Boaters are increasingly expecting more from their electrical systems. Systems are becoming more power hungry and guests are expecting the comforts of home. People are bringing aboard computers, cameras, electric shavers, hairdryers; even blenders. And how do they expect to power these devices? The same way as on land: the trusty universal (at least regionally) AC outlet. But boats aren’t on land: they’re not (usually) connected to the fraying wires of the the grid. They must make their own power or run off batteries. And that electrical current is direct. In order to supply AC power to make all the devices from home, a boat must go through a kind of gymnastics routine: transformers that turn that directional flow of electrons into a never ending oscillating 60HZ dance. A dangerous dance. Furthermore, this dance isn’t even really necessary. Most the handheld devices we use on a daily basis (really anything with a battery) are actually powered by DC! So this dance is then undone by a equally complicated dance. And this Kabuki routine is extremely inefficient and taxing on electrical systems.
Luckily, over the last few years a new standard has emerged. Universal Serial Bus, better known as USB was first introduced in 1996 to facilitate the connections between personal computers. Now, 25 years later, the same standards have the ability to transform power delivery on boats. Historically, USB was able to provide negligible amounts of current: 2.5W for USB 2.0, 4.5W for USB 3.0 and 15W for the new USB-C devices. Now, with the current USB PD Spec can support up to 100W. And the recently announced USB PD 3.1 will support 240W. This will open up a new world of possibilities on boats and has the potential to lead us to a safer, more efficient future where AC is no longer expected on boats.
For my project, I’m aiming to take a small step toward that future. I’m researching the standards, currently available products, with the aim of productionizing an USB C PD Charger that is capable of charging my Macbook Pro. If my tests are successful, I aim to take it to market under my perhaps-future-real-marine-tech company TrimTab Marine.
Here’s the current order of operations and it’s associated status:
My goal by the end of the school year is to have it to get this to a state where these devices can be easily installed in boats, and perhaps for sale on TrimTab Marine.