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I'm looking to reduce my carbon footprint and want to find a "green" datacenter. There are so many ways to define a "green datacenter' I'm looking for examples of SMART Criteria such as

When it comes to running a green datacenter, what are additional key factors I need to look for?

What key words or technologies might those energy efficient datacenters be using?

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  • The first thing you need to look for is a cohesive definition of "green" :-)
    – voretaq7
    Sep 28, 2012 at 18:55
  • @voretaq7 ok where do I start defining green? (not sarcastic)
    – makerofthings7
    Sep 28, 2012 at 19:10
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    @maker... it looks like you can't catch a break on your green datacenter questions today...
    – joeqwerty
    Sep 28, 2012 at 19:43
  • @joeqwerty Eh, just stick a windmill on top of the DC, that would do it right?
    – Brent Pabst
    Sep 28, 2012 at 19:44
  • That's certainly one way to do it... :)
    – joeqwerty
    Sep 28, 2012 at 19:45

2 Answers 2

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In all seriousness, why not just buy carbon offsets, otherwise look for LEED certified data centers.

I would trust a certified data center that has met predefined criteria over all others, they at least showed initiative and money to get the certification. LEED may not be the best, I'm not sure, but it seems to be the one many others are aiming for.

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I started typing up an answer, and then I realized my thought already had a term defined: Power Usage Effectiveness. Any way you look at it, the less power a datacenter consumes per watt that reaches your hardware, the more green it is. The closer a PUE is to 1, the more efficient the data center is at keeping your equipment cool, among other tasks (power conversion, etc.).

You should reasonably be able to ask for a PUE number. Beyond that, you could consider the sourcing of electricity as well.

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