Bosch Aquastar Tankless Water Heaters

Water heaters can be large, problematic, and can be a real burden on energy efficiency if you have an older model.  One way to combat this is to get a Bosch Aquastar tankless water heater.  This is because the water is only heated in the quantity that you need at any specific time.  For example, most water heaters keep a minimum amount of hot water stored in the tank ready for use.  However, a tankless water heater will not keep any hot water on hand, but will work to heat up the water that flows through it when the hot water is turned out at the source (i.e. the shower or the sink).

There are three different standard sizes for the Bosch Aquastar tankless water heaters, and you will need to choose the one that will work best for your household water consumption needs. For example, if you are just looking to have hot water supplied to your sink, then the small 1000P unit will be perfect for this operation.  However, if you want to get a tankless hot water heater that is capable of running a small household, then you will probably want the 1600 series tankless system.  This medium sized system is one that is capable of operating one major appliance at a time like a shower or a dishwasher.  If, your house has more than four people it in, then you will probably want to make sure that you go with the larger capacity 2400 series because it is capable of running more than one large appliance at a time.

Remember, not only are you working with a system that has been time tested and guaranteed, but you are also operating on a more energy efficient level and are taking up less room in your home.

IBM Building New Eco-friendly Data Center

Many computer companies are doing what they can to both cut costs and go green.  For some, this means changing the materials they use in their computers.  For others, it means figuring out ways to use less power.  That’s what IBM and Syracuse University are doing.  The two have joined forces to build IBM a new data center that will use 50% less power than similar data centers around the world.

The company and Syracuse have put a lot of research and effort into designing a building that will need only half the energy of current data centers.  This includes looking at everything from insulation techniques to energy generation methods to much more.  They plan to send six months on building this 6,000-square foot facility at a cost of $12.4 million US dollars.  While that may sound like a lot of money to spend on a building, no matter how energy-efficient it is, there’s no question that this new data center will completely change the concept of energy efficiency in the computer industry.

The IBM/Syracuse building will have a number of new systems to help make it so power efficient.  It will actually have a computer infrastructure that will shift applications and workloads to servers that are not being utilized to increase the efficiency of both computing and power.  The cooling system, something that uses a lot of power, will now only target those servers that need to be cooled down.  Sensors built into every room will detect when people are using various parts of the facility and, when they aren’t, will turn off the lights and other items.

These new approaches to improving energy efficiency are quite ambitious, and many of the things IBM and Syracuse have planned have never been done before.  If the new building truly does use 50% less power, it will be a major accomplishment.