Devices of modern consumer electronics are quantitatively becoming the main consumers of the resources of the residential power supply system. At the same time, this technique is powered from a relatively low voltage from 3.3 to 12 (less often 24) volts, which is in direct conflict with 220 V AC power network.
In addition, in the field of individual housing construction, the use of solar panels as an alternative is rapidly gaining popularity. and, moreover, a "green" source of electricity, from the output of which a relatively low and, most importantly, constant voltage is removed, drawing 1. Add here some less popular wind turbines and the question of transferring home wiring to direct current begins to look quite reasonable.
Benefits of 12-volt home wiring
The list of the main advantages of direct current wiring, although small, is obvious and does not require additional justification:
- voltage 12 V is practically safe;
- from the chains of supplying electricity to the consumer, the conversion of the type of current in the power supply of electronic devices is excluded.
An additional strength of the DC grid is its potentially higher reliability. This is determined by:
- lower working voltage;
- a simpler wiring structure and a decrease in the number of both elements and contacts.
Under these conditions, it remains to find a 12-volt DC wiring such a place of application that will give the overall resultant effect and in a reasonable time will pay off the investment in a new type of household engineering systems.
Potential consumers of 12-volt voltage
One of the reasons for the transition to a relatively high line voltage is less useless cable losses when delivering electricity to the load. From this it immediately follows that 12-volt devices cannot be powerful, i.e. their list excludes electric stoves, washing machines, heaters and other devices with kilowatt consumption.
Tens and small hundreds of watts for work require:
- table lamps, wall lamps and overhead lighting chandeliers, especially when LED lamps are used in them;
- chargers for gadgets;
- Laptops, Figure 2, and most desktops;
- musical centers and home theaters;
- low-power circulation pumps.
As you can see, a significant number of such devices directly require direct current during operation.
What about aesthetics?
All electrical devices are divided into two main groups: with permanent and temporary connection to the network. The stationary element of the detachable connector in the latter case is a socket, which for a household 220-volt network is often almost a work of art, Figure 3. 12-volt socket, Figure 4, which must additionally be mechanically incompatible with conventional plugs to protect against erroneous connection, good external data has not yet been boasted can. This is because it is not designed for residential use.
The problem of aesthetics in such conditions can be solved by rejecting the use of sockets, i.e. power only stationary devices such as lamps from a 12-volt network. This somewhat narrows the scope of the electrical network of the type under consideration, but does not at all exclude its implementation.
Conclusion
The above allows us to state that the organization of direct current wiring is quite possible, but so far as an auxiliary system, and preferably with a permanent connection. Based on this fact, the most demanded consumer of its resources today is an overhead lighting system based on LED sources.