General Questions

Sigh. Those of us with training and education and experience with electricity will continue to strive to save "true believers" from "snake oil." But, all of our words will never change a mind. True Believers have too much at stake to consider that science, physics, and engineering may prove their belief "wrong." The truth is available for anyone willing and interested. Sadly, there is so much "dis-information" available, true believers can always find "proof."

I still have not heard from anyone as to the Value uf of the capacitor or capacitors utislized in the Powersave 1200 can anyone help.

Following is a summary of a report I prepared recently on "Enersonic Power Saver" units. Sorry it's a bit long! Even though we expect they should not save power in theory, I thought it is reasonable to test them anyway. I'd've been both surprised and delighted to find their claims true. Enjoy...

Enersonic Power Saver units were tested ... in order to determine whether they meet claimed performance. The headline claim is Saving power = Saving money + Saving the environment Potential Power savings up to 24%.

Our test results dispute that claim.

The Enersonic Power Saver was found to behave as one expects a power factor correction capacitor should: it can reduce the current and increase the power factor when connected in parallel with an inductive load. However, domestic electricity consumers in Australia are not changed on the basis of current or power factor; indeed there is no means of recording current or power factor with domestic metering. Rather, domestic consumer charging depends on the active power and these units do not reduce the active power nor the consumer’s bill. Equally, they do nothing for the environment.

There is no reasonable prospect of achieving the order of 24% reduction in the domestic user’s electrical power under any practical conditions that the author can foresee with any number of units.

The promotional material represents that the goods have a performance characteristic and a benefit that they in fact do not have which may breach the [Australian] Trade Practices Act 1973 Sect 53.

Lab Tests We tested two inductive loads (unloaded transformers and "Vacmate" industrial cleaner AC motor) with and without the power saver units connected. The results show that connecting the Enersonic Power Saver gives no measureable saving in power. The saving is zero, within the +/-1 watt measurement accuracy.

Domestic Test The overall household power consumption was measured at the author’s house (what I imagine to be a fairly average house). The electrical loads included inductive loads: fluorescent lights, electronic equipment on standby, plug-packs, television, radio etc. The active power was measured with 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Enersonic units connected in random order. We monitored the energy E [kW.hr] consumed over a convenient period of time t [sec]. The average power was calculated by P = 3600000E/t. We also monitored the voltage V [volts rms]. To be a fair test, the voltage needs to be constant. If the voltage measured with a particular load varied by more than +/-1% during the procedure it was deemed an unfair test and was repeated. All testing was repeated several times to verify the measurement repeatability. Repeated measurements were averaged.

The results show that connecting the Enersonic Power Saver gives no measureable saving in power. The percentage saving is virtually zero. The small measured variation in power (+/-3 watts) probably arose from small variations in voltage and power drawn by appliances that occurred from time to time during the test.

Ron Bradbury Technetium Design (Australia)

Following is a summary of a report I prepared recently on "Enersonic Power Saver" units. Sorry it's a bit long! Even though we expect they should not save power in theory, I

thought it is reasonable to test them anyway. I'd've been both surprised and delighted to find their claims true. Enjoy...

Enersonic Power Saver units were tested ... in order to determine whether they meet claimed performance. The headline claim is Saving power = Saving money + Saving the environment Potential Power savings up to 24%.

Our test results dispute that claim.

The Enersonic Power Saver was found to behave as one expects a power factor correction capacitor should: it can reduce the current and increase the power factor when connected in

parallel with an inductive load. However, domestic electricity consumers in Australia are not changed on the basis of current or power factor; indeed there is no means of

recording current or power factor with domestic metering. Rather, domestic consumer charging depends on the active power and these units do not reduce the active power nor the

consumer’s bill. Equally, they do nothing for the environment.

There is no reasonable prospect of achieving the order of 24% reduction in the domestic user’s electrical power under any practical conditions that the author can foresee with any

number of units.

The promotional material represents that the goods have a performance characteristic and a benefit that they in fact do not have which may breach the [Australian] Trade Practices

Act 1973 Sect 53.

Lab Tests We tested two inductive loads (unloaded transformers and "Vacmate" industrial cleaner AC motor) with and without the power saver units connected.

