A Power System of DC
Because of it's advantages over DC, the largest being power loss over distance, Alternating Current became what we now use for national power transportation. However if the potential of AC had never been fully discovered, an entirely Direct Current power grid could have led to many changes in the placement and layouts of housing.
What if a DC power distribution system had been used?
Edison's plan from the beginning with DC power distribution was to construct electrical stations in every neighborhood. This would have meant that people would have to live nearby the power plants, which brings up another issue as living near to power plants is generally not wanted. Establishing a power station every block would have also pushed for more compact settlements as establishing electrical stations would be very costly and would most likely not be cost effective for some people who live more spread out to have access to electricity. All of these fact come back to why AC was chosen for national power distribution. |