A team of researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed more robust circuit breakers that are compatible with direct current (DC), paving the way for lower electricity costs, expanded capacity, and a more stable electrical grid.
Our current electrical grid uses alternating current (AC) for transmission, and most modern circuit breakers are designed to work well with this method, a report shared by TechXplore explained.
Circuit breakers are a safety feature that automatically interrupts the flow of electricity in the face of a system fault or if the current exceeds an intended magnitude. They cut the current if, for example, a power line touches the ground, helping to reduce the risk of fire or power outages in the area.
AC power is easy to interrupt since the electricity flow changes direction 60 times per second, the report explained.
Direct current only flows in one direction, making it more difficult for a mechanical switch to react fast enough, but it's also much more energy efficient.
The team's medium-voltage circuit breakers can help handle the increasing electrical loads that modern society requires while also increasing efficiency and lowering costs for customers.
"The lack of medium-voltage circuit breakers for direct current has been an obstacle to flexibility in delivering electricity," said Prasad Kandula, lead researcher for the ORNL project.
"Developing this technology helps keep the grid working safely and reliably while keeping more energy available to support our growing population and economy."
Data centers, which are known to consume large amounts of electricity, could also benefit from DC-based power transmission.
A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study shared by Power Solutions showed that there's the potential for a 7% reduction in energy consumption and a 28% efficiency gain when data centers use DC instead of AC power delivery.
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Definitely 👍 The research team's medium-voltage circuit breakers use a semiconductor-based design that can operate a hundred times faster than mechanical switches.
"This enables wider use of DC in the electric grid as it becomes more attractive to energy system designers for its efficiency, flexibility and compatibility with modern energy sources and loads," the report explained.
Renewable energy sources now account for over 30% of our utility-scale power generation, and there are no signs of that growth slowing down, which means the electrical grid has to adapt.
Semiconductor breakers have traditionally been too expensive to compete with mechanical AC breakers, but Kandula and his team found a solution by looking to an older, industry-accepted semiconductor design.
To prove they can handle higher voltages, the team connected the breakers in a series and managed to operate them up to a 1,800-volt testing capacity, which goes well beyond what commercial DC breakers have been able to achieve, per the report.
Their next step is to add to that series so they can eventually scale up to 10,000 volts in anticipation of the greater electricity demands of future DC-based electrical grids.
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