If Edison Won

Eric • 6th Feb 2007 • Energy

In the War of Currents, Edison pushed DC power back in the day, but George Westinghouse, along with Nikola Tesla, pushed for AC power (and won).

What if Edison won? Sure, AC power is easier to transport and easier to use (thanks to transformers), but now we’re seeing inverters needed to change our DC power over to AC. And I’m sure if DC won the battle, advances in DC technology would make it easier to use today, than it was 100 years ago.

Why do I care? Well, we all use AC power in our homes (well, most of us do) but generating power from a turbine or the sun creates DC power.

Small “off grid” isolated power installations using intermittent sources such as solar power, micro-hydro and wind turbines use DC at 12, 24 or 48 volts and store energy in battery banks. Low-voltage lamps and appliances can be directly driven at the battery voltage, while standard AC electrical appliances can be powered with inverters that convert DC to AC.

An off-grid power system can start small, an easily be expanded upon. Connect a solar panel to the existing bank of panels and you have more output. That is, until you reach the maximum output of the inverter. Then, you’ll have to upgrade your inverter (upgrade = throw out the old, buy a whole new one).

So, either have 2 sets of outlets in your house, DC and AC, and don’t plug the wrong thing into the wrong outlet, or buy an inverter and keep upgrading replacing it as your energy needs increase, or keep buying expensive power from National Grid.