So solar panels produce DC current, no conversion actually happens when sunlight is generated as electricity.
The DC current is then converted to AC as it is efficient in the electrical grid for long distances. However it is also used at home and majority of devices (hardly at least) don’t use AC as it gets converted to a safer DC current. This is especially important for electronics and battery recharging. When conversion happens, majority of that energy is lost as heat which you would find in the charging brick. In addition, with smartphones and EVs, wouldn’t direct DC be more efficient and quicker to charge than converting it back to DC. [Proponents claim that it would be beneficial if buildings had a ‘AC-DC converter box’ near a switchboard.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF_A4sp7nM8) (should mention that this is not a very credible source but others also claim similar stuff with DC)
So as I said before, why is AC forced as the current for homes instead of direct DC. Only current that needs to be exported to the grid would benefit from AC conversion. I couldn’t really see any answer to this with solar on mind. They will say AC is used for powering things while the other sites claim that AC burn devices if used.
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The problem is that all devices are designed with AC outlets in mind. They all need a different DC voltage, so they have a circuit that transforms the standard AC voltage of your country to the DC voltage the device needs.
Now if you’d want to directly use the DC your PV provided then you’d need a DC/DC converter (that sets the correct voltage) for each of your devices that bypasses the AC/DC converter.
Now if we all agree that DC power outlets should be a thing (in addition to AC, wich is still better for everything with a bigger motor) then we could agree on a few voltage levels, and then new devices could support that standard.
So in the end it’s all about inertia. Existing AC devices prevent people from switching.
Also with todays technology DC would actually be better for long distance transport of energy (you avoid EM radiation losses). The issue is that our current system was built for AC, and switching out all at once would be extremely expensive. AC was used because until the 90s DC/DC converters that could handle the necessary powerlevels didn’t exist, while AC/AC voltage converters are easy to build.
>When conversion happens, majority of that energy is lost as heat
No, you lose about 1% of the energy during conversion (with modern devices)
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