Do you think AC will ever be widely replaced with DC?

[bignateyk]

Wat. I don't think the OP has ever taken a course on power generation/transmission.

 

[Chiropteran]

Why can't we just use both? Like AC/DC, it works for Ironman.

 

[purbeast0]

definitely thought this thread was about atlantic city and our nations capital.

 

[*kjm]

For the main grid..... sure some day.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1000781-the-secret-to-hvdc-grids-abb-unveils-hvdc-circuit-breaker

Also a good read...

http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=29192

 

[lxskllr]

On a side note, could nuclear waste be used to generate power for a house? I assume there's still energy left when it's scrapped. Could that be distributed to individuals for use?

 

[Mixolydian]

DC is shit. Everything should run on three-phase 480v AC.

 

[zanejohnson]

i see alot low power things going to a usb type plug, eventually, probably 5vdc, 12vdc, and renewable energys eventually stored at the home in 12v batteries.. with dedicated 220v/440v to 12/5v transistors to power the battery pack from the grid.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

DC and AC are a bunch of crooks

we need Independent C

 

[mmntech]

On a side note, could nuclear waste be used to generate power for a house? I assume there's still energy left when it's scrapped. Could that be distributed to individuals for use?

Because you'd trust your average idiot to handle highly radioactive material.

 

[Brainonska511]

You don't know anything about anything, do you?

FTFY

Did the OP read that Hitler was a fan of DC power and thinks we should convert to it too?

No, he read that Lincoln and Hamilton conspired with the forces of Karl Marx and the modern Republican Party to take on the Inter-Dimensional Forces of Jefferson and Ron Paul to destroy the gold standard, set up fractional reserve banking, and enslave us all to the state through the horrors of AC power.

 

[ichy]

Why hasn't IdiotTroll420 been banned yet?

 

[edro]

The OP's question is easy to dismiss because of the historic advantages of AC over DC.
However, he has a good point.

Once photovoltaics and windmills improve, every household can be fully self sufficient, using DC.
Think about the devices you use. ALL of them could be ran off of DC (with design changes), and probably more efficiently.

 

[BUTCH1]

Actually, DC transmission is possible & is now preferred for long distances. The increased cost for conversion to AC at the end is more than offset by reduced losses in the line.

However, OP, watch this video and let me know if you'd like them to switch over to supplying your house with DC instead of AC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zez2r1RPpWY

Also, the number of appliances and other devices that would cease to work because they're built to operate on AC only - at this point, it'd be near impossible to switch.

Oh, and re: DC switches, shhhhhhh!

That's because with DC your getting a steady voltage 100% of the time and much more current flow, if you designed that circuit correctly to run off DC you would not need 220V to power it..

 

[BUTCH1]

On a side note, could nuclear waste be used to generate power for a house? I assume there's still energy left when it's scrapped. Could that be distributed to individuals for use?

Yikes!, do you really want John doe in possession of radioactive waste? this has to be shipped and handled with a very strict set of protocols and specially licensed truck drivers IIRC.

 

[IronWing]

On a side note, could nuclear waste be used to generate power for a house? I assume there's still energy left when it's scrapped. Could that be distributed to individuals for use?

Yes. You could use a trash reactor like the CANDU reactors the Canadians developed.

 

[jagec]

That's because with DC your getting a steady voltage 100% of the time and much more current flow, if you designed that circuit correctly to run off DC you would not need 220V to power it..

Uhh...high current, low voltage is MUCH more expensive to deal with (thicker conductors), and high voltage DC is insanely dangerous for your average idiot due to the arc factor. DC is making a comeback in utility-scale settings (and low-power battery-operated devices), but AC continues to be the best, safest, and cheapest way to power a household.

 

[DrPizza]

That's because with DC your getting a steady voltage 100% of the time and much more current flow, if you designed that circuit correctly to run off DC you would not need 220V to power it..

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say, but you're not correct.

220V is the RMS voltage (root mean square voltage.) If you're thinking that the voltage looks like a sine curve, oscillating between negative 220V and positive 220V wrt ground, you've been mislead somewhere. It's actually higher than that. 220 volts is the root mean square voltage, more or less an "average" voltage that is used for calculating power. For a purely resistive load, the power you use = voltage times current. So, if you needed 1100 watts, you'd need 220V at 5 amps. To get the same amount of power (energy per unit of time) with DC, you'll still need 5 amps @220V. Or, any other combination whose product is 1100 watts. (440V, 2.5 Amps, for instance.) If you drop the voltage, you're going to have to increase the current. Since the power losses are I²R, you're going to need bigger wires (equals more expensive.) As you can see from the video I posted above, there's a slight problem with handling higher DC voltages. So, you can go lower voltage, which means thicker wire to handle the increase in current.

 

[LTC8K6]

The high DC voltage problem is one of the big dangers of solar cell banks, along with the fact that you can't shut them off at the source if there is a problem.

 

[Scotteq]

Because old Tom Edison deserved to lose, the misogynistic, racist fkuc...

He did invent the electric chair though, a uniquely American form of capital punishment.

Yah...

And worse: he intentionally made the chair to use AC, in an effort to associate Tesla & Westinghouse's standard. Then Edison's chair worked so terribly that it took repeated attempts, basically cooking the felon in his own juices... on film... with Thomas Alva's name on the project from beginning to end...

 

[Brovane]

I think it should be. AC is more wasteful and ultimately more expensive because you are tempted to use more copper with it (longer wires), everything with a power supply has to use better caps and better tracing to filter out the distortion and noise from AC input, and AC is expensive if it's "clean".

Why do you think DC won't be used more widely as the nominal input source?

DC can be more efficient in Data Centers because you can have less conversions back and forth between AC and DC. However outside of select areas I really don't see widespread adoption.

 

[Daedalus685]

Yes. You could use a trash reactor like the CANDU reactors the Canadians developed.

I resent that. Though the longer I'm on site in Argentina the more I'd tend to call the thing trash

But yeah, some of our sites do use recycled fuel from other reactors to great effect. What comes out is still rather rich in energy still though.

 

[*kjm]

The high DC voltage problem is one of the big dangers of solar cell banks, along with the fact that you can't shut them off at the source if there is a problem.

Read my link above that I posted about... ABB has come out with a new HVDC breaker. Just found this link also.

http://new.abb.com/about/hvdc-grid

 

[sdifox]

I resent that. Though the longer I'm on site in Argentina the more I'd tend to call the thing trash

But yeah, some of our sites do use recycled fuel from other reactors to great effect. What comes out is still rather rich in energy still though.

Tira de asado.... drool

 

[LTC8K6]

Read my link above that I posted about... ABB has come out with a new AVDC breaker. Just found this link also.

http://new.abb.com/about/hvdc-grid

A solar cell bank is producing HVDC as long as it's daytime. There is generally no way to shut off that HVDC, except to cover the array somehow. It's been a problem for firefighters, especially if the fire is near or in a rooftop PV array.

It's sort of like having your roof covered with battery banks, and having a fire among them. You can't shut off the batteries.

You can shut off the power down the line, but not at the source. And if the fire is at or near the source, then you have a problem.

 

[Daedalus685]

Tira de asado.... drool

Every meal is a tour around the farm. I'd enjoy the meat more if it wasn't for the 4 weeks of 14 hour days.

But it is Damn tastey here