Low Voltage Power Distribution? 237
thesp asks: "As I look around my apartment, I am continually struck by the plethora of high-voltage AC to low-voltage DC power adapters I use to power my various devices. At a recent estimate, around 30% of the power consumed in my house is via these adapters. From my laptop to my digital music player, and from my mobile telephone to my PDA, each device is down-converting its own power through its own adapter. Double this number to include my partner's devices. Many of these run hot, and are inconvenient to remove/replug to conserve power and outlets. Does Slashdot know of any moves to standardize power delivery to such devices, or of hobby/home-brew projects to distribute low-voltage power from a central power converter? Alternatively, are there reasons as to why this would not be a simple and effective solution to the proliferation of wall-warts."
"On closer examination, these adapters seem to fall into four major categories, 7V, 5V and 3V, with the most common being 5V. Despite this, each device uses a different DC plug configuration, which makes efficient use of adapters difficult. It seems to me that, just as AC power is standardised, portable electronics power requirements should be also be standardised, with a standard wall outlet and car outlet at, say, 5V, and a standard device cable and interface. Electronics manufacturers would save money on power adapters, and the consumer would have the cost of the converter written in to home construction or automobile construction costs. No longer would we have to lug 4 separate power adapters with us on an overnight business stay to power our various equipment."
Re:Surety you crave! Reality gives you none! (Score:3, Funny)
Like that one time, Satan decided that all railroad tracks should be the same distance apart, so that every train could work on every track, so people would ride around on the trains, which sucked out their immortal souls.
Oh, and then they standardized screws and bolts, so that you didn't need to carry around one screwdriver for each screw manufacturer, which put some screwdriver makers out of business. Their children were thrown out to starve in the streets. Satan watched, and he laughed.
And home power standardized on 120V AC, so that everyone could plug their computers in anywhere, allowing Satan to tempt everyone with porn.
Don't even get me started on what Satan thinks of the USB 2.0 interface.
Re:Low Voltage DUPE distribution? (Score:1, Funny)