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| Why is Direct Current (DC) Voltage More Efficient?
Explanation of Power Loss in AC Signals
1. The 110 Volt power wave is oscillating at a rate of 60 times a second from positive to negative and is composed of voltage and current signals (Voltage x Current = Power [which is measured in Watts]).
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| 2. The crosshatched yellow portion of the signal depicted above, is the only usable portion of the entire signal. Due to the lagging current, the power that is generated is small when you compare the power you start with to the amount usable power!
3. With DC Voltage (signal shown below), the power stays "positive" all of the time. Therefore, nothing is lost.
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| 4. Today, many want to use a large inverter in their solar system. The problem with inverters is that you must operate them mostly where they are 90% efficient - if not, their efficiency drops dramatically. For instance, if you had a 500 Watt inverter but were operating it at 50 Watts, you might find the power it consumes to be 100 Watts. You may even find it consumes as much as 200 Watts - all because it is operating below its ideal capacity (i.e., 500 Watts). To get around this we recommend using an inverter for each appliance.
5. You see from the above, any inverter should be turned off when not in use - but if you use DC, then when you turn off the item, you immediately stop using power! Therefore, we recommend using DC appliances over having inverters for each appliance.
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