When a business chooses a hosting company, the most important factors are the quality of services offered and customer service. However, the environmental impact tends to be overlooked.
However, environmental protection and energy conservation have become a real priority. Note that in Switzerland, renewable energy consumption represented 80 % of electricity consumption in 2021. Green solutions are then prioritized by companies, with the aim of entering into an ecological approach that has become increasingly important for consumers.
Indeed, companies agree to find ecological energy solutions, particularly with regard to web hosting which consumes a lot of energy. This is how theeco-friendly web hosting is becoming more and more popular.
But besides, why do these servers consume a lot of energy?
As we explained to you in our article on WordPress, a host, is the home of your website. This is where all files and data are stored. The host stores them on servers that they manage themselves. These servers must be running at full capacity, because if they stop working, the websites are simply no longer accessible.
However, like anything that runs continuously, servers overheat. So to ensure their operation, they must be cooled. Which therefore requires high energy consumption. On the one hand because we never “turn them off”, and on the other hand, because they must always be kept at the right temperature.
As a result, many hosting companies are becoming aware of the impact of this energy consumption on the carbon footprint and are trying to reduce it by moving towards ecological solutions.
Internet: the harmful effects on the environment.
The Internet is now the heart of our lives. This has allowed us to be connected faster, in a more automated way, no matter where we are. However, despite the many advantages of the Internet, this continuous sharing of information results in a large carbon footprint on the environment. All seemingly innocuous data used such as sending emails, listening to music, storing data on networks and sharing information via social media represent significant energy consumption. Indeed, this concentrates a large number of round trips between devices and servers, constantly in operation, which seriously harms our planet.
This is the whole point of ecological web hosting. Eco-friendly web hosts use a green and environmentally friendly approach to powering websites and maintaining servers and domain names. For their operation, they only use renewable green energy, in order to adopt a more environmentally responsible approach.
Ecological web hosting, what does it consist of?
Eco-friendly web hosting is an eco-friendly way to host websites. Most green web hosting companies want to provide high-quality services while doing what is necessary to limit their carbon emissions.
There are several ways to limit your carbon emissions:
- Use renewable energy such as solar or wind to power the servers and keep them running.
- Reduce environmental impact in the management of his company by reducing, for example, the consumption of water, heating and by setting up recycling.
- Use more modern materials, which heat up less quickly and are more environmentally friendly for servers.
- Switch to shared hosting, which consists of storing data from different sites on the same server to avoid wasting energy and to automate the server's capacities as much as possible.
Thus, there are various ways for web hosting companies to protect the environment, without compromising the quality of their service.
What are the benefits of green web hosting?
Green web hosting has many benefits for your business and the environment. Let's look at the three main benefits of a green hosting plan.
Harmless to the environment
The main advantage of an ecological web hosting is therefore without any surprise its lower impact on the environment. It's the safest way to power websites and manage data while reducing your carbon footprint.
Less expensive than traditional hosting
Contrary to what one might think, ecological web hosting is less expensive. Indeed, a standard host consumes more electricity, its services will then be more expensive to ensure their profitability.
Green accommodation powered by renewable energy does not mean a lower quality of service either. It is quite possible to have access to the same advantages as with traditional hosts such as security, e-mail or even the domain name.
Ideal for your company profile
Getting into an environmental approach is an ideal solution for your brand image. Supporting sustainability is a key factor in consumers' buying decisions, and it will do your brand awareness a lot of good.
How do you verify that you are using eco-friendly web hosting?
You have to be sure to invest in a host with real intentions to protect the environment and not to be fooled by companies that greenwash. To be sure, check, for example, the various certifications obtained by these companies.
The PUE: Power Usage Effectiveness consists of measuring the difference between the total quantity of energy necessary for the proper functioning of a company and the share of energy used only for the servers. The goal for the host is then to find ways to have lower energy costs outside the servers themselves. For example, companies can switch to solar panels to heat the premises or practice freecooling for the servers (use outside air instead of air conditioners to cool them”,
ISO standards: the ISO 14001 and 50001 standards are complementary and awarded to companies that have found ways to reduce their energy consumption.
Adopt green web hosting
Green web hosting can be beneficial for your business or personal website. Your visitors will be sensitive to your approach to protecting the environment and your brand image will greatly benefit from it.
At Geekworkers, we mainly work with Infomaniak, a host committed to ecology and certified PUE as well as ISO 14001 and 50001. So don't hesitate any longer and contact us !
