Connector Suppliers Invest in DC Power Facilities

A growing number of electronics companies are investing in efficient new buildings that integrate DC power networks for resiliency, energy savings, and smart systems integration. Not only do they reap the benefits, but they also gain firsthand experience to share with customers.

From office buildings to data centers, new buildings are tapping into DC power. The rise of connected building technologies such as microgrids, net-zero energy systems, and smart city infrastructure has provided an opening to design new systems that achieve savings and sustainability goals. For electronics components companies, it’s also a chance to demonstrate how their own products can serve in these innovative systems.

In DC powered buildings, direct current (DC) electricity is used as the primary or significant source of electrical power. Power distribution and consumption are designed around DC, either fully or for specific subsystems. While DC has been widely used in powering devices, alternating current (AC) has been the dominant setup in buildings since the widespread implementation of electricity in the 1900s. That is now changing as new energy technologies are being integrated into building systems. DC-powered buildings may include a combination of systems or elements such as DC microgrids or distribution systems instead of traditional AC wiring, renewable energy sources (most often, solar), and energy storage (batteries) that operate using DC. These systems may also use DC-to-DC converters to regulate voltage rather than the inverters used in DC to AC systems. This element is one point of efficiency, as conversions between AC and DC typically result in power losses. But efficiencies exist across the system as new clean energy sources are directly utilized in building systems as well as factory operations. Smart building systems can integrate power systems with building automation, lighting, and security, as product lines or servers.

Energy efficiency is a key impetus for designing DC-powered building designs, as companies are looking for ways to achieve sustainability goals and save money on facilities. For building like data centers and automated factories, DC energy systems offer strategies to help offset energy consumption with onsite energy production, the excess of which can be stored in battery energy storage systems or distributed back to an AC grid.

Phoenix Contact installed an industrial DC grid in its Building 60 on the company’s campus in Blomberg, Germany. This project created a blueprint for industrial DC grids that the company can use in advising its customers in their own designs, from planning right through to the finished installation. The company’s own components are part of the project, which includes photovoltaics, battery energy storage, and e-mobility charging stations. This 650 V DC grid supplies several low-voltage IT systems with 400 V. These 400 V DC subsystems are connected to loads such as lighting, control circuits, and production systems.

“The Technology Center in Building 60 combines construction innovations in terms of energy efficiency and the reuse of building materials with forward-thinking industrial applications ranging from the generation to the use of renewable energies,” said Chris Rosen, general manager of Phoenix Contact’s Machine Building.

Phoenix Contact’s CHARX High Power modules are used to supply the 650 V DC grid from the low-voltage alternating-current grid (AC grid). This bidirectional connection also enables the feed-back of excess electricity from the other feed-in generators into the public supply network.

Schaltbau’s NExT Factory in Velden, Bavaria, is almost completely supplied by a DC network connected to a photovoltaic system that produces up to 1.6 MWh of energy for the facility and its energy storage systems. This decreases the company’s dependency on the public grid by 70% and reduces energy costs by 35%. In addition to operational efficiency, the  building’s construction used about 25% less copper piping material compared to AC facilities.

“With our NExT Factory, we wanted to set an example and show that cost-effective and climate-neutral production operation with direct current is possible and safe for people and machines. In this way, we are committing ourselves to economically efficient, green supply chains as well as to Germany as a production location,” said Schaltbau CEO Dr. Jürgen Brandes.

“Our new plant will make us practically autonomous in terms of energy supply. Our concept will enable us to run our production facilities permanently with sustainable, CO2-free energy,” said Dirk Konrad, managing director of Schaltbau GmbH.

The Weidmüller DC Innovation Hub in Detmold, Germany, is a new direct-current powered facility that offers customers, users, and partners a space where they can explore and test direct current technologies through pilot projects. The focus is on planning, designing, and implementing DC network technologies. “We are capable of supplying a DC grid with 150 kW here,” said Olaf Grünberg, DC project manager at Weidmüller. “We identified the peak load of the machines on site by putting all our equipment into operation. This resulted in a demand of 130 kW—equivalent to that of a medium-sized company.” The project is continuing to expand, with continuous focus on infrastructure and the integration of energy consumers as well as sources such as photovoltaic systems and energy storage.

Electronics distributors are also exploring the benefits of DC power. Mouser Electronics global distribution center in Mansfield, Texas, received the IBCon 2024 Digie Award for Most Intelligent DC-Powered Building. The new building, spanning 416,000 square feet and three stories, is the largest installation of Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology – adhering to various environmental goals and standards while providing state-of-the-art lighting with occupancy sensors, reduced materials, and an overall lower carbon footprint.

The Open DC Alliance (ODCA), an international organization dedicated to the expansion of DC grid technologies, worked with researchers, electronics companies, and others to implement DC infrastructure into new facilities. Its DC-INDUSTRIE program includes use cases at member companies, include connector suppliers HARTING, Phoenix Contact, LAPP, Staubli, WAGO, and Weidmüller. Products from these companies are key elements in the systems, and the design and implementation experience gives them firsthand knowledge about how to design DC systems that support company operations — knowledge they can share with their own customers.

To learn more about the companies mentioned in this article, visit the Preferred Supplier pages for Schaltbau doesn’t have a page yet HARTING, Mouser Electronics, Phoenix Contact, WAGO, and Weidmüller.

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