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When the lights go out...


Where are your servers?

A power outage that began at about 6:00 p.m. Friday December 8, 2006 left most of the downtown Santa Cruz without lights, according to Loren Kallevig, representative for rMeter (rMeter.com), an energy monitoring system for commercial enterprises and solar-powered telecenters in remote areas of the world. PG&E workers had power restored within an hour after an outage.

rMeter is a part of the SolarQuest enterprise which was establish to promote use of the solar energy for the periods of power outage and as a means of reducing dependence on oil and other carbon based fuels.

rMeter solar system was installed on the Squire Servers in Santa Cruz, CA about four years ago and have since been delivering electricity to power up systems of several web enterprises such as a stock photography web site Featurepics.com. Rolling blackouts became a norm within Silicon and Santa Cruz Valleyes during the summer months as well as during excessive changes in weather. The rMeter system was designed to deliver a consistent power output during such black-outs as well as to save power when the local energy grid is functioning properly.

Maintaining an environmentally friendly and dependable server set-up has always been a priority for FeaturePics.com, which was using the servers to host its main operations. "We always were aware of the fact that solar panels are an excellent solutions for generating power to run our servers," says Elena Orel, FeaturePics.com Tech leader "When we heard the reports of power outage we were particularly grateful to have this peace of mind." FeaturePics.com also uses other means of service back-up in addition to having well-maintained power options in order to serve its clients internationally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
      "Due to the sheer number of photographers and customers looking for stock images, having a smooth server response is part of good business," said Elena "Having solar system back-up will be a requirement for all our future server expansion as we go forward." Prime Edge Asbuilt Services (PrimeEdge.com) is currently conducting a site survey which would be used to determine feasibility of the future solar panel array expansion.

The solar electric set-up which was performed by SolarQuest of Santa Cruz CA consists of efficient solar modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar electric system such as these help sustain the environment from loads emissions such as carbon dioxide which is a major contributor to recent reports of global warming. According to Loren Kallevig installations which use energy monitoring software such as rMeter effectively increase usage and efficiency of solar installation which helps reduce operating costs as well as provides an invaluable data about systems pay-back period and other economic and environmental data.

Companies such as FeaturePics.com and SolarQuest understand that solid business prospective requires an environmentally conscious approach in order to be successful.

rMeter is one of the key tools which was developed by SolarQuest as part of its commitment to being a responsible environmental company not only in the areas without steady power source, but also within its own community. SolarQuest continues to do its part to implement the latest technologies to protect the environment and community as part of its business.

FeaturePics.com is a site for buying and selling Stock Photos, and giving recognition to the excellent group of FeaturePics Photographers.

rMeter is an energy monitoring system for commercial enterprises and solar-powered telecenters in remote areas of the world

Article courtesy of Asbuilt Services

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title = FeatuePics.com uses Solar Array Panels to Keep Servers Running.
author = Elena Orel - Featurepics.com
url = www.featurepics.com
dept = News, hardware, software
audience = General: cross platform anyone
overview = Santa Cruz, CA - December 8, 2006.

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Reviewed by Fred Showker for the User Group Network News Service. (C) 2006, all rights reserved. Affiliate groups may freely republish this piece so long as they include the tag line: "From the User Group Network News Service at http://www.user-groups.net/ " ... Event dates are subject to change. Some products, programs, or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Prices are estimated retail prices and are listed in U.S. dollars. Product specifications are subject to change. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Power Mac, Velocity Engine, FireWire, AirPort, Safari, Sherlock, QuickTime, iLife, iTunes, iChat, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iCal and Apple Store are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither a recommendation nor an endorsement.

 

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