Load voltage current power power saving saving volts amps watts factor watts % transfo 246.6 0.64 33 0.214 induct tr+1EPS 246.4 0.25 33 0.552 induct 0 0.0% Vacmate 245.6 3.59 847 0.967 induct Va+1EPS 245.7 3.46 846 0.981 induct 1 0.1% Va+2EPS 246.3 3.53 848 0.977 capacit -1 -0.1%

The results show that connecting the Enersonic Power Saver gives no measureable saving in power. This can be seen by the “saving” columns. The saving is zero, within the +/-1 watt

measurement accuracy.

Domestic Test The overall household power consumption was measured at the author’s house (what I imagine to be a fairly average house). The electrical loads included inductive loads:

fluorescent lights, electronic equipment on standby, plug-packs, television, radio etc. The active power was measured with 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Enersonic units connected in random

order. We monitored the energy E [kW.hr] consumed over a convenient period of time t [sec]. The average power was calculated by P = 3600000E/t. We also monitored the voltage V

[volts rms]. To be a fair test, the voltage needs to be constant. If the voltage measured with a particular load varied by more than +/-1% during the procedure it was deemed an unfair test and

was repeated. All testing was repeated several times to verify the measurement repeatability. Repeated measurements were averaged.

Units voltage power saving saving volts watts watts none 236.3 394.3 1 233.0 391.4 3 1% 2 236.0 396.3 -2 -1% 3 234.0 397.3 -3 -1% 4 236.0 397.1 -3 -1%

The results show that connecting the Enersonic Power Saver gives no measureable saving in power. This can be seen by the “saving” columns. The percentage saving is virtually zero.

The small measured variation in power (+/-3 watts) probably arose from small variations in voltage and power drawn by appliances that occurred from time to time during the test.

Ron Bradbury Technetium Design (Australia)

Sixty plus years ago, I invented a wonderful machine. My dad had a pretty extensive shop and I piddled around in there a lot. I rigged up an old starter motor. Belt driven, to my go cart. Found a good battery and the thing would haul me around until the battery ran down. So, my answer was to fashion an old generator and voltage regulator driven by the wheel on the other side. I was so proud. My dad said “let me know how it works out. You will learn a valuable lesson” Of course that is exactly what happened. You cant use less electricity than you are really using.

Here\'s a thought: The power companys have almost unlimited resourses. They are billing you for electrical work. If there was a device that could fix it so you paid for less work energy than you consumed, doesn\'t it seem logical that the poco\'s would be concerened? Over the years there have be some gadgets sold that would actually slow or stop your meter. They were illigal and some folks that were prosecuted for using them. Stick wit more efficient appliances and lighting if you want to save on your electric bill

Whoa! There seems to be a lot of confusion about this subject. I am an electrical test engineer and start power plants up for a living.

1) Once and for all, the power company does NOT charge you for reactive power. The meter on the side of your house is KWH meter, and reads KW only. The utility does NOT charge you VARS. Correcting your power factor will NOT reduce you KW demand.

2) What does correcting the power factor do? It increases the energy efficiency at the source (in short). That would be the generator! Yes, you will see many factories and even the utility use power factor correction capacitors on the line in order to reduce VARS and increase power factor. But...the factory does not decrease their demand as a result. A factory will install them for one of two reasons. 1- to receive a credit from the utility. 2- to avoid penalties from the utility for poor power factor. But the utility does not penalize residential customers for power factor. Nor will they give you a credit!

3) I went to the Power-Save website and watched their video. This is what I saw. In their example of a typical installation they start with the unit off and you have the following data shown on the their power meter: KW: 0.502, KVA 1.069, KVAR 0.935, and a PF of 0.473 When they turn their unit on their meter shows the following: Yes a PF of 0,857 but they draw your attention to the PF reading on the meter only as if you were stupid and try to dark out the other readings...which are KW 0.497, KVA 0.597, and KVAR which is 0.297. In essence they have acheived increasing the power factor which is great for the utility company because you are actually saving them money on the generation end... but if you notice you still have the same KW. Of course your overall KVA and KVAR's have gone down because you have decreased you have improved your power factor. Unfortunately the utility charges you for KW only and not KVA.

Hope this helps.

Informatively yours,

William

I just e-mailed and realized that I forgot to add the link to the KVAR Entergy Controller, here it is

http://www.kvarenergysavings.com/

A friend of mine with absolutely no experience in the electrical field has just paid for a "distributorship" of KVAR Energy Controllers. I believe she can sell both residential and commercial, but had to purchase residential units to become a distributor. She has told me that for commercial use, an individual will fly in to size the load and they will build the correctly-sized commercial unit. From what I read here, the only real use for these units is commercial, and may possibly even pose unknown danger to residential users. Here is a link to their website, anything different about this unit for residential use than the others mentioned in this thread?

