1

AC Versus DC Distribution SystemsDid We

Get it Right?
Donald J. Hammerstrom, Senior Member, IEEE1

Index Terms-- Dc power systems, energy conversion, energy

management, energy storage, power distribution, power
distribution economics, power supplies, power system economics.

exposure to 50/60-Hz electromagnetic fields [2], for example.

We concede that HVDC transmission projects have been
given due economic consideration and will not be
reconsidered here. We will instead focus on low-voltage and
premise distribution systems. With so much investment
having been made in low-voltage ac distribution systems, the
challenge would be great to enact change, but we argue that
such changes, if made, would be very influential to the
operation of the future power grid and could provide
flexibility needed for the successful operation of micro-grids
[3].
The middle sections of this paper will list the issues that
are today influencing the balance between ac and dc in our
present systems and will list the strongest attributes of ac and
dc premise distribution.
A simple model will then be suggested for the comparison
of ac and dc premise systems. The approach used in this paper
will extend the consideration of dc distribution within
commercial facilities, as discussed in [4], to residential
facilities. We will emphasize the conversion efficiency costs
of comparable ac and dc premise distribution systems with
and without sources of local dc generation.

I. INTRODUCTION

II. INFLUENCIAL ISSUES

Abstract--We presently enjoy a predominantly ac electrical

distribution system, the engineering basis for which was designed
over 100 years ago. While ac distribution systems have served us
well, we should periodically pause to assess what opportunities we
have accepted or been denied by the overwhelming
predominance of ac electrical power distribution systems. What
opportunities could be obtained by engineering dc distribution
into at least portions of our present system? What advantages of
the present ac distribution system should be recognized and
protected? This paper will focus on distribution within premise
and low-voltage distribution systems. Specifically, we will address
the conversion efficiency costs of adopting various premise ac and
dc distribution system topologies. According to a simple
predictive model formulated in this paper, premise residential dc
distribution will incur unfavorable total conversion efficiency
compared with existing ac premise distribution. However, if a
residence is supplied by a fuel cell or another dc generator, the
total conversion efficiency within a residential dc distribution
system could be similar to, or even better than, that for ac
distribution.

HIS article reopens a discussion, the initiation of which

may be attributed to competition between Thomas Edison
and George Westinghouse, concerning the relative merits of
dc and ac distribution systems. While the late 19th Century is
noted for some of the worlds most inventive engineering, this
competition was apparently influenced also by the attribution
of dc or ac for use in a controversial new inventionthe
electric chair [1]. Since then, ac distribution won favor and
has become inextricably woven into our electric power
systems. Nonetheless, we should benefit periodically from a
reevaluation of our engineering approaches. Indeed, such a
reconsideration of this paradigm led to the design and
construction of economical HVDC transmission over long
distances, didnt it? And, as was the case in the 19th Century,
the relative merits of ac and dc distribution are perhaps again
vulnerable to controversyhealth concerns from human

This work is supported by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle under Contract DEAC06-76RL01830.
D. J. Hammerstrom is with the Energy Science and Technology Division,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, MSIN: K1-85,
Richland, WA 99352 USA (e-mail: donald.hammerstrom@pnl.gov).

1-4244-1298-6/07/$25.00 2007 IEEE.

A. Energy Storage, Distributed Generation and Control, and

Micro-grids
Electric power system resources and their controls have
become increasingly distributed, and there will be increasing
pressure to accommodate renewable and other distributed
generation resources, many of which cannot be incorporated
without power electronic interfaces [5]. Of particular interest
will be the future use of stationary fuel cells [6] and microgrids [3].
Many renewable power sources, including photovoltaic
generation, are inherently dc supplies. Wind energy too can be
better optimized if at least part of the wind generators
capacity is coupled through power electronic conversion that
often includes a dc bus [5]. The conversion from dc power to
ac and later back to dc incurs multiple losses during
conversions that might be avoided. Our present ac distribution
system has virtually no energy storage, but dc energy is quite
naturally stored in batteries.
B. Battery Chargers and Electric Vehicles
Battery chargers are extensively used for cordless tools,

