The prospects for DC power distribution in buildings

Electric power engineering, as it applies to low-voltage power reticulation in buildings and industrial sites, is ripe for a 'paradigm shift' to bring it properly into the Electronic Age. The conventional alternating-current approach, now over a hundred years old, is increasingly unsatisfactory from the point of view of plant and appliance requirements. Alternative approaches can deliver substantial cost savings, higher efficiencies, power quality improvements, and greater safety. Direct current in particular will play a much greater role in the power system of the future. It is shown that a 600V DC reticulation system, fed from conventional AC mains, can in principle save up to one-third of the total cost of an electrical installation. Further savings will result from the sophisticated management and control of electricity supply and demand.