Datacenters and data transmission networks account for about 2-3% of global electricity use<\/a>, an amount that continues to grow.<\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Carbon emissions associated with datacenters doubled<\/a> between 2017 and 2020, exceeding<\/a> the emissions from all commercial flights. <\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Datacenter power usage is estimated to triple<\/a> by 2030, fueled by the rise of energy-hungry artificial intelligence language models. <\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n As the world\u2019s reliance on datacenters expands, it is clear datacenters need to prepare for the future by investing in more efficient technologies. One potential solution that has been proposed for years is switching datacenters from alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power, conserving energy by removing a series of redundant AC-DC conversions. Although the idea is not without its drawbacks, there remain significant benefits to the idea that has implications for the future sustainability of datacenters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The AC versus DC power idea may have resurfaced in recent years, but it is not a new debate. In fact, the original \u201cwar of the currents\u201d occurred<\/a> in the late 1800s between inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Edison promoted direct current, while Tesla and his industrialist backer George Westinghouse promoted alternating current. Both sides sought to demonstrate their invention was better and competed over work contracts. Edison even launched a propaganda campaign to discredit AC power, attempting to prove it was more dangerous by electrocuting animals with AC current. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The company won two awards at the 1893 World Fair. Pictured here is one award recognizing the company’s exhibit on trolleys.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n However, when Westinghouse and Tesla\u2019s AC power won the contract to power the 1893 Chicago World\u2019s Fair, the writing was on the wall for Edison\u2019s DC invention. DC power had a couple of major disadvantages, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Distance: DC power was much harder<\/a> to transport over great distances without major power loss, requiring power stations to be located within a mile of the buildings they powered.<\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Price: Westinghouse won the World\u2019s Fair contract primarily because his AC power contract asked for about $150,000 less than Edison\u2019s proposal.<\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Voltage Changes: Unlike AC, the voltage with DC power could not be easily stepped up or down via a transformer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n Despite Edison\u2019s best efforts, these drawbacks were too much for DC to overcome. By the time Westinghouse won a contract<\/a> to generate power from Niagara Falls in 1896, even Edison\u2019s backer, General Electric, had abandoned DC for AC. For over a century, AC current was firmly established as the predominant power current in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, DC power is making a bit of a comeback. Computers, phones, TVs, and LEDs, along with sustainable energy sources like solar and wind, all run on DC power. Advances in technology, including the adoption<\/a> of high voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, can transport DC current longer distances with less energy loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Datacenters today still generally rely on AC to power their systems. However, the backup batteries that sustain the datacenter in the event of a power interruption run on DC power. This situation requires a complex series of conversions<\/a> within the datacenter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, power goes through an inverter that converts it back to AC to feed the rest of the datacenter system.<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n These numerous conversions are inefficient and waste energy, which has sparked some interest in developing fully DC-powered datacenters. In a DC datacenter, only one conversion is needed: taking the AC power provided by the electrical grid and changing it to DC. The amount of energy conservation would be significant. Studies have shown<\/a> that in AC datacenters with an isolation transformer, adopting a DC system would save approximately 6.1% in energy costs alone.<\/p>\n\n\n According to FS<\/a>, a company involved in the fiber optic networking industry, additional benefits<\/a> of adopting DC-powered datacenters include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the adoption of DC power in datacenters is not without challenges<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lack of Industry Knowledge: Datacenter owners, operators, and contractors are not as familiar with DC power. <\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Restructuring Cost: Swapping existing datacenter infrastructure from AC to DC power is costly. <\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n Other DC Building Resources: Other building systems, such as air conditioning and fire protection systems, would ideally need to be DC to run in DC-powered datacenters. However, there are few DC options on the market.<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n Figure 2: There are many pros and cons to weigh when a datacenter is considering adopting DC power. This graphic highlights some of the primary considerations.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Each datacenter must weigh these costs and benefits when considering a DC-powered system. Regardless of their decision, other sustainability and efficiency concerns are only going to grow alongside the datacenter industry itself. Companies are increasingly investing staggering amounts of resources and research into datacenters, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft is building<\/a> a new, expansive datacenter in Hyderabad, India and intends to invest about $2 billion into the region. <\/p><\/li>\n\n\n\n Chip-maker Nvidia is selling<\/a> their datacenter AI technologies at astounding rates; the company\u2019s revenue outlook<\/a> for the second quarter of 2024 alone is $11 billion.<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nEdison vs. Tesla: The History of the \u201cWar of the Currents\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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AC vs. DC in Today\u2019s Datacenters<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hidden Costs of AC<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Benefits of DC-Powered Datacenters<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDatacenters: A Booming Industry<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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