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AC vs DC

I thought it was one band ...
Edit
AC for sure.
For even better improvement. Raise the frequency.
 
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AC can be converted into DC more efficiently than the reverse, right?

If so, that means distributing AC gives you more flexibility.
 
When sending AC over transmission lines it tends to lose less power. Inside a house you could just as easily use 12 or 24 volt DC for lights. However, at this point most appliances are designed for 110 AC. So it is kind of a Moot Point. Typically in a solar power installation, you design a system on say 24 volt and use an expensive sine wave converter to make 110 to run house hold equipment.
 
AC is better for long range transmission due to ease of stepping voltage up/down. (higher voltage has less losses). It's also better for motors, though brushless DC motors can be pretty good too. Not sure if it's as good as 3 phase AC ones though.

DC is better for applications like electronics, or applications that have batteries or capacitors. Telcos use -48vdc for all the equipment for this reason. The power comes in as AC, is rectified to 54VDC (floating point for 48v batteries) and then the equipment and battery bank connects to it. If the power fails the equipment just keeps running off the batteries since they're connected in parallel. No switch over or anything required. There is also a pure sine inverter for equipment that runs off 120v such as a lot of Cisco gear.

Switching power supplies have also made the ability to convert DC fairly efficient. Some higher end units can be like 96% efficient.
 
Red Squirrel said:
AC is better for long range transmission due to ease of stepping voltage up/down. (higher voltage has less losses). It's also better for motors, though brushless DC motors can be pretty good too. Not sure if it's as good as 3 phase AC ones though.

DC is better for applications like electronics, or applications that have batteries or capacitors. Telcos use -48vdc for all the equipment for this reason. The power comes in as AC, is rectified to 54VDC (floating point for 48v batteries) and then the equipment and battery bank connects to it. If the power fails the equipment just keeps running off the batteries since they're connected in parallel. No switch over or anything required. There is also a pure sine inverter for equipment that runs off 120v such as a lot of Cisco gear.

Switching power supplies have also made the ability to convert DC fairly efficient. Some higher end units can be like 96% efficient.
Click to expand...


This is why I like DC. Especially after waaay too many shocks.
 
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