(A greener home, room by room)

TalkBack 1 of 1:

• Thread View
• Flat View

If you really want to go green ...

Your house will need additional power wiring.

One is to distribute low voltage DC power for LED lighting. A big snafu no one has really addressed with LED lighting is surge supression. I bought two AC powered LED lamps a few years back, only to have their electronics get fried within months of installation. With an AC to DC converter that has all the surge protection built in, this becomes a non-issue.

The other wiring addition is to distribute high voltage DC power. This would be used by the ventilation system fans, pool & bathtub or jacuzzi water pumps, refrigerators & freezers, and the chief energy user, air conditioner compressors. Even stoves or ovens would benefit from DC powered heating coils, especially the units that use induction heating.

DC powered motors are more efficient than AC powered motors. Even after factoring in the losses of a good AC to DC converter, one generally comes out ahead when switching to DC.

There are two other big advantages of DC power:

1) The air conditioner compressor doesn't require a surge startup power 3x to 5x times its operating power.

Backup generators, or even off-grid generators, tend to be less efficient when operating at 25% load than when operating at 50% load. A larger backup generator is needed to overcome the surge startup of an A/C unit. A smaller generator uses less fuel for the amount of power it puts out vs. a larger generator operating at a fraction of its capacity.

2) DC powered motors and heating elements can scale back their energy consumption during peak grid demand, either on command or by sensing a drop in the incoming line voltage and responding to it as a signal to cut back.

This can be a great incentive if the power company can offer a discount for people who invest in this type of technology.

Posted by: LarryPTL   Posted on: 10/01/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the costs of maintain ever larger data centers?or building ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software VMware VMware virtualization enables customers to reduce their server TCO and ... Download Now