With the increasing deployment of native-DC loads, energy generation, and storage in buildings, along with advances in power electronics and communications, we are on the cusp of a transformation in how power is distributed in buildings, using digitally-managed DC power. The only technologies that implement digital management today, however, are USB and Power over Ethernet, which are data-centric and not suited to general building power distribution. This presentation will describe a proposed standard for digitally-native 48V DC distribution to serve ordinary building loads, intended to have low cost and high energy efficiency while enhancing power distribution functionality. Digital management facilitates a variety of expanded and new applications, such as easy storage integration for resiliency, dynamic load management for grid response, and modular and flexible deployment. We present some of these new use cases along with details about communication and hardware technologies.
