Energy saving devices scams

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Define "Scam." :roll:
  • Does it do what it says it does? Yes.
  • Does it say what the customer thinks it is saying? No.
  • Is there any chance a customer will actually save enough money to recoup the cost of buying and installing this thing? No.
  • Is there any substance behind the "guaranteed savings"? No.
  • Is the "guaranteed savings" a lie? No.
  • Have similar devices been discussed on this forum before? Many times.
  • Are any of these devices worth while? No.
The essential truth is that such devices will save the utility money, and most often the utility will not pass on the savings to the customer. Put another way, if the utility is not charging the customer an extra fee for having low power factor (almost always the case for residential customers), then the customer has nothing to save, by improving their power factor.
 
To put it a third way, the power company does not charge residential customers a penalty for the "deficiency" that the device "corrects."
 
i've installed a couple but they were provided by the homeowner. I have my doubts but keep my mouth shut.

I did call one back, and asked another customer who had one installed a couple years ago by someone else, if they saw any reduction in their bill. Both said they weren't sure as they don't remember what the bill was before. To me, that being too embarrassed to say they threw away a few hundred bucks plus the install.
 
Natioanal Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)recently did a real study of these scams, er I mean devices so thought I would post link in what I hope is the last discussion we ever see on these PFM boxes.

http://www.nist.gov/eeel/quantum/power_121509.cfm

I hope this opens some eyes to the EC's out there slling these devices under the false belief that they offer any savings to thier victims, er I mean customers.
 
zog said:
You sure you know what Irony is?? Energy star ratings have nothing to do with what they are claiming this product does. Just another example of them preying on the lack of theoritical knowledge of the general public.
Click to expand...

That was my point. Every time one of these devices is installed, more and more of the uneducated public will opt for them. Sort of "The Emperor's New Clothes" situation.

All ethical electrical industry professionals have a fiduciary responsibility to speak out against these scams and any "electrical installers" who are involved.
 
I never bought into these 'gajeets' for two reasons:
1) How does it know how much reactive power I am drawing moment-to-moment in my house and how would it adjust the capacitor size accordingly?
2) Every large inductive load in a home has an appropriately-sized motor running capacitor to minimize the reactive power.
 
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