Greetings to all. I am actually looking into a PFCD as we speak and am told that it has 2 capacitors in it that would "recycle" the Kvar back into the circuit allowing a few things to happen: 1. The appliance has an outlet for the wasted energy created thus allowing it to run cooler. 2. Since the energy is "recycled" back into the unit, the need for additional energy is reduced thereby lowering you Kw hours used. I am not an electrician but this makes sense. Am I wrong in my assumption? Thank you for your help!

Like a bad penny, like a good scam, and like a nasty rumor, they just never go away. What amazes me is the number of "engineers" who do not understand the physical reality. I have to remind myself that "engineers" come in all flavors and grades. Some are "A" grade and their clear, supported, and articulate statements should be believed. Some "engineers" are "C", "D", or "F" grade and just add to the confusion and mis-information.

The response labeled number 7 subparagraph C debunk in very clear summary that the device sold is misrepresented. The math does not lie. The I2R loss would be as demonstrated by the de bunker, .146 watt and not 36 watt as the seller of the device claims. This is a good example of the terms whole truth and nothing but the truth. While technically the addition of the device can result in a reduction (very very small) in I2R losses it can not significantly reduce the kwhr consumption. Considering possible side effects and cost the device is similar to bitters medicine sold before our nation took a stand against quackery medicine cures.

Assuming anyone is still checking this thread.... a couple of questions. I just stumbled upon the power save website and in the course of researching it found this site. The power save website appears to have been updated since Heinz sent his original letter. Did Heinz (or anyone else) try the toll free number or the email address posted on the site to get these questions answered? Did Heinz (or anyone else) contact the authors of the paper at the address posted on the title page of the article? It seems to me that one would start there rather than writing the CEO of a $65 million company. Scam or not, he may have more to do than answer individual letters. Another site has a post from a "... Past President of Ga. Hospital Engineers Society" and his conclusion is that the device will work. URL: http://askville.amazon.com/Answer-Past-President-Ga-Hospital-Engineers-Society/AnswerDetails.do?requestId=4574892&responseId=4621200

Dear Sir,

I am looking for the answer of following question:

1. I would like to run AC armeture (motor), which generates 15 KW of electricity, by DC motor or dynomo powered by car batteries. The RPM of AC motor is 1450 and has to produce 220 volt, my question is what should be the capacity of DC motor in Horse Power and how many car Batteries of 12 volt are required to run the AC motor to generate 15 KW (220Volt) of electricity?

In addition to the capacitors, they are also now pushing a "revolutionary" new wind generator that exceeds the absolute possible Betz limit even for a perfect wind turbine.

So not only do their capacitors defy the laws of physics, but so do their wind turbines.

I just finished reviewing the entire chain and would like to know what happened to Bruce? The discouraging thing for us folks in the capacitor business is the never ending barage of snake oil salesman and the electrically uneducated that witness the amp-probe demonstration and believe it to be relevant to kW. Thanks for the original letter to the CEO, Heinz.

thank you all for your comments, i am definitely not buying one of these gizmos. i am not a PE or really very familiar with how electricity works, however i have a refrigerator that burns out a motor at least twice a year. I am trying to find a solution to this problem and based on advertisements this Power Save seemed to be a solution. I am thinking of buying a new refrigerator, but i am not sure that will solve the problem. Any idea on what i should look for as the cause?

Useless? Yes. But dangerous too?

It may be interesting that the very same snake oil is now marked in Australia by Harvey Norman, one of the largest and most successful homeware chains. It's called an Enersonic Power Saver. This plugs in to a power outlet and is then connected all the time. If one were to pull it out of the outlet the PF correcting capacitor may be charges to as much as 240*1.414 = 339 volts. Touching the pins on the unit will delivery an electric shock.

A small capacitance will not produce a dangerous shock but a large capacitance can. How large is dangerous?

I see that posting here has been quiet for some time. I hope that someone is listening!

Can we look at this from a different angle?

I am a contractor with experience in installing and using capacitors (commercially). I am not defending any product, but I am pointing out that capacitors CAN be good and MAY "indirectly" save money.

Say everyone agrees that a capacitor "Can" improve a power factor, "IF" there is room for improvement and its the right capacitor. FACT: All power companies and electrical utilities use capacitors to improve "power factors". They sit next to transformers at power substations. My Grandfather was a high power lineman, back in the 1950's for Ohio Power, and they used them back then too. To keep it simple, a good "power factor" is good, not bad.

