HKS Hosting is Carbon-Neutral
HKS has purchased sufficient carbon credits from the Offsetters Climate Neutral Society to more than render it's hosting services carbon-neutral.
To calculate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions1 for our rack we measured the power being used by the servers. It is a modest 4.4 Amps continuous. This number can then be converted by multiplying our usage by the GHG intensity value of the Ontario electricity grid (see bottom of page for references). The folks at Offsetters.ca were kind enough to provide this calculation:
| 4.4 Amp * 120 Volt = 528Watt | Amps to Watts |
| 528w / 1000 = 0.53kw | Watts to Kilowatts |
| 0.53kw * 24hrs = 13kwh/day | Hours to days |
| 13kwh / day * 365 = 4625kwh / year | Days to years |
| Ontario Electricity GHG intensity = 0.272kg CO2eq / kwh | Intensity as per references |
| 4625kwh / year * 0.272kg CO2eq / kwh = 1258kg CO2eq / year | Usage times intensity |
| Annual GHG emissions =1258kg CO2eq= 1.3tonne CO2eq/year | Rounded to 1.3 tonnes |
So, HKS is responsible for 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per year due to hosting. We purchased 5 tonnes to partially offset other activities and also to account for electricity usage not measured in the 4.4 Amps such as air conditioning in the hosting area at Peer 1 and other overhead.
For further information on carbon offsetting, see the Offsetters website.
1 The values for GHG intensities for Ontario includes imports and was calculated by using data from the Canada GHG Inventory and the Govt of Canada Energy Report - Electricity Markets 2005-2006.
