VOA慢速英语2015 能给家庭供暖的计算机服务器

Hot Computers Could Be Used to Heat Homes 能给家庭供暖的计算机服务器

When computer servers operate a complex program, they can get very hot. Cooling the servers can be costly². So researchers asked what would happen if the heat created by the servers could be captured and used?  

电脑服务器在运行复杂的程序时会很热，冷却这些服务器成本较高，所以研究者提出，捕获并使用服务器产生的热量会怎么样？

Data centers of large Internet companies such as Google and Microsoft have thousands of computer servers. As these servers process information, they create large amounts of heat, so they need huge cooling systems. These systems send the heat into the air.

谷歌和微软等大型互联网公司的数据中心都有数千台电脑服务器，这些服务器能提供信息，还能产生大量的热，所以就需要大型制冷系统，这些系统将热量散发到空气中。

The Dutch company Nerdalize thinks paying for electricity to operate the servers and then paying again to cool them is a waste of energy. So it developed a device called the e-Radiator. It is a computer server that also works as a heating source.

荷兰公司Nerdalize认为，花电费来让这些服务器运转，然后再花钱来制冷是在浪费能量。所以该公司就开发名为e散热器的设备，这是一种可以当做热源的计算机服务器。

Boaz Leupe is the chief executive officer of Nerdalize. He says the e-Radiator saves money because companies don’t have to pay to cool their servers.

博阿斯·卢皮是Nerdalize公司的首席执行官，他说e散热器能省钱，因为公司无需花钱来冷却服务器。

“…The kilowatt³ hour you are using is used twice -- once to heat the home and once to compute¹ the client’s task without the cooling overhead.”

“你所用的电能得到二次利用，一次是加热房屋，一次是在无需制冷开销的前提下运算客户的任务。”

He says five homeowners in The Netherlands are testing the heating device in their homes.

他说荷兰有5户人家在家中测试这种加热设备。

“We reimburse⁴ the electricity the server uses, and that we can do because of the computer clients on the other side, and, in that way, homeowners actually get heating for free, and computer users don't have to pay for the overhead of the data center.”

“我们报销用户所用的电力费用，我们能这么做，是因为一方面有计算机客户，这样房主就可以免费用热，计算机用户无需支付数据中心的开销。”

Jan Visser is one of the participants in the year-long experiment. He says the amount of heat produced by the e-Radiator depends on the work being done by the computer server. He says it cannot be used as the primary source of heat. But he is ready to try it.

简·维瑟尔也参加了这个为期一年的实验，他说e散热器释放的热量多少取决于服务器处理器的工作量，所以不能用作主要的热源。不过他说自己准备尝试下。

He says if it provides enough warmth, he will be able to use his home’s heating system less, which will save him money.

他说如果该设备能提供足够的热，他就更少地使用家中的取暖系统，这样就能省钱。

Nerdalize says e-Radiators create heat temperatures of up to 55 degrees Celsius⁵. It says the devices could save users up to $440 in heating costs a year.

Nerdalize声称e散热器能产生55摄氏度的高温，称该设备每年能给用户节省440美元的取暖费。

Words in This Story

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze⁶ or plan something

reimburse – v. to pay someone an amount of money equal to an amount that person has spent

overhead – n. costs for rent, heat and electricity that a business must pay and that are not related to what the business sells

server – n. the main computer in a network which provides files and services that are used by the other computers in the network

1 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 kilowatt   

n.千瓦

参考例句：

• They pay thirty fen per kilowatt hour.他们每度电付三角钱。
• The watt is a small unit of power so that we use the kilowatt instead.瓦特是小功率的单位，因此我们用千瓦代之。

4 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

5 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

6 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。