Comments on: Electricity Saver

By: Dewi

Dewi — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:10:54 +0000

Steven, Ah names of these products. Only talking single phase. There is all kinds of crap on the market particularily in USA – EcoTrust. It really is only a 30 uf capacitor and “extremely” expensive.
I went back on the ebay as I have not look for some time and the same-mo stuff is there. Junk mostly 6uf plastic caps. I know there is one manufacturer in connecticut that makes the generic models that are most of what is advertised in USA and they are 30 uf and over priced.
In checking on the units I talked about they are not sold over the net. And I tracked down the Eand J distributors for Australia. They seem to have set up a well organized network of distributors throughout the country – I AM NOT A DISTRIBUTOR. The product is called PPS Power Savers/PPSmart Industries. Apparently it has multiple functions: PF increase, protection from spikes, surges, and lightning, Reduced EMF Radiation, Motor life extension by as much as 15%. Apparently they do not do internet marketing nor selling and no MLM. and for now the product is exclusive to Australia, S. Africa and Mexico. She went on about controlled laboratory testing results and extensive Certifications and a lot more stuff I did not write down. It is a device that is a plug in or can be hardwired to breaker panel for greater protection. I have really been studying the junk for sale and I have a list of what I DO NOT want and this PPS does not have anything on my do not want list. So I’m impressed.

By: steven

steven — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:38:28 +0000

So DEWI do you have the names of these products with the comsumer in mind?

By: Dewi

Dewi — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:54:09 +0000

I have been looking into and reading all these blogs for ages and I have found that no Powersaver under 30 mfd or over 80 (single phase) will save any measurable amount of money nor correct the Power Factor measurable. You will be getting what you pay for with these units. Cheap will not work. But check your engineering. Capacitors over 30, and I believe 60mfd is a good bell curve range, will dramatically increase the Power Factor which will lower amps which then equates to watts, etc. But I found more important to me they will also dramatically reduce spiking and surges, keeping motors from over-working and heating. To me getting extra years on my sensitive equipment and motors is a bigger savings than my electricity bill. But perhaps people should spend more time investigating the Smart Meters. I have been and found the world meetings on these meters with electricity companies is staggering. This is becoming a world-wide endeavour to install them into every home & every country. This meter will then monitor and make chargeable all aspects of electricity including apparent power which is electricity already registered through the meter and unused by appliances and which these experts are saying we are not yet charged for but we certainly will be. The Power Saver is really going to make a difference then. If you really check into the industry you can find one or two units that are honestly built with the consumer in mind, that do not make false claims and the representatives are required to undergo extensive training. The maximum a capacitor can save is 30% in the most controlled test environment. At 60mfd you could conceiveably see savings and great equipment protection.

By: Fabio

Fabio — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:57:50 +0000

It’s surprising how this can lead to a discussion. Technically speaking, as some have pointed out, it is impossible to generate economic savings this way … unless your utility bills you for reactive energy. Maybe these devices improve your power factor, but if you are a domestic consumer then you are not interested in correcting it (savings-wise) because you are not billed for reactive energy. However, your utility is, because when you raise your power factor towards 1, your reactive current vectorial component reduces, thus reducing your real current consumption (it’s active vectorial component, which is what you are billed for, keeps the same) so this optimizes the use of the transport network since the total current is reduced. That´s why they are only interested in huge consumers power factor, not yours. Think about it this way: if your installation has a power factor of .95 (Typical), there is only room for a 5% improvement, and remember, you are not billed for it anyway.

By: Matt Jensen

Matt Jensen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:16:18 +0000

Can power factor correction through a KVAR unit save electricity and money when connected directly to a residential main power box through a dedicated 2-pole circuit breaker positioned in the top left corner of the panel? Fox News gave them a thumbs up. What say you??????

By: Frustrated

Frustrated — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:46:39 +0000

We have clocks that are running fast and cheap electric ceiling fans that keep shorting out due to power fluctuations. The power company refuses to do anything about it because the voltage isn’t high enough. I understand that the power saver won’t save us money but will it fix this problem?

By: Myth Buster

Myth Buster — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:32:22 +0000

Vince,
Have you done any tests on actual residential installations using plug in Power Correction Devices? As far as I now – Power correction can only reduce electricity costs in industrial situations.
This post was put up to inform consumers of SCAM electricity saving plug in adaptors which promise outrageous discounts off consumer electricity bills. Out of the 3 consumer devices tested – this has not been the case. With proof from electronics enthusiast magazine Silicon Chip.

By: Vince

Vince — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:10:36 +0000

Just a note for Sparky. I totally disagree with you. From ALL the tests and actual installations we have done, POWER FACTOR CORRECTION REDUCES KILOWATTS AND KILOWATT HOURS.

By: sattvfan

sattvfan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:56:52 +0000

Does anybody please educate me on how to calculate the energy consumption..
Say I have a 300 W television, which to my understanding is 300 W per hour (Please correct me if I am wrong) and that for me to consume 1.2 kwh, the tv has to be turned on for 4 hours straight, right ?
(Because 300 W x 4 = 1200 W, which is 1.2 kW).
If this is correct then the cost of watching TV for 4 hours is only about 7 cents (~6 cents per kwh in where I live)
Thanks
Cheers

By: JG

JG — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:09:08 +0000

I have noticed a similar device has turned up on graysonline.com for on line auction. it guarantees 10% money saving for a comparable period or your money back! Big claim but I wonder how you prove it?
I agree that absolutely these things do not save you money for the reasons already stated.