I was watching a YT video recently where they said something along the lines of “AC current is too inefficient for long distance power transmission, so xyz project needs DC power” and then moved on. I (from my vague memories 20 years ago of school) thought that AC had less loss and inefficiencies. What am I missing/what did I tune out in school?
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It’s not the AC vs DC itself that’s the reason, but the fact that AC power is very easily converted between different voltages. When it comes to losing power over wires, it’s the current (amps) that actually affect how much power is lost to heat. To mitigate this we can raise the voltage. More volts means less amps for the same amount of power (watts).
Of course, high voltages are dangerous and we don’t want them in our homes. So we need a way to change the voltage fairly easily. *That* is why AC power is used. The way to change voltage with AC is as simple as coiling some wires.
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