101–110 of 233 posts
So, I used to be "team DC" as well, but after learning up a bit, I realized there are still a lot of advantages to AC in the 21st Century. One reason DC power is more viable nowadays is (as others here have mentioned) the use of DC-DC converters. They internally actually use AC to do the conversion (usually at much higher frequency to save weight and cost on inductive elements). But they're not super cheap (not cheap…
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It's frequently much more energy intensive too. Cars are a lot more efficient than horses and dishwashers are more efficient than hand washing.
I read somewhere modern people spend the same amount of time doing chores as someone before electricity. It wouldn't surprise me if it were that far off the truth. We own so much more and are told we need things when in reality maybe we don't?
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You do have to wonder if they’re confused on why this isn’t persuasive to normal people. Go cook outside on a rocket stove[0] and washing clothes by hand every day? Come on. Meanwhile the thing that has actually gotten people out of their cars is the ebike. It turns out it’s much more effective to produce a more convenient and comfortable solution for people rather than just demand that they go back a century or two…
The rocket stove reminds me. I've seen lots of stuff on low tech 'improved' cook stoves for people in developing countries. I think women in those countries would be happier served with a pressure cooker and a two burner induction stove running off solar panels. All horrible high tech, but actually cheap commodities in practice.
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It's frequently much more energy intensive too. Cars are a lot more efficient than horses and dishwashers are more efficient than hand washing.
I read somewhere modern people spend the same amount of time doing chores as someone before electricity. It wouldn't surprise me if it were that far off the truth. We own so much more and are told we need things when in reality maybe we don't?
I read the whole article with sympathetic interest, until the conclusion: > One way to solve the problem of high power devices is simply not to use them -- this is the approach that's followed in sailboats, motorhomes and caravans > Obviously, this strategy implies a change in our way of life. It would mean that electricity is used only for lighting, electronics and refrigeration, while non-electric alternatives are…
I get unreasonably angry when Victorian cosplayers think they've found the solution to our wasteful modern life. Simply eschew modern conveniences and spend hours each week beating your clothes against a rock! Simple , instead of grocery shopping twice a month, ditch that wasteful freezer and walk to the farmers' market down the block before dinner each night. Was it cloudy yesterday? Simple! , take a whore-bath¹ at…
I like bird bath for this.
I agree with your overall sentiment, I do also aknowledge that we (as a society) are very wasteful with resources. I would like to see some form of incentive for using less power and producing less waste.
My energy provider during the first lockdown actually paid us to use electricity because it was being produced at renerwable plants and would otherwise go unused. We set our washing machine to start during the period they would pay us and did our morning routine a few hours earlier. That small incentive was enough to change our behavior
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I read somewhere modern people spend the same amount of time doing chores as someone before electricity. It wouldn't surprise me if it were that far off the truth. We own so much more and are told we need things when in reality maybe we don't?
I definitely don't spend as much time doing chores as my grandma used to do before she had electricity. Recall that not too long ago "sewing your own clothes" also was a chore you had to do, and washing clothes took a whole day. Modern appliances made it possible for women to join the workforce because they freed up so much time.
Not many of us would reverse the changes that came with widespread home appliance availability and adoption on either a personal or societal level but every significant change comes at a cost to someone to whom you might well be sympathetic is something worth remembering when looking forward.
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It's frequently much more energy intensive too. Cars are a lot more efficient than horses and dishwashers are more efficient than hand washing.
I read somewhere modern people spend the same amount of time doing chores as someone before electricity. It wouldn't surprise me if it were that far off the truth. We own so much more and are told we need things when in reality maybe we don't?
We're currently in the process of designing a house that we hope to build early next year. One thing that I dream of doing is lighting the entire house with LEDs wired in a low voltage DC "network." Even better if they're addressable, dimmable, even RGB recolorable. Power over Ethernet would be a pretty cool way of doing it if it was practical...that way you get the data to control the lights as well as the power to…
We'll see how things go, but on paper at least this makes a lot of sense if you don't try to run things at 12V (why do people still try?). 48V is a voltage that is still safe, but cuts your amperage and losses to reasonable numbers.
While designing my own LED drivers, I found that most LED panels will internally work with a Vf of 36V, which you can efficiently get from your 48V installation.
Even in an AC-powered home, if you have lots of LED lighting in one place, it makes sense to use a single high-power converter to get 48V DC and then drive LEDs off that. Small AC to DC converters are inefficient.
An LED doesn't run on 24V DC, what's the difference in efficiency between an LED lamp that runs off 120V AC and one that runs off 24V DC?
DC wiring is already standard in many office buildings in the form of power over Ethernet (PoE). It powers access points, lighting, and infrastructure, and high power variants can do 100W+. Since it's under 50V, the IT guy can install it without a qualified electrician. High power loads like motors and heaters will continue to require AC but I see no reason why small loads can't use PoE. I would love to see it take o…
The only reason PoE makes sense at all is because it uses 48V, but due to the flimsy cables the losses are still 15-20%. Not great.