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14 comments on CNet: Power could cost more than servers, Google warns

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dinaz on December 10, 2005 - 7:41pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Maybe Google should build superserver centers beside the oilsands projects...  THey need every bit of heat they can get.

Co-location however is the obvious answer.  If Google could see its way to installing more server arrays in places that actually have heat demand, particularly low density heat demand, this might put a dent in the cooling side of their number crunching costs.  Institutional and commercial buildings in much of Canada, the northern US and Europe are good candidates for co-location.  They may not need heat all the time and some conventional and inefficient outside heat dumping may be necessary, but a 50% saving is better than 0% anyday...

But I have to admit that there's something appealing about living in the woods and working as a network adminstrator...

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tom deplume on December 11, 2005 - 12:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
What will it cost to get engineers and technicians to move from sunny California to the frozen north?  We recently looked at real estate in North Dakota and found many places where the highest asking price for a large house with acreage was under $100k. Whole towns could be bought for the price of one Silicon Valley McMansion. North Dakota also has abundant cheap wind energy resouces.
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