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A universal DC standard isn't a silver bullet. Different circuits/devices and different batteries require different voltages, so there are still conversion step
by nknighthb 13y ago
A universal DC standard isn't a silver bullet. Different circuits/devices and different batteries require different voltages, so there are still conversion steps to go through. Not so long ago when linear regulators (which tend to be better at producing heat than desired voltages) were typical, this would have just meant another wall wart for most devices. Even now, it still means some added cost, complexity, size, and weight.
- ginko 13y agoThere was that one video about a guy who built a solar-powered house off-grid which uses DC to power anything. I believe he used several wires which he could combine for different voltages. Let me look if I can find it. edit: Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rM7QDi_5E&t=11m39s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rM7QDi_5E&t=11m39s
- nknighthb 13y agoLow-voltage at any meaningful distance is extremely lossy. Unless he's using big expensive wires, he's going to have a lot of voltage drop on any load beyond a small gadget. Even just pulling, say, 50 watts out of a 12-volt socket with a 20-foot run of 12 AWG behind it gives you a voltage drop of over 2% at the socket. At 120V/12AWG, the drop would be 0.22%. You'd have to use ~2AWG to match that. That's a lot of copper.