We also know that an improved Power Factor "alone" will not reduce the WATTS (KW) that a running motor uses, only the Amp draw (KA) from the power source. As an example of saving Amps and not saving watts; a 110v/220v motor that uses 5 amps at 110v, only uses 2.5 amps when running at 220v. That saves "Zero" on the wattage. And that stays the same regardless of the "power factor". BUT the Power Companies / Utilities can and some do, charge you extra $$ on your electric bill for having a BAD power factor going in to your home. Again, To keep it simple, my point is a good "power factor" is good, not bad AND you improve power factors with capacitors.

NOW, If the "power factor" is improved in the home, doesn't that help motors run more efficiently in the home? (running less to get the same job done, and / or run with less heat output?) That is why they are used in factories and large refrigeration storage facilities too.

If an improved power factor does, even in a small way, improve how efficient a motor runs, then a refrigerator or air conditioner would run less often to cool the same, right? Because it is using power more efficiently and is running at a lower temperature. (common sense = if an air conditioner "air handling fan motor" is running "less hot", the air conditioner does not need to work as hard to negate the heat generated by the motor. And by the motor running less hot, it MAY extend the life of that motor. Heat is BAD for motors). Therefore using less "wattage" or KW (and KA for that matter) to run, because it runs "less often". And "in theory" you will have to replace that motor "less often" because it is running more efficiently and has less "wear and tear" on it. Both saving money. Right?

Then improving the power factor is an "indirect cause" of KW savings not a direct one.

Another Example of my point: In order for your Refrigerator/Freezer to get an "Energy Star" rating (see www.energystar.gov), from the Government, it must have two motors and a capacitor. "Energy Star", a Federal Government Program, will then "RATE" the "Savings" of using that appliance verses one without a capacitor (i.e. your old one, which may already have two motors). The appliance manufacture then charges on average 30-40% more for the appliance with a capacitor and an "Energy Star" Logo next to the yellow sticker on it saying the rate of "savings" or "payoff" over "X" number of years. They do the same for Air Conditioners too (regarding capacitors).

I am not defending Power-Save sales people or any other product, but I am pointing out that the Government is encouraging appliance manufactures and consumers to use capacitors to "save money". It looks like a capacitor could indirectly save you money (how ever big or small) in your home. If you are charged KVA, like most business are, then there would be a greater savings, right? This doesn't look like "snake oil" in this situation. It just looks like uneducated people are selling capacitor systems for the wrong reasons. If presented fairly, with the RIGHT facts, capacitors are not EVIL, only sales people that are UNEDUCATED and misrepresent the fundamentals of electricity.

The bottom line is, if it saves you money (directly or indirectly) and pays for it self in less than 5 years, GREAT!, if not, ask for your money back!

Comments?

p.s. all capacitors slow down or "suppress" surges naturally.

The attorney general needs to get involved before:

1. Peoples hard earned money is stolen by these thieves 2. Some one is injured, or worse killed, by this shameful twisting of reality

Fact : watt-hour meters only read watts which is true power. At the power company I work for we have volt-amp meters, volt amp reactive meters, and watt-hour meters. If your house only has watt-hour meters then what you use in your house only measures that value. Therefore you can't save money by increasing power factor, you will only save the power company at the source by letting them only produce the current necessary to provide you with your clean watts. End of story.

Bruce, I find it hard to believe that you are so incensed by the comments here, unless you have a dog in this hunt. Tell us. Are you peddling these devices?

Clearly, you have a bias and an agenda. My comments are being blocked. Talk about snake oil. I say "Skunk". Good day to all ye sheep. Let your mentor watch over, blind and shear you.

What I find fascinating in this thread, is the fact that you all are willing to live in a theoretical world; nothing is based upon empirical observations of the device in question. Please get off of your thesis mentality - acquire one of these things, test it in the field and then pontificate. You speak of snake oil salesmen: "So are they that hide behind formulas and riddles without the benefit of true observation. " At this point, you are all carnival barkers. Speaking loudly with conviction, no matter your lack of proof. Pity. Have fun with your mental master......!