laptop computers, and other portable electronics. The fate of

electric vehicle technology will also affect this debate [7]. Not
only could fleets of electric vehicles become significant
consumers of electrical power, but their batteries could also
provide improved grid reliability and energy storage whenever
they are grid-connected by pushing power back onto the
power grid.
C. Computers, Lighting, and Home Electronics
Electronics, including energy-hungry computer servers,
have become significant system loads. The nature of lighting,
too, is changing as consumers select efficient alternatives to
replace their incandescent lights. These devices require a
source of dc power. Focusing primarily on server applications,
reference [8] reviews the complexity of the power supplies for
such electronic devices. Presently, each electronic load has its
own dedicated power supply. Savings might be obtained by
avoiding such redundancies. Regardless, power electronic
converters and power supplies play an important role for the
future of electronic equipment [9].
D. Naval and Oceanographic Research
Finally, shipboard and undersea dc power system research
has improved our understanding of, control of, and equipment
for dc distribution systems. We cite, for examples, efforts to
redesign all-electric ships and the recent Neptune project,
which aims to build a series of undersea research sites off the
Pacific coasts of Canada and United States [10].
III. ADVANTAGES OF AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DC
DISTRIBUTION
A. Incorporation of Renewable Energy Resources
Dc renewable energy resources could be much more
readily incorporated into a premise dc bus. Doing so would
eliminate conversions, each of which saves between 2.5 %
and 10 % of the developed energy.
B. Reliability and Uninterruptible Supplies
Our growing desire for reliable information technologies
requires uninterruptible power supplies. Each such supply
must provide dc bus battery storage, which can continue to
supply an application with power during unplanned ac
outages.
C. Voltage Stability
We are reminded in [11] that dc distribution system
components will not alleviate, and might exacerbate, our
voltage stability calculations and challenges, especially if dc
and ac distribution will coexist, as they must. Nonetheless,
active input stages of power supplies might not only assure
good power factor, they might also inject reactive power into
their ac supplies to help control voltage and provide voltage
stability.
D. Fluorescent Lighting and Electronics
Fluorescent lighting electronic ballasts are well served by

dc power. Our movement away from less-efficient

incandescent lighting toward lighting technologies like
compact fluorescent fixtures (and eventually solid-state
lighting) could accompany dc distribution. Doing so would
save and consolidate at least one conversion step that is
presently performed at each lighting fixture.
A similar argument can be made for home electronics
devices, all of which require dc power and must rectify ac
power supplied to them.
E. Variable-speed Drives
Variable-speed drives, both in generation and loads, help
match the input and output power. The result can be improved
efficiency, improved personal comfort, or both. Variable
speed control is more easily obtained from a dc source.
F. Power Quality
While power electronics are frequently viewed as a cause
of poor power quality, power electronic converters can meet
most power quality standards placed on an ac system and
could even improve ac power quality. The first stages of dc
power supplies should always perform power factor
correction. Good design practices and filtering also assure
acceptable harmonic power quality.
The opportunity arises from using power electronic
conversion for not only preventing poor power quality, but
also for improving power quality.
G. 60-Hz health Concerns
Potential health concerns from human exposure to 60-Hz
distribution could drive us toward increased use of dc
distribution systems [2].
IV. ADVANTAGES OF AC DISTRIBUTION
A. Voltage Transformation
Perhaps the greatest benefit available to ac systems is the
ease with which ac voltage can be elevated for distribution
over distance and again lowered, if necessary, near the load.
Dc voltage conversion is improving, but dc voltage conversion
might never be so simple, and has not yet reached the place
where dc converters can routinely compete with transformers
for high-voltage distribution. The exception is HVDC
transmission, which rectifies and inverts to and from highvoltage dc at only a limited number of remote substations.
B. Circuit Breaker Protection
Circuit protection is more mature for ac distribution
systems than for dc systems, so it might be impossible to
make a fair comparison. Ac circuit protection schemes benefit
from periodic zero voltage crossings, at which times circuit
breakers have an improved likelihood to extinguish a fault
current arc. But [12] concludes that this limitation is not so
severe for the protection of low dc potential circuits.
C. Voltage Stability
Voltage stability is an issue for both ac and dc distribution

