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Energy saving device

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electriciete

Member
There was a person selling this kind of energy saving device here in my place. As we tried to plugged to the outlet, the current draws in the circuit drops from 5 A to 3 A.
What are the components inside of this device?
How it works? why the current drops?
Is this illegal? since I'm utilizing the same load but the monthly bill decreases.
 
E

electriciete

Member
Re: More info

Re: More info

hockeyoligist2 said:
Who is the manufacturer? What is it used for?
Click to expand...

I forgot the manufacturer. Its only a demo but I've seen in clamp ammeter the current drops. The purpose of this is to lower the energy consumption though there is no changes on house load.
 
ron

ron

Senior Member
Location
New York, 40.7514,-73.9925
If it is the unit I'm thinking of, it is a power factor correction unit, that changes the way that the equipment draws current.
Be sure before you buy it, you ask them to show you the results of a watt measurement before and after. In addition, ask to see a scope trace on what it does to the sin wave.
 
charlie b

charlie b

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
Re: Energy saving device

electriciete said:
. . . I'm utilizing the same load but the monthly bill decreases.
Click to expand...
It is a scam. Do not pay good money for this thing. It will not save you money on your electric bill.
 
6

69boss302

Senior Member
Two people that used to work at my facility put several of these "energy saving devices" in this plant.

Well they don't work here anymore. Nuff said.
 
E

electriciete

Member
Yup! I didn't buy that saving device. I'd rather to pay my electric bill of what I've comsumed than to have it. Thanks for the info.
 
U

unimo

Member
Location
Colorado
Energy saving devices can only cut down on the power the load receives, like a light dimmer, or device that shuts off your air conditioner periodically during peak load times, or a device that changes the waveform somehow.
They had some that worked well on old refrigerators and old motors because they weren't adjusted for power factor properly from the factory.
But new technology already has that incorporated into it.

I live in an area of high growth, an the power company has boosted voltages as high as possible to get maximum use out of the power lines.
One customer had four 120 volt, 1000 hour light bulbs in their bathroom, 126 volt service, and said they have to change a bulb every two or three weeks in the bathroom. I told them that's perfectly normal operation, and showed them the math. They get 130 volt bulbs now.
 
I

izak

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MO
i have been told that power factor correction via capacitors used in industrial installations makes a HUGE difference in power consumption and motor efficiency
 
catchtwentytwo

catchtwentytwo

Senior Member
izak said:
i have been told that power factor correction via capacitors used in industrial installations makes a HUGE difference in power consumption and motor efficiency
Click to expand...

The savings depend on how much you spend for the capacitors, installation, & subsequent maintenance. Besides, some utilities do not have a "low power factor penalty" charge.
 
U

unimo

Member
Location
Colorado
izak said:
i have been told that power factor correction via capacitors used in industrial installations makes a HUGE difference in power consumption and motor efficiency
Click to expand...

Yes they do. I thought the energy saving device we were talking about was for home use.
 
tonyi

tonyi

Senior Member
Maybe 25 years ago there were some little drop-in buttons being sold for light bulbs that claimed to save energy and extend the life of bulbs dramatically. Looked like a little rectifier bridge to run the bulb on a choppy DC waveform.
 
U

unimo

Member
Location
Colorado
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about those. They were just a high power diode, and dimmed the bulb a little. any dimming device saves energy, and also prolongs the light bulbs. The eye doesn't notice the difference unless it's compared side by side. That could have been the "energy saving device" the guy was selling. It would have dropped the amperage. Of course, using a smaller light bulb does the same thing. when my customers have a ballast that keeps going on and off, I tell them it's an energy saving ballast!
I had a service call at a restaurant where they were running maybe 50 bulbs, both A and mr16 and lovo mr16. They complained that they burned out a lot. They were buying 120 volt bulbs but their voltage was 127. They had dimmers on all of them, but didn't use them! I told them to just dim them a tiny bit and their bulbs would last a lot longer, or buy all 130 volt bulbs. They use the dimmers now.
 
C

charlie tuna

Senior Member
Location
Florida
years ago a major office building bought thousands of these things called "watt-stoppers"... as i remember it cut the amperage on flourescent light fixtures by about 15 per cent.. it turned out to be a scam and the only thing the did was create an additional "light fixture problem area"...
 
A

audiocableguy

Member
KVAR optimizes the power to electrical loads. When a motor turns on, the KVAR unit stores and recycles the reactive energy normally supplied by the electric company. With less reactive power flowing into the facility, unnecessary motor strain, wiring (heat) losses and the chance of fires are reduced. This also means the electricity you pay for is applied towards productive work (e.g. turning a fan blade), while the KVAR unit provides the magnetizing energy necessary to optimize performance.

This is a unit that a sale's guy is trying to sell me. Same as above, he put an ampprobe before and after the "box" and the amperage did drop. The demo was a small singe phase motor. Snake Oil??
Any Thoughts or ideas let me know!
www.totalenergyconcepts.com/energy_optimization.html
 
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