As long as there is a scam to be worked, there will be unscrupulous people trying to dupe the innocent. The challenge of informing people is really demonstrated here as shown by the confusion of those who should be knowledgeable. The subtlety of KW-Hrs and KVA-Hrs is not easy for a consumer to grasp - even trained engineers are confused. I visited a foreign Utility who complained that their capacitor bank had no effect on system improvement. Turns out they had located it on the first pole outside their generator (Benefit accrues to 50 feet of their 10 mile feeder) and put their current sensors on the downstream side of their bank! (Couldn't measure the effect of turning the bank on1) This from professionals! In addition to advising the University of the gross errors of reports sent out under their Letterhead, this is blatant enough to be fodder for 60 minutes, many regional consumer advocates and local investigative reporters. Our alert should be presented in terms a lay person can understand. (Not an easy task)

There was an outfit in Missouri called Electenergy Technologies that was also selling this snake oil. They claimed to reduce I2R losses in power lines and save 10% of a customer's electric use by adding power factor correction capacitors! The savings in all installations was always 10%, regardless of the customer, regardless of whether they paid power factor charges, regardless of use or length of incoming power drops. Fishy. eh?

There is a tiny, but real reduction in I2R losses in incoming power lines, even without power factor metering, that can occur as a result of adding capacitors. As has already been pointed out, it is ludicrous to expect these gizmos to actually save a significant amount of energy. These companies should all be brought up on fraud charges if they actually sell these things to consumers.

I wonder if any of you guys out there would like to hire the guy that drew that Fig 8 picture. How'd you like to have a few dozen panel schedules drawn up like that?.

> Hello Heinz: > Just a note with more information in my reply to you. I really enjoy this type of discussion so I am not replying to be arrogant or argue but just to enjoy the forum. > I have designed and wired several houses and small businesses and am familiar with the actual physical wiring as opposed to a one line diagram. I have > been doing this type business since 1963 and for much of that time have taught telecom power system design and installation to both technicians and > engineers. I am very familiar with electrical principals and power terms such as VA, WATT, PF, batteries etc. and say this not to brag or blow my horn but > hopefully only to lend some credibility to my comments. Many devices in the home or business often share a common circuit protected by a common wire from one circuit breaker. So the sum of the current in > paralleled circuits for such a common circuit are shared at points along the way from the associated circuit breaker and then through the final input feeders. > If there is in theory a power factor correction device for the inductive and capacitive loads placed on that same circuit there is a reduction in current feeding through that circuit breaker. Example: a 120VAC single pole 20 amp circuit breaker feeding a total of 1500 watt of load at .8 PF consisting of both resistive and inductive loads. The total current through the breaker would be I = 1500/96 = 15.63 or 1876VA. Lets say for the purpose of discussion I correct the power factor to unity with the addition of power factor capacitors > and/or inductors. Many computers because of their switch mode power supplies have capacitive reactance and thus require inductive power factor correction > devices instead of capacitive. The current in the shared common lead for this 20 amp circuit breaker protected circuit will now be 12.5A. All though this > would result in very little savings for I2R losses it does in fact lower the over all consumption of wattage (wattage for the devices served plus I2R) for that location and also the power generating facility including the distribution grid. This would in fact lower the energy cost for all concerned including the final energy user based on the kwhr. All though only a very small > amount it does in fact reduce power usage. The question is does the investment justify the savings. Also a legitimate question would be what does it do in > respect to harmonics and their effects at this and other served locations. Incidentally--------although a properly balanced single phase 120/240 > circuit does not have current flow in the neutral lead there is in fact the flow of current in the neutral lead as result of unbalanced loads on leg 1 and leg > 2. I have measured it many times. Also I am aware that many large businesses are billed for their electrical > energy usage based on VA and not watt. I also know that the power company can penalize for reactive loads poorer than what is usually established at .8 pf. > For interest sake and training objective reinforcement I have often used large AC capacitors as a load on a UPS and have my students measure the UPS load > current and since UPS are rated in VA I have them calculate the VA. I also have them observe with an oscilloscope the shift between current and voltage. > I then have them turn off the AC input to the UPS and observe the percentage of load on the UPS batteries. They are astounded when they see almost no > detectable load on the batteries. Really re enforces the concept of wattless power > Thank you for this opportunity to share information. > Walt > >

I it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't true. How much do they want for this thing?

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that the basic concept behind the power save is not to correct the power factor in the home, but to phase out the current and Voltage. In theory by phasing them out you can cheat the meter into reading about 30% less, if the theory is correct.