systems and becomes even more challenging where ac and dc

are mixed [11]. The advantage of an ac system is that the
stable voltage can be controlled independently from real
power through the management of reactive power. In a dc
system, voltage drops are direct consequences of real power
flow over a conductors length.
This being said, there is an interesting interplay between ac
systems and power electronic conversion equipment. Active
power supplies can manage power factor at their terminals
[13] and could inject reactive power into an ac system to help
control ac system voltage.
V. APPROACH FOR COMPARISON OF SYSTEM CONVERSION
EFFICIENCIES FOR RESIDENCES
In this section, we provide a simple model and context by
which we will be able to assess the tradeoffs between dc and
ac premise distribution with respect to numbers of required
conversion steps, each of which incurs an efficiency penalty.
We begin by reviewing the approach and conclusions of
Sannino et al. [4]. The authors modeled the distribution of
electric power within their own research office facility
supplied by 400-V three-phase ac, as now exists, and by four
different dc voltages ranging from 48 to 326 V. Distribution
power losses and current conduction limitations on
conductors were modeled. Also addressed were opportunities
for centralized uninterruptible power supplies and needs for
circuit protection.
Rather than repeat the approach of [4], we summarize and
accept the papers general conclusions concerning application
of dc distribution to commercial premises: (1) System losses
can be reduced and system efficiency thereby improved if a
moderately high dc voltage is adopted for premise
distribution. At 326 V dc, the authors concluded that existing
commercial conductors could be used without modification.
(2) If battery energy storage were added to their commercial
office buildings dc distribution bus, it could supply
emergency backup power to their entire premise for hours, not
15 minutes or less, as is now typical for device uninterruptible
power supplies. This centralized emergency backup solution
also cost less than multiple individual backup power supplies.
(3) Adequate premise dc fault protection was found to be
available from commercially available circuit breakers at the
dc voltage under consideration [12]. (4) The authors
recognized other safety advantages, too, including less dc
contact danger to humans and avoidance from exposing
humans to electromagnetic fields.
This papers background permits us to proceed from an
assertion that combinations of conductor, dc potential, and
circuit protection can be engineered to provide dc power to
premise loads with efficiencies similar to existing ac premise
systems. In fact, we eliminate the further consideration of
conductor losses altogether by asserting that each of our cases
to be studied will have identical conductor losses. The next
step should be evaluation of system conversion efficiency for
various conversion strategies in the premise, which were only

hinted in the cited paper. We focus on residential systems.

The 2001 Energy Information Administration data [14]
lists typical residential electrical consumption for major
categories of household loads. These major categories and
their relative energy consumption are reproduced in Table I.
The relative load fractions will be used to weight each load
category, and the categories themselves represent similar
loads that will possess similar power conversion requirements.
TABLE I
AVERAGE ELECTRICAL CONSUMPTION BY APPLIANCE CATEGORY [14]

Appliance Category
Heating, Ventilation, Cooling
Kitchen Appliances
Water Heating
Lighting (Incandescent / Fluor.)
Home Electronics
Laundry Appliances
Other Equipment
Other

U.S. Mean Household

Energy (%)
31.2
26.7
9.1
4.4 / 4.4
7.2
6.7
2.5
7.7

Given far too many degrees of freedom, innumerable

unique converter topologies, and a desire to model a system
for which there is not yet a complete set of components on the
market, we accept simplifications that will permit us to
proceed. This authors power conversion experience and [8]
give us confidence to generously assert that each power
conversion stage loses about 2.5 % of the energy it converts.
This estimation, while not perfect, has good predictive ability
for first-order assessments. Approximately 102.5 % of a
transformers secondary power must be supplied to its
primary; a transformer rectifier requires an input energy about
(1.025)2 times its output energy; a three-stage converter
requires (1.025)3 times its output energy, and so on.
Additional implicit assumptions are necessary: (1) We
ignore effects of daily and seasonal load patterns that could
alter the losses attributed to each load category. Appliance
power is treated as a constant. (2) We assume that each ac
load has an acceptable counterpart in the dc distribution
system. Comparable permanent magnet motors replace
induction motors with no penalty imposed. (3) The number of
conversion steps and their inefficiencies accumulate for each
load from the point of common connectionwhat is presently
the utility side of the premise transformer. (4) With the
exception of lighting, all categories are assigned a single
common number of conversion steps. Lighting was divided
equally into two
subcategoriesincandescent and
fluorescentbecause the two lighting types must be assigned
different numbers of conversion steps. (5) This strategy
admittedly fails to account for numerous qualities that would
be considered for a specific and real premise, where
individual appliance efficiency tradeoffs and even insulation
would be expected to sway our engineering decision. (6) The
assignment of numbers of conversion steps is admittedly
arguable because so many conversion topologies exist or
could evolve for each appliance category should dc

distribution
become
common.
(7) The costs of additional premise infrastructure and any
differences in purchase costs between ac and dc appliances
are ignored. This analysis also ignores potential improved
efficiencies that might result from scaling of converters
using one high-quality converter instead of multiple
inexpensive ones, for example.
VI. MODEL RESULTS
We now apply this simple strategy to various ac and dc
premise distribution topologies (refer to Table II). Case 1 is a
model of the existing ac distribution system serving the
typical home of Table I. Most entries show only one
conversionthat of the ac distribution transformer. Only
fluorescent lighting and home electronics were assigned
multiple conversion stages.
For Case 2, we model a system where rectification occurs
immediately and supplies a premise dc bus. All appliances
reflect at least the two conversion steps from transformation
and rectification. The fact that all energy must become
rectified from the bulk ac distribution system results in about
a 2.0 % conversion efficiency penalty for the premise dc
distribution Case 2 when it is compared against Case 1.
Recall that the reported average conversion efficiencies of
Table II are weighted by the fraction that each residential load
type contributes to total residential load. Commercial
premises would be expected to have higher percentages of
fluorescent lighting and electronics in their loads. Therefore,
similar estimates performed for conversion efficiencies in
commercial premises would be more favorable for the Case 2
scenario than was shown here for residences.
TABLE II
COMPARISON OF SYSTEM CONVERSION EFFICIENCY FOR A CONVENTIONAL AC
HOME (CASE 1) AND ONE WITH A PREMISE DC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (CASE 2)

