Yahoo opens green 'chicken coop' datacentre

Yahoo has opened a new a datacentre which it claims represents a dramatic leap in energy efficiency and design. Skip related content

Located in Lockport, New York, the datacentre operates with far lower energy and cooling costs than conventional datacentre facilities, the firm said.

Yahoo deliberately chose the colder climate of upstate New York to provide cooler air which can be pumped into the facility to help keep server hardware cool.

"Yahoo is one of the first companies to establish a world-class datacentre in western New York and to take advantage of the area's climate, clean hydropower and qualified workforce," said David Dibble, executive vice president of service engineering and operations at Yahoo, in a blog post.

"We are helping to establish the region as a technology centre of excellence, and we expect others will follow suit."

The 120ft by 60ft server buildings were constructed using an elongated 'chicken coop' design which Yahoo said helps to circulate the outside air within the building.

The result is a facility that uses 95 per cent less water and 40 per cent less energy than conventional datacentres, according to Yahoo.

The Lockport facility will help deliver financial, sports and news services, Flickr, Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger.

View the original article here