r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Araanim • 6h ago

I'm slightly vexed Verizon Router plug blocks 3+ outlets

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These new routers have a terrible plug that not only is so wide that it blocks at least two plugs below it, but actually extends the other direction and blocks the outlet above as well!

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u/UsedAsk3537 4h ago

True, but remember 2 things

1) because there is an imperfect point of energy transfer(plugging into the socket) and the conversion to DC and the stepping up/down happening at the same point, that introduces more heat into the system increasing resistance which decrease power

2) the distance of AC power has now increased. And AC is generally less efficient that DC

Also you can't universally say the power will be stepped down and therefore it's more efficient because it is sometimes stepped up. Depends on the device

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u/bafben10 4h ago

There's a couple things wrong with that. For your first point, I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say since it sounds like you're making the case for the conversion being in-line (removed from the heat of the plug). For your second point, AC is not inherently more or less efficient than DC, but AC systems are generally more efficient than DC since in virtually all cases AC is carried at a higher voltage. Again, that's why we transfer power across the country/world with AC and not with DC. You're technically right about there being some cases in which voltage is stepped up rather than down, but those cases are extremely rare in home use, and there's not even a remote chance that OP's router is operating at hundreds of volts. It's almost certainly 12V or 20V, as those are commonly produced power supplies for consumer equipment.

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u/UsedAsk3537 3h ago

My first point is actually going against my original argument. All I'm saying is that there is ALOT of heat concentrated in the brick being near the outlet because it's coming from 3 sources. That makes it less efficient.

AC is inherently less efficient due to its alternating action. It creates reactive loss. This is why Tesla wanted DC power, but Edison won with technically inferior AC. Carry DC at high voltage and you will experience less loss. This is pretty well known

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u/bafben10 3h ago

Reactive loss would be worth considering if it wasn't specifically compensated for in every major AC system. Not accounted for (meaning the loss is planned and accepted), compensated for (meaning components are put in place to negate the loss).

There are a few reasons that AC is a more technically viable and superior solution for power transmission compared to DC, but the main one is that the losses of uncompensated reactive loss and voltage transformation loss put together for AC are still smaller than the transformation loss in DC.

Also, it was Tesla that was the father of AC, not his rival Eddison who was very outspoken against AC. If you're doing your research on AC from Edison's work then you'd definitely come to the conclusion that AC is worse. There's not really a reason for the world to run on AC for transmission if DC is supposedly superior for it.