Mike, Has anyone in California complained to the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors? This reads to me like rendering engineering opinions without the benefit of a professional license. James

Hello, since 1 watt= 1 volt x 1 amp isn't it the same thing. 1 KW hour = 1 KVA hour ? The way I understand it, it does not matter what you call it they are both the same. If my understanding is incorrect please let me know.

What about X power

http://www.ilovetechno.myfti.biz/FTI2006/xpower.asp

If there was a way for you to reduce your power bill up to 25% EVERY month, would you want to know about it? All electricity is subject to surges from time to time, which result in spikes or parasitic peaks that can be damaging to your household equipment and appliances. These spikes simply consume electricity, resulting in overheating, which can shorten the life of your appliances and wiring. In extreme cases electrical spikes can cause burns, blow outs and power cuts. Now, thanks to the XPower Energy Saver, there is a smart way to reduce up to 25% of your electricity consumption each and every month.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS

XPower Energy Saver improves the power factor by reducing the amount of electricity that is used from the utility company. This is accomplished by supplying electricity locally at the load by the use of specially designed capacitors. These advanced capacitors store the additional electricity needed for stabilizing electric current within an inductive load.

Therefore, the amount of electricity purchased from the utility company by a power factor optimization has been greatly reduced, resulting in power savings for the home or office.

Xpower Energy Saver Item #1200R.........US$249.95

Xpower Tools

• View Your State's Electricity Rate (ext. link) • View Independent Test Results (.pdf file) • Test Report (.pdf file) • Xpower Demo Video (.wmv file) • Xpower Savings (.pdf file) • Xpower product manual

Thank You Mr. Rosen

This is very interesting and it shows how pervasive these hoaxes can be. I ran into this a year ago after reading an article in the Louisville Courior Journal newspaper about an Indiana firm, Titon Energy, that promates these devices, which were touted to be patented by the firm's President. They have a website that showed a demonstration of their "Utilisaver" device reducing the amperage to a pool pump motor claiming it would reduce utility bills.

They used a "Kill-A-Watt" meter, a handy $27 plug in device that measures voltage, amps, watts, volt-amps, power factor, and, over time KWH's.

I bought one and went to the same place they filmed their demo, a pool supply store, and ran the same test.

Without the "Utilisaver" connected the 120 volt motor drew 9 amps at 69% power factor, 740watts, and 1066 voltamps. With the "Utilisaver" connected the supply side reading [the one the utilty company meter sees] was 6.4 amp at 98% power factor, 740watts, and 757voltamps. The same wattage, the same effect on the utility meter; NO SAVINGS.

I could never get the Titon Energy people to clarify this. They kept claiming that the utility meter reading is based on amperage and the reduced amperage means lower billing.

I don't know how these companies continue to operate under the radar of law enforcement.

My calculations show the Santa Clara University article to be correct. Figure 1 in the article does show R1, R2 and R3 and not just R1. The served circuits are in parallel so obviously the 36 watt difference comes from eliminating I2R loses in all circuits including windings, connector devices etc. and not just R1. If those are actual measuments then the math does not lie. P = E X I X PF. As the article clearly points out, the total current is an algebraic aggregate of all currents passing through the wattmeter. Thus the difference in the power shown is because of the corresponding algebraic aggregate of the various power consuming devices including the I2R loses. I believe the reduction in power using the power saver over a month of time 24 hours a day could be significant enough to justify installing one. A similar technology was often used back in the early 1980's and was then called a power modulator. It was used on large HVAC units to reduce energy consumption. I remember it well because it created harmonics that caused problems with SCR rectifiers. It was necessary that the Bell Labs design and sell to the user a filter for the harmonics created. So the device will indeed save on the power bill---the question is how much and what are the effects concerning harmonics. The article briefly alluded to this at the very end.

As your other readers have commented, this scam reappears periodically in different forms. I remember the "Phase Liner" product that was being marketed many years ago. It was a black box that connected to the service entrance. The contents of the black box were secret, but it was almost certainly a capacitor to improve power factor. The sales pitch was clever. They had an ammeter and a small unloaded induction motor (low power factor) mounted on a piece of plywood. They would turn on the motor without the black box, and the current would be nearly full scale. Then they turned on the black box and the current dropped. This company also had endorsement by a PhD at a university in Texas. He didn't seem to be aware that utility meters read only kilowatt-hours. The PhD was probably another victim of the scam! --Jim

These devices have been marketed for years to many who are not tech savy enough to understand that in a residential application, there is little to no benefit from this device.

