Time to Ditch 120V AC? How a Low-Voltage, DC-Powered Home Might Work

submited by

Style Pass

2022-01-14 18:30:06

Has the 240/120V AC residential infrastructure outlived its usefulness? Inspired by Tesla Powerwall, an industry veteran explains how we could get to the the old ‘Smart House’ vision of a low voltage, DC-powered home.

The hysteria over Tesla's Powerwall home battery has reinvigorated the discussion about low-voltage, DC-powered homes, and the potential for ditching traditional 240/120V AC infrastructures. I say reinvigorated because it's a topic that has been debated — and even tried — since the early 1980s.

Remember “Smart House?” Below, we revisit that bold (and ultimately unsuccessful) power-distribution initiative, and consider new models that just might work today.

1. An In-Home Experiment Last month, my family took a three-week vacation to the coast. Before I left, I made sure everything I could think of was off: lights, computers, A/V gear, etc. But I didn’t go around unplugging everything. About two weeks after we returned, I got the electric bill that covered the time we were gone. It was about a third of our regular trying-to-be-thrifty bill.

I figured something was malfunctioning and eating power, so I went around and turned everything off again, same as before, and put a current clamp on the line into the house.