is burned up. Then, the now clean gas passes through a cooling ceramic layer that soaks up the heat, and the clean gas is released into the air.

The final stage is a repetition of stages two and three, ensuring that whatever contaminated exhaust still exists is eliminated. The cycle repeats, and the ceramic layers are constantly increased or tweaked, as needed. This secures upwards of 97% heat retrieval. RTOs can run to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, which means they can eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that bioscrubbers and biofilters cannot.

They also remove carbon monoxide, dangerous air pollutants, organic unprocessed substances, and nitrogen oxide. The ceramic media used are thinner, so heat transfer can be done quicker, more often, and with huge exhaust streams. In fact, RTO’s can accommodate both minimal solvent concentrations and exhaust flows at 550,000 SCFM levels. And when exhaust levels can’t be lowered, heat recovery can still remain above 80%. Keeping costs down is simplified by using RTO’s because the system runs on the very heat it generates, while maintaining an excellent scrub rate.

 

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