Orbis Blog » energy bill http://blog.orbissolutions.com Business and Technology Advice Thu, 29 Aug 2013 01:49:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Let’s put this waste to good use! http://blog.orbissolutions.com/2011/10/27/lets-put-this-waste-to-good-use/ http://blog.orbissolutions.com/2011/10/27/lets-put-this-waste-to-good-use/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:21:45 +0000 http://blog.orbissolutions.com/?p=704 Data centers use 1.3% of the world’s power. Half of the energy used in data centers is for the sole purpose of keeping computers and servers from overheating! That’s right. The energy required to keep computer chips cool matches the energy required for computing. If only there was a way to recycle this heat . . . […]]]> Data centers use 1.3% of the world’s power. Half of the energy used in data centers is for the sole purpose of keeping computers and servers from overheating! That’s right. The energy required to keep computer chips cool matches the energy required for computing. If only there was a way to recycle this heat . . .

An article from technologyreview.com highlights five organizations that have found use for the excess heat created by data centers. For example, the University of Notre Dame directs the heat from its servers into a greenhouse. Simultaneously, air is pulled from outdoors to cool the servers. This method not only puts heat waste to good use, but reduces the cost of heating the greenhouse. Imagine if more organizations found ways to turn something wasteful into something useful!

Greenhouse Effect: 5 Ideas for Reusing Data Centers’ Waste Heat

]]> http://blog.orbissolutions.com/2011/10/27/lets-put-this-waste-to-good-use/feed/ 0 Now that’s a smart window http://blog.orbissolutions.com/2011/09/28/smart-window/ http://blog.orbissolutions.com/2011/09/28/smart-window/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:24:12 +0000 http://blog.orbissolutions.com/?p=665 Keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter can be an expensive undertaking. That’s why these “smart” windows created by South Korean scientists are so appealing! Smart windows switch from summer to winter mode depending on the outside temperature. When it’s hot outside, the windows change to a deep tint to block sunlight from […]]]> Keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter can be an expensive undertaking. That’s why these “smart” windows created by South Korean scientists are so appealing! Smart windows switch from summer to winter mode depending on the outside temperature. When it’s hot outside, the windows change to a deep tint to block sunlight from heating your home. When the temperature drops, the glass turns transparent to catch as much natural light as possible.  

While similar technology already exists, this particular window switches transparency automatically based on outside temperature. Most comparable windows require the transparency to be switched manually. Read more about smart windows here.

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