AC Vs. DC Power
Thomas Edison originally promoted DC for electrical power distribution, considering it a safer, more reliable option than AC power. Edison faced off against George Westinghouse and his AC system in the ensuing “Current Wars.” AC ultimately came out on top due to technological limitations of the time. AC had the advantage back then of being stepped up to high voltages by using transformers, sent via thin, inexpensive wires, and eventually stepped down again at distribution to the user site. Still, DC power has continued to be used in high voltage scenarios, as well as in low voltage deployments in the telecommunications industry and light transportation industry.
Today’s technology, however, enables users to leverage the advantages of DC power. As Edison realized, DC power represents a more stable option. Unlike the sine wave of AC, DC electrical charges flow in the same direction at a constant. This quality allows DC systems to not only offer greater stability (less equipment needed to synchronize sine waves), but also to enable easier integration of multiple power sources, since backup (or primary sources) such as photovoltaic, flywheels and batteries all produce energy in the DC format.
Additionally, current AC systems require a series of power conversions that result in energy being released in the form of heat, which then must subsequently be cooled. This power and cooling challenge has become a serious issue in the data center industry. The benefit of DC power includes a reduction in the number of power conversions, and therefore a reduction in cooling requirements.
Read more about this topic: Validus DC Systems
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“Science is Christian, not when it condemns itself to the letter of things, but when, in the infinitely little, it discovers as many mysteries and as much depth and power as in the infinitely great.”
—Edgar Quinet (1803–1875)