When Electricity first started DC power (direct current) was used. Things were switched to AC (alternating current) power to make things safer. But now more and more devices run on DC power even if they are plugged into an AC outlet.
I believe that buildings need to start going away from universal 110 -120 volt ac power (or whatever the standard is for the country) and switch to low voltage DC power for at least a major part of the building (not for the entire building).
Why? Many electronics as mentioned before use DC power, and to do that every device plugged in to the wall uses a Power Supply unit to convert it into DC power. These units can fail, and can go missing. The PSU can be in a computer or in one of those boxes you see on power chords or phone chargers, or built in to the electronic.
It would allow for more efficient streamlined use of solar power or other renewable and off the grid energy sources.
LED lights run well on DC power. Mobile phones tablets and many other devices could plug right into the wall without a special psu box, and the USB port (or whatever technology) wouldn’t need a conversion to DC either. The great thing about most mobile phones and tablets, and many other devices is they are already standardized to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface and many of the newer technologies allow for backwards compatibility to USB.
To do this some devices would need to be changed: desktop computers could have PSU removed. Laptops would have to have a new standardized plug (and possibly new standardized voltages). Besides PSUs draining energy, they are prone to failure, and can hold a dangerous electric charge that can be a shock hazard and in rare cases fire hazard.
Wall plugs would have to change, it could be USB, or something compatible. (I like the lightning plug that is on the phone side of the Apple iPhone since it’s less likely to break or get dirty)
One of the main reasons solar power or any other power sources aren’t efficient as it can be is because of all the unnecessary (in today’s world) conversions (and transporting). Renewable sources work best when everything they power is energy efficient.
I think these concepts would work well on new buildings, buildings doing a major renovation, and buildings that are in remote locations where electricity is hard to get or unreliable.
And it doesn’t need to be done for a whole building or all electronics, it can be done for just some of the electronics to start.
Another concept during the day similar to a sky light, you could use fiber optics to use natural lighting from sun without any conversions (maybe some mirrors to capture and UV filter) no photovoltaic cells or electricity needed and it can be done on multiple floors and without ruining insulation (R Values) and without ruining fire barriers. Night time solar powered battery LED lighting could be used with the fiber optics.
Nathan Steffenson Published July 20 2014
Disclaimer: This is currently just a concept. I’m not an electrician and have no prototype. Although not all working together as a system, many of these components exist and are readily available. I haven’t done thorough research for prior art.