WEBOLUTION!

The data centers that keep the Internet running require an incredible amount of electricity every year ... and they waste most of it.

 

While surfing the web, you’re probably more concerned with the charge left on your laptop’s battery. But how much power does it require to keep the Internet itself running?

Powering worldwide data centers for major web companies like Google and Amazon is a huge undertaking. Between the servers and their cooling systems, 'data barns' consume 30 billion watts annually, about 1.5% of global electricity. And at the rate the Internet is growing and adding users, expect that to rise significantly in the next several years.

 

Are these centers being run efficiently? What toll does it take on the environment just to make sure your Facebook status (and a billion other Facebook users’) reaches the masses?

Learn more in this infographic via Mashable...

Via Lauren Moss

Why should an everyday homeowner care that the smart grid can increase the U.S. electric grid's efficiency by 9 percent?

And what does that amount to in terms of energy and monetary savings? This infographic visually highlights those savings and what they actually mean to consumers.

 

The effort aims to connect the consumer with the smart grid, by explaining it simply and driving home the many benefits of smart grid technology, including: cost savings, energy efficiency, improved outage detection and resolution, as well as environmental benefits,.

“By highlighting the conveniences and benefits the smart grid can bring to consumers, the SGCC and its members can help consumers understand the smart grid just as they understand other, consumer-friendly, ‘smart’ technologies they wouldn’t consider living without – such as a smart phone, computer or television.”

Via Lauren Moss