Glow Host

If you own a website, you should be aware that the energy consumed by the data centers where web servers reside is consequential. ^*

Fortunately, there are a handful of hosting companies that have made significant efforts to go “green”.

We recently came across a new (to us) eco-friendly, solar-powered web host named GlowHost.

GlowHost has been in business since 2002, and specializes in highly available, affordable web hosting plans for individuals, businesses, and mission-critical Enterprise hosting operations. They pledge 99.9% uptime and a 60-day money back guarantee. Their plans start at $4.99/mo.

All hosting services offered by GlowHost are green.

As part of their “Green Initiative”, they reduce the carbon footprint of both their corporate offices and datacenters, delivering Green Web Hosting by:

• Purchasing Solar-Generated Electricity (through the Sunshine Energy Program)
• Providing Paperless Billing
• Utilizing Recycling Stations

GlowHost states that they “avoid over 10,800 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year — as much as a car would produce in over 12,000 miles of driving from [their] Sunshine Energy Program alone.”

Their paperless billing program saves trees because they don’t use the paper, stamps and envelopes associated with traditional paper billing. It also reduces fossil fuel emissions since bills are delivered electronically, negating the need for delivery vehicles.

Their recycling stations reduce post-consumer waste, further reducing the carbon footprint that GlowHost contributes to the environment.

Their datacenter facility also has the following eco-friendly & energy efficient features:

• Advanced heat pumping system recycles warm air from datacenter and is used to heat employee occupied space during the winter months.
• Well Water – Well water is used for cooling towers which reduces electricity used to pump water to the facility and eliminates chemicals normally used to treat city water supplies.
• LEED Certification – The facility is undergoing LEED certification which is a Green Building Rating System.
• Recycling Stations – All materials that are able to be recycled are. This includes packaging material for new computer systems as well as old computer hardware components.

Additionally, a portion of all hosting service payments will automatically go to support all current and future Green Projects presented by GlowHost.com, Inc.
 

[Directory of Green Web Hosts]

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[*] – It has been recently estimated that annually about 112.5 billion KWh of electricity is used to power web servers that house the data for websites – roughly equivalent to the output from 14 coal-fired 1,000 mega-watt power plants.
[*] -The carbon pollution produced from all web servers worldwide is equivalent to that produced from 12 million cars!

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