Any patience left? Have KVAR to test...
Any patience left? Have KVAR to test...
Is anyone willing to walk me through some KVAR unit testing... or is everyone sick and tired of talking about it? I have in my possession both a KVAR demo unit and a unit that I can install in my panel. I would like to run some tests.
We are electrical contractors that many have come to in the past few years asking our opinion of KVAR units. We also have 2 of our electrical suppliers that are constantly trying to get us to sign on and market/sell these units. We went to this forum after we were approached the first time and it was clear that this was not a product we wanted to support. So we have been consistent with our response to customer questions - "While the KVAR unit will improve Power Factor, the local utilities here only charge you for REAL power and you will therefore not see a savings in your bill."
Very recently a close friend began marketing the product and came to us for an endorsement. We returned to this forum to see if there have been any updates, research, etc. that would cause us to change our opinion. It was nice to find the fairly recent Brandeis University test and the NIST paper on the subject. Our friend is also interested in the facts, so he dropped off a test unit for us to play with. He claims that what he is witnessing does not match what we are explaining to him. He also gave us a new in box unit to install on our home/office service.
What testing can I do to show him, and others that continue to seek our opinion, some concrete measurements that came from his unit?
The demo unit includes a Kill A Watt meter, the KVAR unit with a switch to bring it in and out of the circuit, a Dayton 1/3 hp Split Phase Motor and a Sangamo Watthour meter through which they are obviously only running one 120V leg.
Right off the bat, he pointed out that the Real Power is reduced from 185 to 167 watts, the Apparent Power is reduced from 655 to 178 VA, and the Power Factor is raised from .28 to .93
We ran the motor for a while to get it warmed up and then timed how long it took to get to 0.14 KWH on the Kill-A-Watt meter.
No KVAR = 46 min
With KVAR = 49 min
I recognize that in this setup the KVAR unit is right at the load. My next test will be to add a 100' extension cord between the two (if he will let me cut the cord running between the two) and run the same test.
Any other things I should do?
We have no financial stakes in this - one way or the other. However, if this whole debate is finally settled... Attorneys General, Consumer Reports, Congressional Hearings, or whatever. :roll: ...we don't want upset homeowners coming after us for giving bad advice whichever advice we end up giving.
