id33b1: Tech Blaster

sâmbătă, 16 iunie 2012

Tech Blaster

Why your gadgets are about to get more efficient

Posted: 15 Jun 2012 05:10 AM PDT

When you plug your smartphone into the wall for charging, you probably just leave it and don’t think much of it. The process is so simple, it seems. The power flows from the wall into your device. Your device then directs the charge to the battery, which uses it to power back up. After a few hours (or less with many smartphones), you have a fully charged battery. Nothing to it, right?

Did you know that you’re actually using more power than necessary to charge your device? That’s because our wall sockets distribute AC, or alternating current, power. Your smartphone, along with a whole slew of devices and servers, actually use DC, or direct current, power. There’s plenty of energy lost in the conversion process, meaning that you could be charging your battery more cheaply and quickly.

The whole idea of AC-to-DC power conversion raises a host of issues. Thankfully, it appears that many companies are taking steps to change things.

Starts at the data center

Expectantly, we’ve seen an unprecedented growth in data center operations in the past few years. That’s because data centers are the backbone of our modern technological infrastructure. They power the websites we visit daily. They store reams of information in what we call the cloud. They power telecommunications services. They keep your smartphones connected. And yet, they run mostly on AC power. But that’s about to change.

Swedish power company ABB is undertaking a huge project in building DC-powered data centers. While building new data centers is by no means cheap, it actually saves over the alternative. ABB estimates that not only will constructing a DC data center be cheaper than its AC counterparts, but so will operating it. It is already citing one data center in Zurich, Sweeden, which is using less energy and operating more efficiently with DC power.

The DC data center will loom larger once we see solar-powered data centers crop up in bigger numbers. Apple is already working on a solar-powered data center in North Carolina, and could be prepared to build even more. Solar panels generate DC power, so using DC power in those data centers will mean more efficiency, since there need be no conversion.

Less waste means more productivity

Chances are that these cost savings of operating DC data centers to consumers is small to nil. Instead, the increased efficiency will free up companies to invest in other, more productive projects. That is to say, customers might not realize savings, but they stand to get more for their money.

Most importantly, the conversion to DC data centers could lead to more jobs. By undertaking more projects, companies will necessarily need more personnel. Because they’re saving money with more efficient energy practices, they will have more funds to support a larger workforce. It might not solve the unemployment issues that affect so many countries across the globe, but it will be just one more area that could see job growth.

Even in the aggregate, less waste does lead to more productivity. It means more resources — not only for the company employing the DC data center, but for everyone else.

Improved home efficiency

As more and more companies switch to DC powered data centers, we come closer to a DC power grid. That has wide-ranging implications for everyday consumers. For instance, think of the power savings if your computer, your smartphones, and all the gadgets around your house don’t have to convert AC power to DC. There are cost savings built-in, then.

Consider, too, the efficiencies associated with DC power. If power companies can create a more efficient power grid, just as ABB has created more efficient data centers, we could end up reducing our overall energy imprint. It will take plenty of time and money to make the conversion, but the payoff seems to be astronomical.

As with any revolution, the conversion to DC power will likely be slow moving. Altering the status quo, even when the benefits are obvious, takes more time than we consider reasonable. In that way it’s good to see companies such as ABB taking the initiative. They alone won’t get it done, but if they can get the ball rolling we can start the conversion to a more efficient energy grid.

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