Power save 1200 question

[charliex]

Anyone heard of this being a good idea or a scam? Looks good on the surface. At a 15% savings I could recoup the cost in about 3 years. I'm about 20 years out of tech stuff so I'm clueless.
http://www.power-save1200.com/1200.html
Thanks for any input.
Chas

[LCHIEN]

Below is a link and a direct quote from that link - from the US Gov't Energy Star website (US EPA and DOE) that flatly says it won't help you any. As an Electrical Engineer I agree with their verdict.

http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4941&p_created=1204908170&p_to pview=1

ENERGY STAR does not qualify any Power Factor Correction Devices. Please send us an email at logomisuse@energystar.gov if you see one that claims to be ENERGY STAR certified.

Power Factor Correction Devices claim to reduce residential energy bills and to prolong the productive life cycles of motors and appliances by reducing the reactive power (kVAR) that is needed from the electric utility.

We have not seen any data that proves these types of products for residential use accomplish what they claim. Power factor correction devices improve power quality but do not generally improve energy efficiency (meaning they won't reduce your energy bill). There are several reasons why their energy efficiency claims could be exaggerated. First, residential customers are not charged for KVA-hour usage, but by kilowatt-hour usage. This means that any savings in energy demand will not directly result in lowering a residential user's utility bill. Second, the only potential for real power savings would occur if the product were only put in the circuit while a reactive load (such as a motor) were running, and taken out of the circuit when the motor is not running. This is impractical, given that there are several motors in a typical home that can come on at any time (refrigerator, air conditioner, HVAC blower, vacuum cleaner, etc.), but the unit itself is intended for permanent, unattended connection near the house breaker panel.

Also here is a link some user basically tested it and said he could see no difference.
http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/...ine/index.html

[GoFish104]

I work for an REA (rurual electric association) & just asked out head engeneer about this. His answer plain & simple was "NO it does not work unless you have a reactive meter". I would be willing to bet you don't. Sorry Jack

[crokett]

I googled it and came up with a couple forums for electrical geeks who agreed with Loring and GoFish. It won't help average joe homeowner.

[RAFlorida]

Power factor comes into play with motors

and capacitive reactive circuits. For the home owner, this does not apply. Simply put, power factor puts the current and voltage back in phase. It's more complicated that just that, but just to give you and idea. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON SUCH DEVICES.

[charliex]

Kinda what I thought the answer would be. Sure is a well presented sales pitch though. I'll save the money for tools. Thank you gentlemen for the info. much appreciated.

Chas

[LCHIEN]

Kinda what I thought the answer would be. Sure is a well presented sales pitch though. I'll save the money for tools. Thank you gentlemen for the info. much appreciated.

Chas

that's the first sign of a scam... a well presented pitch with no substance. I had to look way down in your linked website to find out how they thought it achieved all these claims. Then it finally mentioned PFC and that immediately raised alarms with me because homes don't generally have a big enough PF to correct - and the power company assumes there isn't much and does not charge for it as they do for heavy industrial users. From there it was a hop skip and jump to find websited via google supporting that view. And they made a good point that the use of inductive devices in your house is going to be intermittent and hence half the time the device will be overcorrecting. Apparently most appliances have PFC built in now also obviating the need, and it works better since they only work to correct that device's PF, not the whole house.

[Uncle Cracker]

I am automatically suspicious of something that sounds too good to be true. Problem with products that make such claims is that you have to prove beyond a doubt (through a very slow system) that they don't work before you can move to get them out of the marketplace. Caveat emptor, to be sure.

[jackellis]

Here's another one. http://www.grandinetti-ent.com/

My wife made me aware of it. This particular distributor is not an electrical engineer; has no idea how the thing really works; swallows the power company "surge" idea hook, line and sinker; swears it works for his customers; and (most importantly) would not listen to a well-intentioned warning that his pitch will likely draw unwanted attention.

If you want to reduce your electricity use, there's no magic required. Turn off lights, use compact fluorescents instead of incandescent bulbs, replace inefficient appliances, install a whole house fan if you have air conditioning, install insulation, keep the fridge full, close the curtains and shades on summer days and winter nights. Capacitors (or campacitors), rectifiers and other high-falutin-sounding gadgets don't work.