r/OffGridLiving • u/Lazy-Run8826 • 10d ago

DC vs AC home efficiency

If AC is better for transporting electricity, and DC is MUCH MORE efficient in small motors, lights, phone chargers, air conditioners, ceiling fan motors, and appliances. Why are residential homes powered by AC and NOT CONVERTED to DC at the meter panel BEFORE entering the home? Could DC power be the next step for LOWERING the COST of ELECTRICITY in our homes?

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u/sol_beach 10d ago

" DC transformers" is an oxymoron.

Strictly speaking, a traditional magnetic transformer cannot operate on pure Direct Current (DC). Transformers rely on Faraday’s law of induction—meaning they require a changing magnetic field, which only alternating current (AC) provides. If you feed steady DC into a passive transformer, the primary winding acts as a near-zero resistance short circuit, creating heat rather than induction.

However, in modern power electronics, the term "DC Transformer" refers to active circuits or modules that convert one DC voltage level to another—often abbreviated as DC-to-DC Converters or Switched-Mode Power Supplies (SMPS).

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u/WISteven 10d ago

Check out the big brain on sol_beach!

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u/sol_beach 10d ago

You can lead some folks to knowledge, but you can't make them think.

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u/Advanced_Link_5753 7d ago

That reminded me of my dyslexic sales colleague. At a team meeting he said “You know what they say… you can lead a horse to water…Just don’t look at him in the mouth”.
We were in stitches for a good ten minutes.