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Will DC make a comeback? With solar panels and home batteries and LED lights, it seems like a no-brainer to take advantage of direct current...

by umvi 6y ago

holoduke 6y ago
DC transport is expensive. Low voltage high amp devices require very thick cables. Not an option even in your house.
- wffurr 6y ago
  That's why cars keep moving to higher voltage systems. 375V on Teslas, 400V on the Polestar 2. I doubt that's practical for home appliances.
- umvi 6y ago
  Even from the battery attached to your house? I'm not saying power every appliance, just have both DC and AC circuits in the home. DC circuit would power "DC native" things like LED lighting and computing devices, while AC would power "AC native" things like motors. By using AC everywhere we have to bundle AC/DC converters for every lightbulb in the house, and in my experience those converters are prone to failure way before the LEDs themselves.
- magicalhippo 6y ago
  Just to be pedantic, low-voltage transport is wasteful (expensive) compared to high-voltage transport of the same power (energy). That is because transport (cable) loss is a function of the current squared, while the transported power (energy) is a function of both current and voltage. Of course most appliances that want DC usually do so at a lower voltage (typically 5-24V), hence why they often go hand in hand.
wffurr 6y ago
Appliances are a problem; most are AC motors; three phase wiring is pretty efficient for them.
- umvi 6y ago
  I'm not saying completely replace AC. I'm saying homes could, should have both. The lighting circuits could be exclusively DC LED powered by solar/home battery which would be zero maintenance compared to current LED lights which have a bundled AC/DC converter in the bulb that fails way before the actual LED fails.
reportingsjr 6y ago
I don't think you'll see much increase beyond the current size of DC networks. DC from the solar panels to battery backup, but AC to everything else. Single room lighting on a single DC power supply, etc. There's just too much momentum behind AC circuits, and with modern electronics you can do AC->DC and vice versa quite efficiently. Additionally, AC has some nice benefits, like having safer/simpler plugs and switches due to minimized arcing.

Will DC make a comeback? With solar panels and home batteries and LED lights, it seems like a no-brainer to take advantage of direct current...

by umvi 6y ago

Will DC make a comeback? With solar panels and home batteries and LED lights, it seems like a no-brainer to take advantage of direct current...

holoduke 6y ago

DC transport is expensive. Low voltage high amp devices require very thick cables. Not an option even in your house.

wffurr 6y ago
That's why cars keep moving to higher voltage systems. 375V on Teslas, 400V on the Polestar 2. I doubt that's practical for home appliances.
umvi 6y ago
Even from the battery attached to your house? I'm not saying power every appliance, just have both DC and AC circuits in the home. DC circuit would power "DC native" things like LED lighting and computing devices, while AC would power "AC native" things like motors. By using AC everywhere we have to bundle AC/DC converters for every lightbulb in the house, and in my experience those converters are prone to failure way before the LEDs themselves.
magicalhippo 6y ago
Just to be pedantic, low-voltage transport is wasteful (expensive) compared to high-voltage transport of the same power (energy). That is because transport (cable) loss is a function of the current squared, while the transported power (energy) is a function of both current and voltage. Of course most appliances that want DC usually do so at a lower voltage (typically 5-24V), hence why they often go hand in hand.

wffurr 6y ago

Appliances are a problem; most are AC motors; three phase wiring is pretty efficient for them.

umvi 6y ago
I'm not saying completely replace AC. I'm saying homes could, should have both. The lighting circuits could be exclusively DC LED powered by solar/home battery which would be zero maintenance compared to current LED lights which have a bundled AC/DC converter in the bulb that fails way before the actual LED fails.

reportingsjr 6y ago

I don't think you'll see much increase beyond the current size of DC networks. DC from the solar panels to battery backup, but AC to everything else. Single room lighting on a single DC power supply, etc. There's just too much momentum behind AC circuits, and with modern electronics you can do AC->DC and vice versa quite efficiently. Additionally, AC has some nice benefits, like having safer/simpler plugs and switches due to minimized arcing.