{"id":15322,"date":"2016-05-31T05:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15322"},"modified":"2020-12-24T04:00:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T12:00:40","slug":"no-ac-just-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/","title":{"rendered":"No AC, Just DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the traditional energy infrastructure.<\/em><\/p>\n

While Edison beat Tesla in the first go-around, the latest battle of the voltage could have an entirely different outcome. Alternative power sources and smart fixtures provide much of the fodder for energy efficiency strategies, but one elephant in the room is AC\/DC conversion. Currently, AC\/DC conversion results in a 20% energy l\"shutterstock_267394775\"oss, not insignificant when you consider residential and commercial buildings consume 65% of all energy generated. By eliminating that conversion loss, DC microgrids are poised to significantly impact energy use and generation both in the US and internationally.<\/p>\n

Clean and Lean<\/strong><\/p>\n

The benefits associated with DC microgrids include lower energy losses and an increase in utilization of onsite generation. DC microgrids are also more reliable and resilient, continuing to run unabated even as the grid goes down and power outages run rampant. And because DC microgrids ease the incorporation of onsite solar (and perhaps, someday, wind), there\u2019s a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.<\/p>\n

Not only can DC microgrids improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on the grid, they can also help buildings meet net zero energy standards. At the November 2015 Greenbuild Expo in Washington DC, the Net Zero Energy Pavilion highlighted many microgrid technologies. Completely solar powered, the pavilion\u2019s photovoltaic panels connected directly to the building\u2019s lighting and appliances in a powerful representation of DC microgrid potential.<\/p>\n

Work and Play<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only does the incorporation of DC microgrids improve energy efficiency, they provide greater resource management. By enabling partial (if not total) decoupling from the grid, DC microgrids allow building managers and residents to exert more control over where they get their energy, and how they deploy their resources throughout their facility. As a result, tenants and owners can use less energy without trading performance for frugality.<\/p>\n

In the past, DC microgrid installation had to overcome several hurdles, including price and the lack of basic rules and installation procedures. California non-profit Emerge Alliance<\/a> aims to bring regulation to the industry by \u201cdeveloping standards leading to the rapid adoption of DC power distribution in commercial buildings.\u201d The Alliance has already begun to develop protocols and guidelines designed to facility the implementation of these DC microgrids so that they can be both flexible and interface easily with the building\u2019s existing infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Local Power Plays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only are the implications of this flexibility significant for many industrialized countries, DC microgrids also have the potential to help the developing world access clean, inexpensive and environmentally-neutral power. At a time when both India and China are experiencing a booming middle class and ever-growing industrialization, power production choices have the potential to influence the environment on a global scale. DC microgrids could go a long way towards mitigating the environmental effects of rising energy consumption in in the developing world.<\/p>\n

\u201cDC microgrids are going to be applicable globally because they will solve problems in countries with similar issues and will also help developed countries use this technology more broadly,\u201d\u00a0Sri Chandrasekaran<\/a>, the IEEE director of standards and technology in India office explains in an interview with The Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAC is not going to vanish anytime soon,\u201d Chandrasekaran continues. \u201cWe need to understand how these hybrid systems will work together… Those technologies are still evolving, and I think they will play a key role not only here in India but also throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing for IEEE Spectrum<\/a>, Rajendra Sighn and Krishna Shenai quickly lay out the ways in with DC microgrids could bring the virtues of local electricity to the developing world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the decreasing cost of electricity generated by photovoltaics and wind turbines, DC microgrids may be the most efficacious way to provide electrical energy to those who have none,\u201d they begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as cellphone use in the developing world exploded without the prior installation of landlines, DC microgrids could leapfrog over the traditional system of centralized AC generation,\u201d they conclude.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market for microgrids in the developing world could be huge, and the benefits they would bring to what are now grossly underserved regions are monumental.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behold the Enernet<\/strong><\/p>\n

While many still dream of coast-to-coast smart grid able to intuitively mange power generation and delivery, widespread adoption of microgrids \u2013 especially DC microgrids \u2013 may well mimic the rapid advances of both Internet and the latest deluge of tech disruptors like Uber and Airbnb.<\/p>\n

As former CEO of NRG Homes Scott Mcbee declared to Microgrid Media<\/a>, \u201cThe creators of Uber didn\u2019t come from the transportation sector, and the founders of Airbnb didn\u2019t come from the hospitality industry. It\u2019s unlikely that whoever launches a leading energy 2.0 company will have a traditional energy background.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backing Mcbee\u2019s assertion, Brian T. Patterson, President of the EMerge Alliance, explains in a guest column for gb&d Magazine<\/a>, \u201cConnecting power creation to power consumption in a true mesh network of massively distributed local building microgrids would give us the power of an \u2018Enernet\u2019 or electric energy network.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the traditional energy infrastructure. While Edison beat Tesla in the first go-around, the latest battle of the voltage could have an entirely different outcome. Alternative power sources and smart fixtures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":15323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[969,848,1525,768],"class_list":["post-15322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-energy-use","tag-infrastructure","tag-microgrids","tag-washington-d-c"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No AC, Just DC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-31T12:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-24T12:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/\",\"name\":\"No AC, Just DC - Yardi Corporate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-31T12:00:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-24T12:00:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d\"},\"description\":\"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"No AC, Just DC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Yardi Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d\",\"name\":\"Cutright Elizabeth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cutright Elizabeth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth Cutright is an award-winning writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, publishing and online content creation. A film school grad with a law degree from the University of San Diego, outside of work Elizabeth can usually be found in the pool, on a hiking trail, or sampling Santa Barbara\u2019s latest vintage.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-cutright-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yardi Blog","description":"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"No AC, Just DC","og_description":"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/","og_site_name":"Yardi Blog","article_published_time":"2016-05-31T12:00:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-24T12:00:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cutright Elizabeth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cutright Elizabeth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/","name":"No AC, Just DC - Yardi Corporate Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-31T12:00:55+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-24T12:00:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d"},"description":"By eliminating the need to convert DC electricity to AC voltage for commercial and residential use, a new generation of Microgrids is set to upend the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/no-ac-just-dc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"No AC, Just DC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/","name":"Yardi Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d","name":"Cutright Elizabeth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cutright Elizabeth"},"description":"Elizabeth Cutright is an award-winning writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, publishing and online content creation. A film school grad with a law degree from the University of San Diego, outside of work Elizabeth can usually be found in the pool, on a hiking trail, or sampling Santa Barbara\u2019s latest vintage.","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-cutright-2\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_267394775.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15322"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27568,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15322\/revisions\/27568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}