A proposed new power socket standard to help eliminate future waste. The current US standard output of 120 volts is highly outdated, meant for an analog time. With new digital technology, the average and most common power input is 5V, a vast difference. New sockets mean less batteries, less power transformers, and more standardized, interchangeable plugs.
The impact of such a design is what's most important. The third world has become our dumping ground. So called "recycling" efforts send our waste to the poorest of the poor. Towns in China are covered in electronics to be torn apart and the metals harvested. Kids and adults are handling lead and acids, without the proper equipment - if any equipment at all. The less we create, the less they have to deal with.
My design would get rid of power transformers and batteries, not through recycling, but by never manufacturing them in the first place. Why does a stationary product use batteries? Because 2 cents worth of metal and a "batteries not included" sticker are cheaper than a $10 120V-to-5V power transformer. Companies are always looking to increase profits, so their decision makes sense. Put the 5V socket in every home, the reasons for batteries narrow. Designs are constricted to their environment.
15 Comments
Well, if this was a good idea I guess someone would have found it before. In fact, in the beginnings of electricity power distribution was in low voltages but one found that needed large section cables, which was expensive and too much energy consumming. There are other reason for using middle or high voltages but this one is the most counting.
No more proprietary power supplies going to waste, no more searching for the right plug, a standard for higher power DC has been necessary for a long time. I was toying with the idea of putting USB receptacles around my house and this idea seems at several steps better. Two things which do need to be restated: USB should allow much more than the half amp it normally specifies, and there should be a smart disconnect to keep the transformer from wasting energy while not in use.
Way to attack the problem from an entirely different angle. I don't know that this completely solves the problem, but an interesting step in the right direction. And it works from all aspects of the economy (less to produce for the producers)(less to consume for consumers)(and less to throw away). Great idea.
I think this one is a really great idea. However, how does one deal with the issue of multiple users per power point for the 2 DC outlets?
I've been thinking of it for my future home for years! One home should be minimizing use of high oscillating voltages for multiple reasons : - emission of stressful magnetic waves - unefficiency of converting solarpanel energy to high voltage - unefficiency of small power supplies I would buy or diy it !
I like this idea a lot. Building the transformer into the infrastructure seems like it could lead to more further ideas. Portable transformers are restricted to being portable and non-integrated.
Nice idea. My concern is the "wall wart" aspect of the outlet. Now, instead of a "vampire" transformer in select locations, you potentially have one in every wall socket. I presume that the amount of power consumed at idle depends upon the type of conversion. Even so, I would want some kind of mechanism to switch the power supply on and off dependent upon a device being connected. Ideally this mechanism would be mechanical to eliminate any power consumption when a device
Gennadiy: The fact that the power transformer is basically moving from outside the wall to inside it is a valid point. But there is still a place for this. For one thing, power transformers are made to be cheap and disposable. Every product you buy comes with one, and I'm sure you have thrown away your fair share. Instead of a new supply for everything, why not just have one single supply built into the house? Also, as with the Xbox 360, they can be dangerous. If it's built for a house, not a
I would bump up the amps on the USB socket, for some reason my blackberry required more than the standard 500 ma, it was annoying since most things wouldn't output that.
@Charles: That's exactly what I did ; ) It's cut off in the preview. The only problem: TiVos, Xboxs, Wiis, laptops, DVD players, HDTV receivers, TVs, media centers, etc all require more than the 5V USB uses. So, a second, higher voltage plug was chosen for that.
If one is going to standardize on a DC power source, why not standardize on USB physical plug format for DC power. The USB plug is fairly cheap these days and a large number of devices have USB connections to allow for power input and/or recharging. As a bonus, it should be possible to wire the home to include the data portion as well allowing for more than just DC power at nearly the same cost.
Excellent, excellent idea. This makes sense from both a convenience and an environmental standpoint. It should be a world standard for every device and found everywhere.
Where this 5V power will come from? A transformer in every outlet? Or a whole house transformer and wires to all outlets? This idea creates more waist and complexity. Better results could be achieved by standardizing DC power connections. Korea is a
Is there a website for this??
An oversight I made: "New sockets mean less batteries, less power transformers" should be "New sockets mean fewer batteries, fewer power transformers."
Add a Comment
Commenting is now closed. Thank you to all those who have participated.