Power-Save 1200: Recapture Your Electricity Line Loss?

See Dan’s Data for this. (Search for ‘And you won’t even get a thank-you from the power company’). Basically, it’s useless for residential units.

It *might* be useful for commercial power usage, but it smells very much like a scam

And “Dan’s Data” is at link - the link didn’t go through, for some reason

All the power companies that I know of only bill people for “real power”, not “apparent power” - which has components of both real and reactive power (by the way, heat loss is real power, not reactive power). So this device may save energy but it won’t save you any money.

Industrial users do correct their power factor with banks of capacitors, but thats because they’re charged extra for loads that are too inductive and because they use so much more energy.

I have a feeling that if there was something that could save people a guaranteed 25% on the electricity bill every month, it would already be in place. Heck, for $300, it would pay for itself within one year for many residential houses. You would think the electric company would want to recapture that electricity so they could resell it. It sounds bogus to me.

I build energy billing systems for a living. This is almost certainly a scam. Your company bills you for kW, not kVA. It is also not possible to “capture this power for later use.”

If you had a big motor in a factory in your bathroom then this might be helpful.

This is from my newbie training course:
Manufacturers are often billed by their electric utility for having large inductive loads at their facilities. Inductive loads result from the storage of energy in magnetic fields, which occurs in coils of wire, such as in motor windings. To decrease high electricity bills resulting from this large inductive load, capacitors may be installed at the facility to increase the power factor.
Power factor is the ratio of real power to total power. Total power is made up of two components, called real power and reactive power. Reactive power, whether inductive or capacitive, always acts at right angles to real power. Reactive power is not useful in an industrial setting, as it does no real work when supplied to motors or other electrical devices. Some power companies bill customers for how much reactive power they use, and since reactive power supplies no benefit to the manufacturer, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate the reactive component of power that the manufacturer uses.
Power factor can be calculated as follows:

Power factor = Real Power (kW) / Total Power Supplied (kVA)
where
KW = kilowatts
kVA = kilovoltamperes

Several years ago I attended a “Franchise Expo” with a lot of booths staffed by people trying to sell dubious franchises at inflated prices. (One was selling ATMs at $10K a pop.)

One booth was offering some sort of “power save” system which sounded similar to this one. This one was intended for commercial rather than residential applications, like grocery stores which have lots of coolers and freezers drawing huge power. I didn’t investigate it, but scam or no scam it has been around a while.

Mine works great. I save around 18% per month.

I too would like to know how David Glass confirms his 18% per month savings.

One item that I’d like to research, that might easliy save the average home owner 10-20% is the new LED light bulbs. The concept seems simple enough that if we replaced the normal and highly inefficient incandescent light bulbs with LED lights bulbs, that we could reduce our home lighting bill substantially. I wonder how they rank next to florescent bulbs?
Thanks !

I would be *fascinated* to hear how David Glass saves 18%.

LED lighting for the home is not reliable today. Maybe it will be in the future. Compact flouresents and cold cathode reduce wattage up to 75%, and can last up to three times longer than traditional lighting. And cold cathode is dimmable.

There is some kw reduction for motor loads for the home, 5% to 10% only in kw reduction on those loads only. Mainly for HVAC units, pool and spa pumps and small motor loads. No savings for lighting, and non-resistive loads (like ovens, electric stoves, heat from dryers) which have no wasted energy.

My thought on the excessive savings comes from people truly wanting to lower the costs, and once they have purchased an “energy savings device”, the customer becomes more aware of the energy usage and starts paying more attention to wasted energy from lights being left on when not needed, and more attention to lowering thermostat temperatures in the winter and raising in the summer.

One value of the home unit similar to a power saver, http://www.kvarenergysavings.com and http://www.usesmfg.com, is the added benefit provided for power protection (TVSS is included within the unit) from surges, spikes and lightning strikes that can destroy thousands of dollars of a home assets, like enetertainment systems, home theaters, computers, tv’s and etc.

I usa thisa equipment … I sava so much money that the electric company now pay me!

This is from Atlanta: (BTW: All electric households are common down here)

ATLANTA — A CBS 46 Investigation uncovered what appears to be a needless waste of power in some metro Atlanta homes.

A device called the “Power-Save 1200” promises to cut electric bills up to 25 percent. The U.S. Department of Energy has endorsed the technology, but not a single power company in the Southeast is willing to talk about the product.

Motor-based appliances pull in more kilowatts of energy than people use. The leftover energy flows out of the home, completely wasted. The makers of the Power-Save 1200 claim that if a homeowner installs the device near the breaker panel, it will store the leftover power for future use.

The device was intriguing to one Atlanta family. With one toddler and another on the way, the Marks are a high-energy family.
Click here to find out more!

“I have an electric lawnmower, so I have been kicking that on as well,” said homeowner Greg Mark.

“I’m doing potty training, so the dryer is on every day,” said wife Michelle.

The Marks agreed to let CBS 46 install the device in their home. Their electrician said this was the first device he’s ever seen in a home. The electrician said he normally installs the device in businesses.

“It’d be interesting to see if we can really reduce our power without having to change our lifestyle too drastically,” said Greg.

Several months later, the Marks consulted their electric bills for the results.

“The real measure is year to current month and that was a big difference!” said Greg.

The family’s energy use is down 240 kilowatt hours a month, saving the family about $15 to $20 a month. If the trend continues, the $300 investment in the device will be paid back in about 18 months.

The Marks have cut the bill by about 12 percent so far, but with summer approaching, the Marks will be cranking up their energy-hogging air conditioning. That means the largest savings may be yet to come.

“I’m looking forward to cranking it up,” said Greg. “So we’ll see what happens!”

It certainly appears that they saw savings - with an electric mower, and heavy dryer use.

David Glass saved 18% by hawking this shite to stupid people and paying his utility bill. A moron and his cash do easily part.

Even CBC got duped! Wow!