Over the last 100 + years society has relied on AC power to power up our world. The controversy over commercial use of either AC or DC power before the turn of the 20th century is but a historical footnote in the evolution of commercial electrical use. Or is it?
This week NEXTEK POWER SYSTEMS hosted a forum discussing some of the advantages of using DC power, its coming commercialization and the EMERGE Alliance organization that is rapidly spreading the virtues of DC power use. Guests at the forum had an opportunity to see some of the new products running on DC power, review their practical applications and meet some of the people behind the “DC power surge”. Many attendees came away with a sense that an electrical revolution using DC power is on the horizon. It’s the logical next step in electrical power. Yet, almost every building in our country runs on AC power, as well as the electrical devices within those buildings and it won’t be an overnight switch that changes our current built environment electrical power systems.
DC power is the source of power that is direct, simple and efficient. When power is converted from DC to AC there is a tremendous amount of lost power and inefficiencies created. All that heat loss from our power systems, electrical products and other devices is wasted energy in the conversion process from DC to AC power. Simply put, many products are losing double digit power in the manner in which they now operate. It is estimated products running on DC power could save anywhere from 10% to 42% electricity they use.
As previously stated, EMERGE Alliance is the non-profit organization that is spear-heading the conversion of our products, power systems and grid back to DC power. Many of the largest electrical products companies and electrical power giants in our country have become members of this consortium, including INTEL, Armstrong Ceiling tiles, Bosch, Johnson Controls, Delta, GE, DTE Energy, Juniper and the US Green Building Council. The recent addition and support of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to this alliance greatly increases the possibility of rapid conversion of products and acceptable use of DC power. As stated at the forum, commercialization of DC power is about to explode.
One local company poised to prosper on this “DC power surge” is Park Power Distribution Systems with its headquarters right here in Detroit. Park supplies a diverse range of systems, including: Bus Duct, Medium Voltage Systems, Low Voltage Systems and Metal Enclosures and since 1945 has delivered these power distribution products to a diverse client base, including: AT&T, CBS, Chrysler Corporation, DTE Energy, Ford, GE, Meijer, Nabisco, New York Port Authority, Owens-Illinois and the US Air Force and Navy. With commercial use of DC power in its infancy, companies like Park Power stand to profit from the host of products needing their services if application of DC power takes off.
In the next several years we will see whether DC power, presently used in cell phones, computers, electric cars and standard commercial lighting controls, as well as solar and wind power, spreads to more and more commercial applications and systems. In the end, it is entirely possible that Thomas Edison did have it right, being one of the early proponents of DC power. The AC-DC power controversy is about to heat up again!
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Author: Robert E. Mattler, Green Agent Man, representing GreeningDetroit.com