Patent ID: 8248230

Claim:
A system comprising: a power device electrically coupled to a plurality of lines, wherein the power device provides a direct current power signal on each one of the lines; a plurality of load devices electrically coupled to the lines, the load devices being powered from the direct current power signals generated on respective ones of the lines, each one of the load devices being coupled to a different one of the lines than the other load devices; and a plurality of load communicators electrically coupled to the lines, each one of the load communicators being coupled to a different one of the lines than the other load communicators, wherein: the load communicators transmit data to the power device via conductors of the respective lines that propagate the direct current power signal to the respective load devices; the power device determines a target power level for each one of the load devices based on the data; and the power device adjusts the power in the direct current power signal on each one of the lines to match the target power level for each respective one of the load devices.