VOA慢速英語(yǔ): 電腦產(chǎn)生的熱量可以為家庭供暖

[00:00.00]When computer servers operate a complex program, [00:05.00]they can get very hot. [00:06.73]Cooling the servers can be costly. [00:09.32]So researchers asked what would happen [00:10.81]if the heat created by the servers [00:15.31]could be captured and used? [00:17.97]Data centers of large Internet companies [00:21.33]such as Google and Microsoft [00:23.88]havethousands of computer servers. [00:26.63]As these servers process information, [00:30.19]theycreate large amounts of heat, [00:33.24]so they need huge cooling systems. [00:36.49]Thesesystems send the heat into the air. [00:41.15]The Dutch company Nerdalize [00:43.68]thinks paying for electricity to operate theservers [00:47.13]and then paying again to cool them is a waste of energy. [00:50.63]So itdeveloped a device called the e-Radiator. [00:55.45]It is a computer server that alsoworks as a heating source. [01:00.56]Boaz Leupe is the chief executive officer of Nerdalize. [01:05.83]He says the e-Radiatorsaves money [01:09.38]because companies don’t have to pay to cool their servers. [01:13.70]“…The kilowatt hour you are using is used twice -- [01:16.85]once to heat the home and [01:18.70]once to compute the client’s task [01:21.17]without the cooling overhead.” [01:23.45]He says five homeowners in The Netherlands [01:26.77]are testing the heating devicein their homes. [01:29.60]“We reimburse the electricity the server uses, [01:32.85]and that we can do because of the computer clients [01:36.34]on the other side, and, in that way, [01:38.88]homeowners actuallyget heating for free, [01:41.51]and computer users don't have to pay for [01:44.66]the overhead of the data center.” [01:46.39]Jan Visser is one of the participants [01:48.28]in the year-long experiment. [01:51.23]He says theamount of heat produced by the e-Radiator [01:55.49]depends on the work being doneby the computer server. [01:59.20]He says it cannot be used as the primary source ofheat. [02:04.27]But he is ready to try it. [02:07.12]He says if it provides enough warmth, [02:09.92]he will be able to use his home’sheating system less, [02:15.91]which will save him money. [02:17.81]Nerdalize says e-Radiators create heat temperatures [02:22.40]of up to 55 degreesCelsius. [02:25.41]It says the devices could save users [02:28.66]up to $440 in heating costs ayear. [02:32.94]I’m Jonathan Evans. [02:35.42]Words in This Story [02:38.56]data – n. facts or information used [02:42.65]usually to calculate, analyze or plansomething [02:46.03]reimburse – v. to pay someone an amount of money [02:51.05]equal to an amount thatperson has spent [02:54.15]overhead – n. costs for rent, heat [02:57.70]and electricity that a business must [03:00.72]payand that are not related to what the business sells [03:04.04]server – n. the main computer in a network [03:08.29]which provides files and servicesthat [03:11.26]are used by the other computers in the network [03:13.97]Do you think the e-Radiator will [03:18.40]become a popular way to heat homes? [03:19.54]Wewant to hear from you. [03:21.25]Write to us in the comments section.

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