subject: DC Building Power: Economic Factors, Application Drivers, Architecture/Technology, Standards and Regulatory Developments--- Aarkstore Enterprise [print this page] Topics Covered: Topics Covered:
Current Areas of Development
Additional Applications and Drivers of DC Power
Organizations and Alliances Involved in DC Power
DC Power and Alternative Energy Systems
Barriers, Challenges and Threats to the Adoption of DC Power
Architectural and Technology Trends and Developments
Cost Dynamics of DC Power
Policy and Regulatory Framework for Development
Recent Developments and Products
Executive Summary
The dc building power market is projected to grow significantly over the next several years, and among the driving forces is the need to improve efficiency and reduce electricity costs in several areas. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2006, data centers and servers in the United States accounted for approximately 1.5% of the nation's total electricity consumption. To put this in perspective, the EPA stated that this total exceeded the electricity consumed by the entire nation's color televisions, and is similar to the amount of electricity consumed by approximately 5.8 million average TV households. In addition, energy consumption in data centers in the US is projected to continue to grow, and double every five years.
Traditionally, large data centers and telecommunications facilities have consumed large amounts of electricity without much regard for energy efficiency. Due to the continuous need for energy production, it has been an acceptable practice to trade off energy efficiency and operating costs for the sake of system reliability. However, in recent years a number of factors have emerged that may change that practice. Now, a debate is taking place on how to cope with the growing need for electricity to power these facilities. Data center managers and other data center professionals are looking to dc power as an alternative solution to traditional ac power. Proponents of dc power claim that it has the potential to eliminate the biggest sources of energy loss and waste in traditional ac systems: the multiple back and forth transformations and conditioning needed to step voltage down for use by IT equipment.
One of the pressing needs for the further expansion of dc power was the establishment of dc voltage standards. In light of this need, two new dc power distribution standards for facilities were developed over the past year, one for high-voltage (380Vdc) applications and another for low-voltage (24Vdc) applications. The development of theses standards is significant and is expected to contribute to the further expansion of dc power. The 380Vdc standard was developed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) along with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories and is designed for data centers and other critical facilities. EPRI has developed the first dc voltage tolerance envelope plotting voltage variations versus time for 380-Vdc powered equipment. The new dc voltage tolerance envelope provides the technical details of the electrical operating environment, including allowable voltage surges and sags that could enable engineers to design power converters for use with 380-Vdc distribution systems for next-generation data center equipment.
The 24Vdc standard was developed by EMerge and is expected to play an important role in the expansion of dc power in commercial, industrial and residential buildings. The new EMerge Alliance standard is described as the first roadmap for the utilization of safe, low-voltage direct current power in commercial interiors. The EMerge Alliance Standard 1.0 establishes a more efficient means of powering the rapidly increasing number of digital, dc-powered devices, such as sensors, lighting and IT equipment found in today's workplaces. It creates an integrated, open platform for power, interior infrastructures, controls and a wide variety of peripheral devices to facilitate the hybrid use of ac and dc power within buildings.
