Design Considerations for DC Wiring

Don Mulvey Executive Vice President ROAL Electronics USA, Inc

Outline

DC Building Loads NEC Rules for Low Voltage DC wiring A Safe DC Distribution System Cable sizes and voltage drop Transmission Efficiency Wiring Methods Conclusions

Low Voltage LED Lighting Projections

As the efficacy of LEDs approaches the DOE targets:
Incumbent Light Source Efficacy (lum/watt) LED Efficacy 2008 (Lum/Watt) LED Efficacy 2015 (Lum/Watt) LED Replacement Power 2008 LED Replacement Power 2015

14
65W Incand.

72 (Warm)

134 (Warm)*

12.6W

6.8W

83
42W CFL

101 (Cool)

188 (Cool)

34.5W

18.5W

80
100W MH

101(Cool)

188 (Cool)

79W

42.6W

Class 2 low voltage DC distribution becomes practical.

* Estimated based on projected gains for Cool White LED.

Sensors and Controls

] ]

Typically very low power (<1W) Wired & Wireless Options exist

Other DC Loads
] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] LCD Displays (42): ~250W Desktop PC: ~100W LCD Displays (<22):<100W Notebook Computers: ~65W Home Theatre In a Box: <60W Printers: <60W DVD players: <30W Set Top Boxes: <40W Compact Audio: <30W Alarm System: <10W Cordless Telephone: <5W Mobile Device Chargers: <5W

Most are within NEC Class 2 Power Limits

Benefits of a Distributed DC Architecture

Controls (wired or wireless)

Power Supply

Low Voltage Device

AC

PFC

Isolated DC-DC
Low Voltage Device

Reliability: 1. Fewer Power Supplies increases system reliability. 2. Redundancy eliminates System Failures and simplifies maintenance. Features: 1. Device (load) design is no longer bound by electrical safety and power supply geometry constraints. 2. Sophisticated control integration is simplified (i.e. DMX, DALI, ZigBee, BacNet) Efficiency: 1. Larger Power Supplies = higher conversion efficiency possible 2. Fewer conversion stages = higher conversion efficiency possible Cost: 1. Eliminating power supply from device reduces cost. 2. Larger Centralized power supplies yield lower $/watt. 3. Reduced installation cost is possible

Low Voltage Device

NEC Rules for Power Limited DC Circuits

Circuit Class Max Voltage (wet) Max Voltage (Dry) Max VA of Source Cable Sizes Minimum Cable Insulation Rating Class 1 30V 30V 1000V Per NEC 402.5 600V Class 2 Inherently Limited 30V 60V 100VA Not Specified 150V Class 3 Inherently Limited 100V 100V 100VA Not Specified 300V

NEC 402.5: Allowable Ampacity for Fixture Wires: Size (AWG) Allowable Ampacity (A) 10 28 12 23 14 17 16 8 18 6

DC Distribution System, NEC Class 1

Class 2 Circuits

Controls

Class 2 DC Distribution System w/Battery Back up

High Efficiency Switch Mode Power Supplies Intelligent Class 2 Circuit Breakers
Branch Circuits: Current Limited (<100VA) Class 2 LVL LVL LVL LVL

AC Mains Input
AC/DC

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

AC/DC

LVL Internal DC Bus

LVL

LVL

LVL

N+1 Redundancy
AC/DC

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

Backup Battery

Controls
LVL LVL LVL LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

LVL

= Low Voltage Loads

Cable Voltage Drop

+ Voltage Drop in positive wire Conductor Length -Voltage Drop in return wire + --

Power Source

+ --

+ --

Load

Total Voltage Drop in

NEC Limits

Cable Transmission Efficiency @ 120V

Energy losses due to Cable resistance --

Power Source

+ --

Conductor Length C d

+ --

Load

Cable Transmission Efficiency @ 24V

Energy losses due to Cable resistance --

Power Source

+ --

Conductor Length C d

+ --

Load

Transmission Efficiency verses Operating Voltage & Cable Voltage Drop

Vdrop < 2% Vin

System Efficiency Calculator

Voltage at Node (vdc) Power Delivered at Node (w)

24.87 31.1

24.81 31.0

24.32 30.4

24.00 30.0 Power 30.0 W 24.0 Vdc 1.3 A

AC-DC SMPS

Current Limiting Device

Load Device

Voltage Current

Circuit or Component Wire Gauge (AWG) Length (ft) Efficiency Circuit Resistance (ohms) Component Pout (w) Component Pin (w) Component Losses (w) System Losses System Efficiency

Power Supply xx xx 92.0% xx 31.1 33.8 2.70 Watts %

Class 1 Branch 14 10 99.7% 0.0505 31.0 31.1 0.08 3.80 88.8%

Limiting Device

Class 2 Branch 14 50 98.7% 0.2525 30.0 30.4 0.39

98.0% 30.4 31.0 0.62

System Efficiency Examples

14awg probably best choice for cost/efficiency tradeoff

12AWG necessary to minimize losses

Unacceptable efficiency degradation due to load increase only

Oversized wiring for 1A circuit

Wiring Methods
Daisy Chain:
] ] ] ] Common method for AC outlets and lighting circuits. Familiar, low cost method for fixed utility infrastructure. Cable size must accommodate worst case total load. Cabling sized for fault conditions

Home Run:
] Commonly used for Telephone systems and Structured cabling (Cat5) Familiar wiring method for IT equipment, and alarm systems Cable can be sized for actual load

] ]

DC Wiring Methods
Very Low Power Devices ] ] Low Power Devices Printer PC Audio DC Power Panel Monitor Lighting Circuits
Class 2 Power Splitter

Phone

iPod

Mobile

] ]

NEC permits Class 2 power circuits to co-exist with control wires Daisy Chain wiring can accommodate very light loads Home Run wiring can be sized for larger DC loads (>20W) Hybrid wiring can accommodate Lighting Circuits where many devices are

Class 2 Power Splitter

4 x Class 2 Circuits Class 2 Power Splitter

4 x Class 2 Circuits

Conclusions
1. Most electronic devices require power within NEC Class 2 Limits. 2. DC distribution can facilitate very reliable distribution systems. 3. Low Voltage DC Power Distribution is safer and can be more flexible than high voltage distribution systems. 4. The National Electric Code has provisions for low voltage DC circuits and wiring. 5. NECs limits consider safety, not efficiency. 6. Wire Sizing for low voltage systems must carefully consider voltage drop. 7. Wire sizing for low voltage systems must consider system efficiency 8. Wire sizing for low voltage systems must consider future load increases. 9. A combination of wiring methods should be deployed for low voltage DC systems to optimize function and efficiency.

Thank You for Your Attention

Don Mulvey www.roallivingenergy.com