BACKGROUND

Electrical wiring in buildings has not substantially changed for almost 100 years. There are significant problems associated with high-voltage electrical wiring; it is dangerous, it requires time-consuming inspections, and it requires a skilled electrician to install.

As technology advances, many fixtures (LED lights, fans, sensors) no longer require high voltages to run. Therefore, wiring an entire building with high-voltage electrical wiring is overkill; a 5-watt fixture does not require a 2000-watt circuit. Furthermore, since these fixtures are running on low-voltage DC power, wiring a building with high-voltage AC power will require AC-DC conversion for every DC device. Some energy is lost in the conversion process, whether it is from AC to DC or from one DC voltage to another. The efficiency of this conversion varies from 90% to 60%-70% or even less, especially when the AC-DC conversion is at low power levels. This becomes a real problem if AC power is used throughout a building and every device does its own AC-DC conversion. Each of the devices will suffer a 30-40% power conversion loss due to accepting AC power at low power levels. This adds up to a significant energy loss across a building.

The widespread acceptance of green technology is another reason why high-voltage electrical wiring may be a bad idea. Since solar/battery systems deliver DC power, wiring a building for AC high-voltage will lead to unnecessary conversions and conversion inefficiencies.

Furthermore, many fixtures and appliances require control signals. Currently, a smart appliance may be controlled wirelessly via a Wi-Fi network, while power is provided separately via an AC wiring system. However, this adds another level of complexity and another point of failure.

A need exists for a simple, low-voltage method of providing power to fixtures in a building that can also provide control signals in the same circuit.

