Pre-built solar homes could make renewable energy almost 50% cheaper

Re:Pre-built solar homes could make renewable energy almost ... by adrianmonk on Sunday September 29, 2019 @01:21PM (#21108287)

Power losses in wiring are an issue. Many of your DC devices also happen to be low-voltage. (For example, USB devices.)

If you transmit the same number of watts at a higher voltage (lower current) rather than at a lower voltage (higher current) through a wire, you will lose less power.

So for moving the power around the house at distances more than around 10 feet (~3 meters), it's more energy-efficient to convert it near the point of use. And if you're already going to convert it, it's probably not worth the expense and complication of running two separate wiring systems.

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Re:Pre-built solar homes could make renewable energy almost ... by kragen on Sunday September 29, 2019 @05:49PM (#21109824)

The USB power supply is probably a 5-volt switchmode power supply which doesn't care whether its input is 80 volts or 300 volts, or ac or dc. You could very reasonably run 100 volts dc or 200 volts dc to things that use switchmode power supplies like that.

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Re:Pre-built solar homes could make renewable energy almost ... by sephamorr on Sunday September 29, 2019 @09:27PM (#21110970)

A normal worldwide USB power supply accepts 86-240v AC, so you can usually supply a DC voltage on the same terminals of the same voltage with no issue (convert from AC peak to peak to DC)

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