ARDA DC Microgrid Platform

Why DC in AC world?

A Tsunami has formed in the Energy world: the rise of renewables including PV Solar, the proliferation of DC loads, the increased affordability of energy storage, the shift from centralized to distributed energy, and the increased requirement for resiliency.

Although DC Microgrids sound like a compelling response to these trends, there are still barriers preventing their adoption, including the lack of commercially available products and the absence of standardized “plug and play” products.
ARDA Power saw these trends coming and had the audacity, skills and resources to invest heavily in creating from scratch controls and hardware optimized to how things should be, not to how things are.
AC solutions struggle to handle today's challenges and are inadequate to meet tomorrow’s, while DC Microgrids will be able to answer to the new needs.
Los Alamos National Laboratory study of AC vs DC Microgrids
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Sources - increasingly generate DC

In many parts of the world, including in the United States, Solar PV already represents a majority of newly installed energy capacity.

Solar PV and Fuel Cells generate DC.

Even many native AC generation sources would benefit from connecting to a DC microgrid through reduced cost, improved efficiency and reliability.

Loads - increasingly consume DC

We may not have noticed it, but DC Loads - like EV Fast Chargers and LED lights - are already pervasive and getting even more so.

​LED lights naturally consume DC power.

Even some traditional AC Loads like HVAC systems are switching to higher efficiency technologies that employ variable speed drives (VFD), which are fed from an internal DC bus, making these loads virtually "Camouflaged" DC Loads.

Batteries - store DC

Energy Storage is becoming more affordable and widespread as more renewables are deployed and the demand for resiliency grows.

​Batteries store DC power.

Distributed Energy - better with DC

Pretty soon commercial and industrial buildings will generate, store and use power locally both in On and Off grid applications.

​A DC microgrid will enable them to do so more reliably and more efficiently and at lower cost because it eliminates unnecessary DC-AC conversions and is inherently simpler to operate than an AC microgrid.

Resiliency - better with DC

There is an increased demand for energy resiliency due to factors like climate change and cybersecurity.

DC Microgrids are by far more resilient than traditional systems as they are decoupled from the AC Grid.

DC energy - global standardization

DC power proliferation trends are gaining additional traction thanks to a global standardization effort by organizations like IEEE and EMerge Alliance.