December 21st in Resources by Tom . Leave a comment.
Computing isn’t as clean and green as some might think it is. There is a growing awareness of the environmental impact of computers and end-user power consumption, but with the trend toward cloud computing and the ever-expanding world of online content, it is important to remember the impact of data centers on the environment. Data centers consume huge amounts of electricity, all with a formidable carbon footprint. According to some estimates, by 2020 web hosting will be responsible for more carbon emissions that the airline industry. This infographic shows the environmental impact of data centers and comes to us courtesy of BrainHost.com, a web hosting company that has recently committed itself to green web hosting.
December 7th in Green Web Host Reviews, Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
Trey Gardner, CEO of Green Geeks web hosting, contacted me recently and asked that I review his company’s “green credentials” and consider mentioning Green Geeks here at EcoHostReviews.
Hosting web sites is an energy intensive endeavor, and any truly green webhost must minimize energy consumption, maximize efficiency, and utilize renewable energy sources for the power that is consumed.
My reviews are based on information provided to me by the web host, combined with my own research on the claims made. The veracity of green associations and certifications is considered, as well as efforts and programs aimed at internal sustainability measures within the company. I then look for any reviews, complaints, or praise for the host’s customer service, tech support, and server uptime.
Let’s get started:
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February 12th in Green Host News by Tom Schueneman . Leave a comment.
Hostgator is one of the web hosts on our “top ten” list. Recently they announced in their company newsletter a purchase of more certified renewable energy certificates (REC’s) to cover their entire server base.
From their newsletter:
Renewing Our Green Commitment
HostGator has just purchased additional certified REC’s (renewable energy credits) for our nearly 9,000 servers. This covers our entire server base, plus it gives us room to expand while more than offsetting the server’s carbon footprint. Instead of just offsetting our server’s emissions, we’ve committed to a 130% offset. Since we’re based in Texas, this investment goes towards Texas wind energy. As a HostGator customer, you should know that your web site is being powered by a 130% green server.
January 17th in Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
Check this out, Canvas Dreams is offering green web hosting that is completely wind powered from local wind farms near their home base of Oregon.
Here’s something we haven’t come across before. They use “mini servers” which generate nearly no heat which means minimal cooling costs. Perhaps their server rooms can even be cooled using ambient temperatures which would make Canvas Dreams one of the greenest hosts out there.
Live chat is available which is one of our must-have web host features.
To round off their environmental friendliness, you can check their eco-statistics. At press time, they had offset over 125,000 lbs. of CO2. We give Canvas Dreams a thumbs-up. Check them out here. (remember: NO AFFILIATE LINKS!)
January 8th in Blog by Tom . Leave a comment.
Now that we’ve removed all affiliate links from Eco Host Reviews, we are free to be completely objective. We challenge you to find another web hosting review site without affiliate links.
It’s time to establish Eco Host Reviews’ annual award categories. As with everything we do here, this will be user-driven. What’s your vote for award categories?
Greenest host? Cheapest host? Best value? Best Customer Service? You decide! Leave your comment or contact us with your recommendation. In one week, we will determine the categories and share them here. Shortly after, we’ll evaluate all our green web hosts and dish out the awards!
January 7th in Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
Super Green Hosting is yet another green web host. They claim to be “100% Carbon Neutral Friendly”… not really sure what that means. If they mean carbon-neutral, that’s good. They also claim to be one of the first green web hosts and strive to provide “the greenest hosting available”.
Unfortunately, these claims are not valid from our perspective. There is no proof of carbon neutrality such as a certificate. Also, beyond using Dell servers for efficiency, they ask you to pay for making your site greener through addons.
Although they make a good effort, we can’t identify Super Green Hosting as a truly Green Web Hosting provider. Still, if you’d like to check them out for yourself, you can do so here.
January 2nd in Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
Solar Web Host, based out of the UK co-locates their servers with a company in California (could it be AISO.net, also located in California, US?) Their website is a bit harder to nail down in terms of specific claims about environmental friendliness but here is what they say:
In their words:
SOLAR POWERED WEB HOSTING SYSTEMS
The datacentre we utilise for this option is in California east of Los Angeles. The data centre is powered by 120 solar panels which generate all the electricity. The Solar is owned and operated by the Datacentre to power California’s first and only solar-powered hosting company. (please be aware that there is a 10 hour time difference to the US so set-up times are longer and accounts can take up to 72 hours to activate).
Check them out here.
December 30th in Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
Based in Oregon, this company offers web hosting services directly by wind energy.
In their words:
First and foremost, our servers, and thusly your websites, are 100% Clean Wind Powered. Clean Wind is 100 percent new wind power. This carbon-free power comes from wind farms here in the Northwest and is endorsed by such groups as the
Renewable Northwest Project, Northwest Energy Coalition and Natural Resources Defense Council.
They go much further than wind energy and promote minimal commuting by employees, offset their employee’s carbon footprints and plant a tree on customers’ behalf.
Check them out here. (remember: NO AFFILIATE LINKS!!)
December 29th in Blog, Green Web Hosts by Tom . Leave a comment.
We discuss lots of green web hosting providers on Eco Host Reviews. But not all of them are truly powered by clean energy (clean means solar, wind, geothermal, etc.).
These web hosts are directly powered by clean energy. You won’t find any offsets or carbon credits here!
December 26th in Blog by Tom . Leave a comment.
We are confident the information readers find at Eco Host Reviews is solid, informative, objective and trusted. Although it is hard to put this information in front of new readers. We need your help to accomplish this goal. For a very limited time, we will offer you free web hosting through BlueServers.org in exchange for linking to Eco Host Reviews.
We will pay for 2 months of hosting for every pagerank the linking page has. For example, if you link to us from a page with PR 5, you will get 10 months of absolutely free web hosting at BlueServers.org. You won’t be roped into a contract and are free to cancel the account after the free period ends.
What do you think? Can you help out Eco Host Reviews by linking to us? If so, please drop us a line. We would also like to chat about special arrangements for those with highly trafficked sites, even if your pagerank isn’t that high.
