Ah, weather – one of life’s multi-purpose tools.  Conversation filler (“Quite the weather we’re having.”), alleged indicator of world’s end and source of inspiration for comic book writers to empower heroes and villains alike.

Weather can also be a Data Center’s best friend.  Solar energy can be harvested to help generate power, for instance, such as is happening at Cisco’s Data Center in Allen, Texas.  (Look for the 100 kW solar array on the right side of the Data Center’s roof.)  Wind energy as well.  Rainwater can even be collected for cooling system usage or to irrigate landscaping.

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Tags: airside economizer, Cisco, coc-data-center, data center, datacenterdeconstructed, energy efficiency, Green, solar, wind

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the period January through July 2010 as the warmest on record for average global land and ocean temperatures.  In August 2010, a piece of Greenland broke off and formed a floating ice island four times the size of Manhattan.  With IT organizations around the world focused on the challenges of protecting the environment and reducing costs associated with power and cooling, why would Cisco choose a notoriously warm area such as Texas to build a new, planet-friendly data center?

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Tags: airside economizer, cooling, data center 2011, Green