A customer inquired about using Powersave 1200 to reduce his electric bills by 25%. Has anyone heard of this and know how accurate this device is? Apparently, it just requires plugging in to the breaker panel. Can someone please explain how this device operates and how it is able to reduce the energy bills? Thanks!
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I haven't studied these devices, but I was under the impression they were voltage reducers, or wave choppers, to reduce the energy available to lightly loaded motors. Thus pushing the motor into the higher efficency range.
I also was under the impression they were harmful for compresser type of equipment. (What other motors in a home run at partial load?)
And again it has been years sence I saw this stuff. And Tesla probally did not have access to semi-conductor equipment.
I also was under the impression they were harmful for compresser type of equipment. (What other motors in a home run at partial load?)
And again it has been years sence I saw this stuff. And Tesla probally did not have access to semi-conductor equipment.
carnky108,
What you are referring to is what is called a Nola Power Factor Controller, invented by a NASA engineer named Frank Nola in 1969. Different animal, albeit also marketed in some pretty slimy ways lately. PFC controllers came out in the 70s and have resurfaced because the internet has opened up a who new access point for scammers, but it does have a modicum of truth behind it. It does save a small amout of energy on unloaded 1 phase motors, but of course if it is running unloaded, why is it even running at all?
However, that device can ONLY be attached to one motor circuit, NOT an entire house at the distribution panel line lugs, as this Power-Save device claims. These things are basically just a set of capacitors and often a somewhat worthless TVSS. The capacitor is there just to make an ammeter read a lower value on the downstream side. In addition, the ones I have seen just use cheap MOVs as the TVSS, meaning they will work, once, after which you will have no idea they are no longer present in the circuit.
More interesting reading on this subject. Long, but worth the effort if you are reading this thread with a potential interest in these scams.
Interesting excerpt from there:
"Reply from: Beanland November 5 2008, 10:50 am EST
I went to the Taiwan patent website and looked at the patent. It is just a capacitor with an on-off switch and a drain resistor. And, the patent was invalidated 9/11/2007 because the patent holder did not pay his annual fee!"
So it appears they don't even bother with the worthless TVSS on this one!
"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe." -- Abraham Lincoln
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> faq731-376
What you are referring to is what is called a Nola Power Factor Controller, invented by a NASA engineer named Frank Nola in 1969. Different animal, albeit also marketed in some pretty slimy ways lately. PFC controllers came out in the 70s and have resurfaced because the internet has opened up a who new access point for scammers, but it does have a modicum of truth behind it. It does save a small amout of energy on unloaded 1 phase motors, but of course if it is running unloaded, why is it even running at all?
However, that device can ONLY be attached to one motor circuit, NOT an entire house at the distribution panel line lugs, as this Power-Save device claims. These things are basically just a set of capacitors and often a somewhat worthless TVSS. The capacitor is there just to make an ammeter read a lower value on the downstream side. In addition, the ones I have seen just use cheap MOVs as the TVSS, meaning they will work, once, after which you will have no idea they are no longer present in the circuit.
More interesting reading on this subject. Long, but worth the effort if you are reading this thread with a potential interest in these scams.
Interesting excerpt from there:
"Reply from: Beanland November 5 2008, 10:50 am EST
I went to the Taiwan patent website and looked at the patent. It is just a capacitor with an on-off switch and a drain resistor. And, the patent was invalidated 9/11/2007 because the patent holder did not pay his annual fee!"
So it appears they don't even bother with the worthless TVSS on this one!
"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe." -- Abraham Lincoln
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> faq731-376
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