The push to DC: Why data centers are rethinking power architecture

Utility Dive · Published Oct ; Twitter Facebook · 2026-10-26 05:00 UTC

Explore how 800 VDC can reduce power losses, free up data center space and reshape power architecture.

As rack densities climb toward 1 MW and beyond, traditional low-voltage alternating current (AC) architecture is being pushed into territory it wasn’t originally designed to handle. A primary reason the industry is increasingly looking toward 800 VDC to support the next generation of high-density compute.

But the bigger question isn’t whether direct current (DC) can power these new racks. It’s where the conversion to DC should happen and how much of the traditional power architecture is still necessary.

Read SMA’s white paper, published by Tim Stocker, data center system architect, The Road to 800 VDC, for a deeper look at the solution architectures, efficiency calculations and design considerations behind the transition to 800 VDC.

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