Appliance
Heating, Vent.
Kitchen Appl.
Water Heating
Lights-Incand.
Lights-Fluor.
Home Elect.
Laundry Appl.
Other Equip.
Other End Use
Weighted Ave.

Case 1. Ac Distribution
Number
Efficiency
Conversions
(%)
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
3
92.9
3
92.9
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
97.0 %

Case 2. Dc Distribution
Number
Efficiency
Conversions
(%)
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
3
92.9
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
95.0 %

Refer now to Table III, Case 3, in which a fuel cell or other

premise dc generation contributes the entire homes energy.
One can probably assume battery support of the dc bus is
provided for short-term burst power without affecting this
discussion. Selection of a photovoltaic dc generator or another
intermittent source would require battery energy storage, but
we have not yet laid needed groundwork for including both
conversion losses and losses from charging and discharging

batteries.
Case 4 models a fuel cell in an ac system as is frequently
suggested for stationary fuel cell systems [6]. One can see that
additional conversion steps are required to convert from dc to
ac and, in some cases, back to dc again.
Case 3 shows that generation of dc directly onto a premise
dc bus is advantageous with conversion efficiencies
comparable to those in our existing ac approach. Using a local
dc generator connected to the ac grid and thus requiring an
inverter, as in Case 4, incurs unfavorable conversion
inefficiencies.
TABLE III.
COMPARISON OF SYSTEM CONVERSION EFFICIENCY FOR A RESIDENTIAL FUEL
CELL SYSTEM WITH (CASE 3) AND WITHOUT (CASE 4) A PREMISE DC
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Appliance
Heating, Vent.
Kitchen Appl.
Water Heating
Lights-Incand.
Lights-Fluor.
Home Elect.
Laundry Appl.
Other Equip.
Other End Use
Weighted Ave.

Case 3. Premise Fuel Cell

with Dc Distribution
Number
Efficiency
Conversions
(%)
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
2
95.2
2
95.2
1
97.6
1
97.6
1
97.6
97.3 %

Case 4. Premise Fuel Cell

with Ac Distribution
Number
Efficiency
Conversions
(%)
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
4
90.6
5
88.4
2
95.2
2
95.2
2
95.2
94.5 %

VII. CONCLUSIONS
Groundwork was laid for the comparison of dc and ac lowvoltage and premise energy distribution networks. The
advantages of ac and dc systems were listed as were several
contemporary issues that could affect the future inclusion of
dc distribution into our present power systems. After
accepting the conclusions of a cited paper, in which conductor
losses in commercial premise ac and dc distribution systems
had been compared, we addressed how series conversion
losses may affect the viability of premise dc distribution. A
systematic method was introduced to create a fair comparison
of such hypothetical energy systems.
The use of residential dc distribution by itself was
predicted to be disadvantageous because of the inefficiency of
the combined transformer rectifier needed to convert bulk ac
power to premise dc power. However, it was shown that fuel
cells or other local dc generation that feed directly into a
premise dc bus could have favorable conversion losses. This
was especially true when compared against a premise dc
generation source that must immediately convert its energy to
ac form.
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Donald J. Hammerstrom (S94, M95, SM06)

earned a B.A. in chemistry from St. Olaf College,
Northfield, Minnesota, a B.S. in education from
Eastern Montana College, Billings, Montana and M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from
Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana in 1991
and 1994, respectively.
He is employed by Battelle Memorial Institute as a
senior research engineer in the Energy Science and
Technology Division of Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, Richland, Washington. He presently
manages field demonstrations of smart grid technologies for the U.S. Department
of Energy, leads technology development of grid-responsive loads, and develops
power electronic converter applications. Prior to joining Battelle, he designed
power converters, biological sample collectors, and surface decontamination
systems for startup companies in Washington State. He has authored United
States patents in the diverse areas of energy management systems, power
electronic converters, microtechnology, microbe decontamination, and aerosol
sample collection.