Ever heard of T-Mobile's Binge On? Oh also, wireless tethering off of your phone's data? Moreover, mobile providers have finally come to their senses and begun to offer pretty darn competitive data plans.
Point is, if done right, it's a pretty sustainable option. It's one I've considered before moving into new construction with insane sound (and, well, wireless signal) proofing. But considering most people live in areas with pretty good mobile signal, I don't see why it isn't a feasible option for day-to-day web surfing.
In case I wasn't clear enough: in a building where energy is used on the order of MWhs to run the very purpose that the building was built for, switching on lightbulbs in the hallways and bathrooms during the day wouldn't exactly constitute a "peak load".
You get the solar power benefits, the employees get shaded parking that protects their vehicles from rain and sun.
Really, the shaded carport is the only benefit in that scenario.
It would also need to be a well-ventilated one, to make sure said employees don't catch the whiff of all that CO2 from the gas burning to support them solar benefits.
I'm currently in cloudy Tucson, where solar could easily be used to power this thing.
Sure, but then you'd have to choose on how to utilize the space - install a gazillion voltaic panels or a parking lot for the employees?
And let's not forget the amount of gas you'd have to burn at night in order to keep the power supply constant. It's not like there's a concept of "peak load" for data centers (which have to be powered 24/7).
You'd better build the power plant next door. Imagine the energy that thing would consume.
Iceland's power comes mostly from hydro and geothermal. So, if it is indeed designed "with Iceland in mind," I think the location of the tower itself should be considered in terms of proximity to a geothermal zone or a hydro generator in that case.
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Ever heard of T-Mobile's Binge On? Oh also, wireless tethering off of your phone's data? Moreover, mobile providers have finally come to their senses and begun to offer pretty darn competitive data plans.
Point is, if done right, it's a pretty sustainable option. It's one I've considered before moving into new construction with insane sound (and, well, wireless signal) proofing. But considering most people live in areas with pretty good mobile signal, I don't see why it isn't a feasible option for day-to-day web surfing.
In case I wasn't clear enough: in a building where energy is used on the order of MWhs to run the very purpose that the building was built for, switching on lightbulbs in the hallways and bathrooms during the day wouldn't exactly constitute a "peak load".
You get the solar power benefits, the employees get shaded parking that protects their vehicles from rain and sun.
Really, the shaded carport is the only benefit in that scenario.
It would also need to be a well-ventilated one, to make sure said employees don't catch the whiff of all that CO2 from the gas burning to support them solar benefits.
I'm currently in cloudy Tucson, where solar could easily be used to power this thing.
Sure, but then you'd have to choose on how to utilize the space - install a gazillion voltaic panels or a parking lot for the employees? And let's not forget the amount of gas you'd have to burn at night in order to keep the power supply constant. It's not like there's a concept of "peak load" for data centers (which have to be powered 24/7).
You'd better build the power plant next door. Imagine the energy that thing would consume.
Iceland's power comes mostly from hydro and geothermal. So, if it is indeed designed "with Iceland in mind," I think the location of the tower itself should be considered in terms of proximity to a geothermal zone or a hydro generator in that case.