Power electricity energy saver - save up to 30%
- Thread starter Tones
- Start date
I watched long adverts for a variant of these on a shopping channel while on holidays, badly dubbed from Taiwanese into English. They used a string of bulbs and a watt meter all wired up on a board to demonstrate it. It was great entertainment. They seem to be no more than a large capacitor, so they would help regulate voltage fluctuations. But as to saving 30%... as Scotty would say “You cannot change the laws of physics.”
Towger
Towger
If there was a gadget that saved electricity in this way what applicances had you in mind to use it on? Bear in mind that it usually makes sense to start with the heaviest loads when looking to cut costs. The rest of that site that I linked to above contains some very useful information and energy/cost saving tips elsewhere. Even if the picture of the owner is a bit scary and the main home page liable to induce epileptic seizures!
The "energy savers" described do work and are in fact a power factor correction unit. These work by reducing the phasing imbalance between the voltage waveform and the current waveform caused by certain highly inductive loads such as motors etc.
They are a standard feature of most industrial electrical supply systems where they commonly save 5 to 15% of costs. Otherwise known as wattless current reducers.
They are a standard feature of most industrial electrical supply systems where they commonly save 5 to 15% of costs. Otherwise known as wattless current reducers.
Do you have any links to test results that support the claim that they work and save 5%, 15% or 30%?
I seem to recall there being some device that worked with refrigeration appliances and avoided them using electricity that was not required once the compressor switched on and was running. Anybody know anything about that or was I dreaming or gullible?
I seem to recall there being some device that worked with refrigeration appliances and avoided them using electricity that was not required once the compressor switched on and was running. Anybody know anything about that or was I dreaming or gullible?
No Clubman not for this specific product. I was trying to make the point that such devices in general do work and power factor correction is a scientifically proven fact and in general these products are not voodoo or "snake oil" as some people have dismissed them as.
I meant for such gadgets in general - not this specific one. I am genuinely interested in understanding if/when such things work so any links etc. that you have would be of interest to me.
Do you think that this specific one is genuine and will yield 5%, 15% or 30% savings?
In reality the benifits of these devices in a domestic situation would have to be questioned as in most homes the load is largely resistive (eg incandescent lighting and heating) as opposed to inductive (motors , flourescent lighting etc). However with the average home now having more motor based gadgets than you can shake a stick at and increased use of flourescent lighting it might be worth studying.
I work in the industrial installations division of a large engineering contractor and we would never do a large installation without power factor correction units which automatically change to suit the load. As a previous poster said they are essentially large capacitors and normally correct from an uncorrected figure of approx 0.8 to up to 0.99 i.e 14% cost saving on wasted current.
I work in the industrial installations division of a large engineering contractor and we would never do a large installation without power factor correction units which automatically change to suit the load. As a previous poster said they are essentially large capacitors and normally correct from an uncorrected figure of approx 0.8 to up to 0.99 i.e 14% cost saving on wasted current.
Try www.energy-in-motion.com/PFC.html for a simple overview.
I have no connection with them but the explanation is laid out simply compared to some of the technical sites.
In reality the more I think about it with a standard domestic single phase installation and no penalty charges applied for poor power factor by the power company the actual current saving would be minimal in cost terms compared to the overall. But in the great scheme of things they save generating capacity at the power station....CO2....blah blah and all the rest so maybe their day will come!
I have no connection with them but the explanation is laid out simply compared to some of the technical sites.
In reality the more I think about it with a standard domestic single phase installation and no penalty charges applied for poor power factor by the power company the actual current saving would be minimal in cost terms compared to the overall. But in the great scheme of things they save generating capacity at the power station....CO2....blah blah and all the rest so maybe their day will come!
If nothing is it entertainment : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ6lKwepA_0 The advert is cut short, you don’t get to see the step by step demo with bulbs and the American voiceover is not a good as the English dubbed version.
Here is an American product demoed : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejXFD8NJpik
Here is an American product demoed : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejXFD8NJpik
Thanks - will have a read of that.
Took you a while to get there.
In fact, since domestic installations don't have wattless meters, power factor correction would result in zero savings.
In any event the unit in question is not a power factor correction capacitor, it's too small to be of any use for anything.
So I repeat, snake oil.
The savings would not be zero. A motor will draw sufficient current to operate its load and if the phasing between voltage and current is improved it will draw less current. the savings in having a good power factor in an industrial situation are a combination of less PF charges by the power company and a real reduction in current consumed.