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Emerging Market Opportunities for DC Building Power to be Detailed at 2012 Green Building Power Forum

January 11, 2012 by Jeff Shepard

Speakers at the Fourth-Annual Green Building Power Forum (GBPF ’12) to be held January 23-25 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel San Jose – Silicon Valley, California, will detail the current "Challenges, Progress and Opportunities for the use of DC Power Distribution in Facilities and the Creation of a Flexible and Dynamic Power Infrastructure." GBPF ’12 will encompass high-voltage and low-voltage dc power distribution as well as hybrid ac and dc distribution architectures and dc microgrids.

Speakers at GBPF 12 will include representatives from Anderson Power Products, Armstrong Industries, Beyond Fire, Bloom Energy, Darnell Group, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, EMerge Alliance, Emerson Electric, Eurticity, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, National Electric Manufacturers Association, Nextek Power, Oakridge National Laboratory, Pike Research, Roal, Starline division of Universal Electric, Underwriters Laboratories, University of Texas, and others.

"This is a dynamic period in the development of dc power distribution. EMerge Alliance-compliant products are on the market, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute has issued a 400Vdc standard, the International Electrotechnical Commission has established an active project to develop global dc-powering standards, there are a growing number of dc-powered data centers around the world, and dc-microgrids are being deployed across Asia. DC building power technology has reached the end of the development stage and has started the commercialization process. Darnell's Green Building Power Forum is the only place where global thought leaders gather on an annual basis to assess progress and plan next steps," said Jeff Shepard, president, Darnell Group.

The EMerge Alliance is a Diamond Sponsor of GBPF ’12. This focused three-day international conference will serve an audience of decision-makers who are interested in learning about and contributing to the latest practical advancements related to the use of dc power distribution in commercial, industrial, government and residential buildings; critical facilities such as data centers; and the creation of a dynamic power infrastructure.

A convergence of technologies is occurring that will change how buildings are powered. These technologies include the continued rapid growth of distributed generation resources (photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, micro turbines, etc.), the emergence of high-efficiency lighting technologies (especially solid-state LED lighting), wireless building automation systems, demand-side management of building energy use by electric utilities, and so on.

Examples of the topics to be addressed at GBPF ’12 include: Selection of the optimal dc distribution voltage; Integration of distributed generation resources; DC lighting systems; DC HVAC and other building systems; DC appliances; Building automation and controls; DC microgrids; Combined heat and power; Advanced components and hardware; Safety considerations; Standardization issues; Hybrid ac and dc power distribution architectures; Implementation of demand-side management; Implications for power quality; and more.

The GBPF ’12 web site is here.

More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.