Ian Woofenden wrote in a message to Jim Dunmyer:
 IW> On (18 Oct 97) Jim Dunmyer wrote to Kyle Hearn...
 JD> From what I've read in HomePower magazine, it appears like 
 JD> going 100% AC, using inverters, is the way to operate today. 
 JD> Twenty years ago, most AE households used mostly DC lights and 
 JD> appliances because of the inefficiencies of the inverters of 
 JD> the day.
 IW> I agree. We've been running a DC and AC household off-grid for 
 IW> 15 years. If I started again, I might go mostly AC, and I'd 
 IW> certainly recommend it to non-tinkerers. I still like DC though 
 IW> - no conversion losses, no EMF, more efficient motors.
 IW> But I'd still recommend running major loads like fridge and 
 IW> freezer directly on DC.
What voltage dc are you talking about using here?  While I haven't done a 
whole *lot* of reading on the subject,  one of the objections I saw to 
running low voltage DC around much (particularly in the context of going from 
a windmill a fair distance to wherever your loads are) was the losses in the 
wire,  meaning you either lose way too much of your power or you end up 
spending way too much on some seriously heavy wire.
I've been spending some time in a warehouse lately where they've got some 
*serious* batteries,  for forklifts and other vehicles,  and these all seem 
to be either 36 or 48 volt.
email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com 
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