Last week I posted a question from our July 30th webinar on power distribution. It's been my goal to take the many questions we get in these session and provide meaningful answers. Bill Mazzetti of Rosendin Electric and one of the webinar presenters, provided the answer just below the original question, which I reprinted for your convenience.

Where/when do you see dc power distribution taking hold in the data center design world?

- Christopher Kuhl 

ZBB Energy Corp. 

Menomonee Falls, WI

You know, I wish it would. It’s very efficient, and we've used it for 80 years in the telcos. I've written about it a few times. Here are the two issues that compromise the application:
- feeders costs are significantly higher in dc systems.
- the current players in ac critical power systems do not have motivation for change.  Look at how long it took to build a 1000-kVA IGBT box outside of APC? The current large-frame DC guys are not cost-competitive on a $$/kW basis. The cost savings of the energy can't overcome the capital hit.

Bill Mazzetti

Rosendin Electric