I've seen displays in major home improvement centers which show a motor with no load and an amp meter before and after the device is enabled. Of course correcting PF will result in amp reduction, which looks impressive on a customer display. However, most non-electrial engineers don't understand the fact that the device is only reducing amps and not watts. Utility meters measure watts only, and not reactive VARs. The average person doesn't understand the concept of power factor. All they see is reduced amps by looking at the meters and think that this translates into energy savings (KWH's). But unfortunately, they are mislead.

These devices have been marketed under many different names over the years - including "The Green Plug", "Power Commander", etc.. In many cases, the literature touts a "fact" that the technology was invented by NASA, and is also known as a Nola device.

P.T. Barnum had a favorite slogan about those who fall for this kind of stuff...!

All this thing is, it seems to me, is a big capacitor. It actually just throws off the power factor big time, but the residential meter can't tell (as the utility just assumes residents have near perfect power factors). It shifts the load of the home, consuming more reactive power (Q), and the meter only counts the real (R) power, making energy consumption seem to "dissapear". We actually talked about this in my Circuits II class. If a VA meter (a meter that measures complex power) were connected to the home, there would probably be a pretty hefty charge for a non-corrected power factor. The report is junk, but I think this product would actually work by cheating the power company's residential meter by creating a bad load power factor (in my book, stealing).

wow! what if I connect one of these with an ESE lightning rod and those grounded matress? Does PhD now stands for "Physics Dysfunction"?

Very good response. A friend of mine once told me that you could sell people rocks as long as you could convince them they would be richer after they bought it.

An alternate explanation, meant in humor, is that this is a secret plot by the power companies to better their distribution effeciency while making the consumer flip the bill. ( this will only work if about 50 or 60 Million of us install these contraptions! )

I will be very interested to see the mfr's response. My money is on silence as a response however.

Best Regards:

Scott Stocking Product Manager - Variable Frequency Drives & Motor Control Centers French Gerleman Electric St. Louis, MO.

I sure would be interested to hear if there was a reply from Power-Saver regarding the letter dated March 12, 2007.

In a nut shell, what do I tell my customers In laymen terms. what advantage will they get, if any People have been asking me. and I don't have any answers. Thank you for this information

Power factor correction capacitors are not new. When used to correct for bad power factor at industrial plants they can pay for themselves. This is the case only where the utility has penalties for bad power factor or charges for KVAR's. However these systems have to be engineered as the harmonics that they can generate can be extremely harmful to the distribution system. I have been involved in a couple of installations where pf correction caps were used. In both cases the caps were improperly applied resulting in problems so serious with VFD's, soft starts, and various other sensitive electronic equipment (including PC's) that we were forced to disconnect the caps. Any application for power factor correction must be designed by a competant engineer or you are asking for trouble.

After reading some of the excerpts from the reports either the two so called PhD's are entirely clueless or the report is a fraud which I believe to be the case. I checked with the Santa Clara University's Electrical Engineering Department- as I suspected they do not have any Professor's named Mutlu or Rahman. I would say a class action lawsuit would be in order here.

I have succeeded in manufacturing a residential power factor correction system by utilizing a Dog, a Pony, a small amount of Smoke and a Mirror! This device is not sold in stores!

I remember when I first learn this topic in college. I thought about running home and installing PF correction caps on all my inductive appliances. That was nearly 10 years ago, and of course I can't remember all the details, but I do remember that I had to install the caps directly across the motor leads, not at the service entrance for them to do any good. My intention at that time was not to save money (I had good professor who explained the KWH meter on my house), but to reduce the reactive (or wasted) energy being used in my home. It seemed to be the "green" thing to do. I envisioned the energy savings to be had if everyone did the same (idealistic, dreaming college student that I once was). So, will somebody please bring me back to reality and explain the issues surrounding why appliance manufacturers don't produce PF corrected products in the first place?

I agree with the author and there is more of this trash on the market.

See clames by "e-con line conditioners" and calculations by "power survey"

If you visit the companies website now you will find the "university" document has been rahter ham-handedly hacked to call out Power-Save 1200 in place of ABET 2201. At least we know the company president is addressing some of the questions in the letter ;<)

Aside from the claims made by power-save, perhaps the "Chevron Car Wash" and "Typical Family Residence" video on the power-save web site would be better suited to demonstrate that avoiding this close proximity to live uninsulated components without proper PPE is restricted by OSHA and NFPA 70E. Personally, I was amazed that this organization openly airs a video full of violations without taking proper precautions against approach distances, flash and shock protection without wearing mandated PPE for such task. Let's not overlook the clear example of what not to wear and strictly advocate that PPE is required in these instances to guard against injury.

