Greening the datacenter starts at the top, with white

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From EnterpriseITPlanet.com, a short news item on Secretary Chu’s suggestion in a speech in London at the end of May that global warming could be slowed with white, instead of black, roofs

In a recent speech, Energy Secretary Steven Chu suggested that global warming could be slowed by reflective white roofs. Dark roofs absorb more than 80% of solar energy, while white roofs can reflect up to 75% of solar energy away.

I cannot find Dr. Chu’s transcript, but here is a link to the TimesOnline account of the speech.

Speaking at the opening of the St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium, for which The Times is media partner, Professor Chu said that this approach could have a vast impact. By lightening paved surfaces and roofs to the colour of cement, it would be possible to cut carbon emissions by as much as taking all the world’s cars off the roads for 11 years, he said.

So, if you are building a new datacenter, you might reconsider those lovely architectural shingles and opt instead for a flat, white roof.