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DC Power Poised To Bring Savings To Datacenters
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Logan Harbaugh follows up his '10 IT Power-Saving Myths Debunked' to argue in favor of using DC power in the datacenter. The practice — viewed as a somewhat crackpot means for reducing wasteful conversions in the datacenter just a few short years ago — has gained traction to the point where server vendors such as HP, IBM, and Sun are making DC power supplies available in their server wares. Meanwhile, Panduit and other companies are working to bring down another barrier for DC to the datacenter: a standardized 400-VDC connector and cabling solution. And with GE working to list 600-VDC circuit breakers with the Underwriters Labs, DC's promise of reduced conversion waste could soon be commonly realized."
Suggestion for the DC power supply designers: have a heart and build GFCI into the spec.
I don't run a datacenter, but I sure would like to get rid of the power bricks that all small electronic appliances seem to come with these days!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
One can't help but reflect upon these two and their stubborn support of DC and AC respectively. Edison created a circus atmosphere demonstrating the dangers of AC. He electrocuted dogs & other animals and even participated in the design of the electric chair to prove his point.
Edison's financial ambition was part of the problem, and his inability to understand AC, but mostly it seems to have been an emotional attachment to DC.
Let's hope that in our time emotion and personal gain have no part in such decisions.
...omphaloskepsis often...
Another pro:
A UPS would consist of nothing more than a battery charger and 48V battery.
Have gnu, will travel.
However, in these links there was no reference to this at all.
I don't think there is any truth to this.
Only half of his nose... your server draws a certain number of watts, if you are feeding it 240VAC, it will take 1/2 as many amps as 120VAC (assuming equal efficiency at both voltages, I believe 240VAC-DC conversions are typically marginally more efficient than 120VAC-DC)
P=I^2*R, power loss in your building wiring is based on the resistance of the wiring multiplied by current squared, so dropping current by half will drop your wiring related losses by a factor of 4. Since wiring power loss isn't much of a big deal, a better way you can capitalize on this advantage is by safely dropping your wire diameter by half (to 0.25x cross section) for the same heat/fire potential.
Of course, your boss will fire you when he plugs in a 120VAC coffee pot and it explodes in his face.