Adoption Pathways for DC Power Distribution in Buildings

Vagelis Vossos, Daniel L. Gerber, Melanie Gaillet-Tournier, Bruce Nordman, Richard Brown, Willy Bernal Heredia, Omkar Ghatpande, Avijit Saha, Gabe Arnold and Stephen M. Frank
Additional contact information
Vagelis Vossos: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Daniel L. Gerber: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Melanie Gaillet-Tournier: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Bruce Nordman: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Richard Brown: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Willy Bernal Heredia: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Omkar Ghatpande: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Avijit Saha: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Gabe Arnold: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA
Stephen M. Frank: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: Driven by the proliferation of DC energy sources and DC end-use devices (e.g., photovoltaics, battery storage, solid-state lighting, and consumer electronics), DC power distribution in buildings has recently emerged as a path to improved efficiency, resilience, and cost savings in the transitioning building sector. Despite these important benefits, there are several technological and market barriers impeding the development of DC distribution, which have kept this technology at the demonstration phase. This paper identifies specific end-use cases for which DC distribution in buildings is viable today. We evaluate their technology and market readiness, as well as their efficiency, cost, and resiliency benefits while addressing implementation barriers. The paper starts with a technology review, followed by a comprehensive market assessment, in which we analyze DC distribution field deployments and their end-use characteristics. We also conduct a survey of DC power and building professionals through on-site visits and phone interviews and summarize lessons learned and recommendations. In addition, the paper includes a novel efficiency analysis, in which we quantify energy savings from DC distribution for different end-use categories. Based on our findings, we present specific adoption pathways for DC in buildings that can be implemented today, and for each pathway we identify challenges and offer recommendations for the research and building community.

Keywords: feasibility of DC power distribution; efficient buildings; direct-DC; microgrids; renewable energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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