I heard of this way back in 1980 when I attended Navy electricians mate "A" school in Great Lakes. I'm glad I didn't pay an electric bill back then otherwise I may have ran home to build one of these contraptions only to have wasted a portion of my life on a futile endeavor!

From their web site. This thing is magic Reduces Electrical Bills up to 25% or More Every Month! ---> Pays for Itself in Less Than One Year! ---> 60-Day Money Back Guarantee! ---> Installs in Less Than 30 Minutes! ---> Increases Motor and Appliance Life! ---> UL Tested and Listed! ---> Over 10,000 Customers are Saving Money Right Now! ---> Eliminates Power Surges! ---> Reduces 'Noise' in the Electrical System!

I looking forward to the reply from the company.

I hope these guys get slapped. What a bunch of crap. If they actually have PhD's, the the school that supplied them with those titles should be slapped too.

Recently we were given a presentation on a device named "Electroflow." The claims made for it are: Voltage Improvement, 3-Phase Balancing, Surge Protection, Harmonics Reduction, Power Factor Correction, Capacity Release, Brownout Protection, Voltage Failure Protection, Harmonics Filtering, and Phase Loss Synthesis. Whew, all in one unit. Have you had any experience with this unit? Thanks

Thank you all for your resounding confirmation of what seemed to be the case. Several of you asked if I ever got a reply to my letter. Well, one day I received a phone call from someone who seemed to be a salesman for the company who said that if enough units were involved "he could cut me a deal." When I pointed out that there were several rather serious technical questions that had been addressed to the president and that needed to be answered before we went any further he lost interest. That was the last I heard of it. Thanks again. Heinz R.

I just love it when some businessman discovers the "magic" of capacitors and creates a phantasy land of blather, graphs, assertions, etc. to show how much you will save. These pop up every few years and are all the same foolishness. Let's not even get into a single formula, electric law, diagram, or anything and just remember one simple fact: Whatever you do to any system, the system losses are facts of the universe as we find it and you cannot save more than you are losing. If you think you can, then you must believe in perpetual motion and entropy decreases.

Bravo: to Mr Heinz Rosen!

A credible and interesting study to Power-Save. Looking forward to the response. though doubtful they will reply.

Nothing new here. It is kind of fun to be in this business and see this stuff regenerate itself over the years, like a Phoenix out of the ashes. Trouble is, they will probably make more money than most of us:

SNAKE OIL........PURE AND SIMPLE.....

IF ANYONE WANT TO GO FOR THIS THEY ALSO SHOULD BUY ONE OF THE SURGE PROTECTORS THAT WILL REDUCE THEIR ELECTRICAL BILL... AFTER ALL A SECOND DOES OF SNAKE OIL MAY BE GOOD FOR YOU!

We had a good laugh over these scam-gadgets at a recent IEEE lunch. Then came the debate over where the VARs go on the grid, and most had the wrong answer.

Judging by the address of the Company, I suspect that the President and CEO of Power-Save is a Cal Poly University student who, after an introductory class on power systems, claims to have the cure for residential power factor. :-)

These gimmicks seem to pop up from time to time. I've seen several like this in the last 20 years, all phoney.

Just another scam to make someone rich. I have some magnetic water conditioners and magnetic gas saving units for anyone interested!

These things were about due to pop up again I reckon. Hadn't seen them for awhile. The last ones I saw had some MOVs and other gingerbread in there. They didn't work either. Tell your customers to follow the kids around and turn lights off. That really will save on your electric bill.

I had the opportunity in my college days to to visit a small company with an investment group that was claiming their "magic black box" was able to generate more power than it used when placed infront of a motor. If I remember correctly the premise was the same as this unit. However the actual "inventor" was in Africa and couldnt leave the country because of a Visa problem. I haven't seen the motor device come to market yet. Maybe this is its offspring?

This is the nth time I am coming across this kind of money making scams. I am sure the POWER -SAVE company would have already sold the idea to some thick head top executives in some companies and made their buck.

The fact that residential meters measure power consumption in kw hours makes the use of power factor correction a moot point. Why go any further or say any more? But we know if we where copper bracelets during a full moon we can cure the gout.