Plug and Play Energy Savers
Plug and Play Energy Savers
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Discussion

Dift

Original Poster:

1,688 posts

258 months

Wednesday 21st April 2010
quotequote all
Before I start, with my limited knowledge I called BS (along with "wetter water", ionising magnets for more BHP/MPG, resistor mods).

I had a company phone my land line, and try to sell me an energy saving device. "Simply plug this mobile phone size thing into any socket, and it stablises the current, so you use less electricity".
Not just a little energy, but upto 40% for the whole house.

Now I was just listening to this Indian (I assume) guy ramble on, I was asking how it works, and why if it saved upto 40% of my energy cosumpition everyone wasn't using it, or why don't they just make a big one, and put it in the powerstation etc, he couldn't answer apart from tell me all the benefits (longer appliance life, less wastage from electricity escaping from the wires etc).

After finally telling him I wasn't interested, he proclaimed that were killing the world with CO2, and that this device could half my Carbon Footprint...


...goodbye [click].

I wasn't getting into the MMuGW thing, although in hind sight, I could have tought him the error of his ways.

So for the sake of only £99, have I sealed the fate of the world?

E31Shrew

5,965 posts

223 months

Wednesday 21st April 2010
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Look forward to hearing it on Fonejacker soon!

Trevelyan

729 posts

220 months

Wednesday 21st April 2010
quotequote all
It's probably some sort of power factor correction device. Commonly used for large industrial plants where a lot of electric motors and suchlike are used, but probably completely pointless in a domestic situation. Theoretically it might save you some energy, but in reality you wouldn't even notice the difference in a normal house.

northandy

3,540 posts

252 months

Wednesday 21st April 2010
quotequote all
Dift said:
Before I start, with my limited knowledge I called BS (along with "wetter water", ionising magnets for more BHP/MPG, resistor mods).

I had a company phone my land line, and try to sell me an energy saving device. "Simply plug this mobile phone size thing into any socket, and it stablises the current, so you use less electricity".
Not just a little energy, but upto 40% for the whole house.

Now I was just listening to this Indian (I assume) guy ramble on, I was asking how it works, and why if it saved upto 40% of my energy cosumpition everyone wasn't using it, or why don't they just make a big one, and put it in the powerstation etc, he couldn't answer apart from tell me all the benefits (longer appliance life, less wastage from electricity escaping from the wires etc).

After finally telling him I wasn't interested, he proclaimed that were killing the world with CO2, and that this device could half my Carbon Footprint...


...goodbye [click].

I wasn't getting into the MMuGW thing, although in hind sight, I could have tought him the error of his ways.

So for the sake of only £99, have I sealed the fate of the world?
Yep, thats it were all doomed.

I suggest you turn every appliance and light off in your house and sit and consider your actions for 5 mins.

then go to the pub biggrin

Huff

3,447 posts

222 months

Wednesday 21st April 2010
quotequote all
Trevelyan said:
It's probably some sort of power factor correction device. Commonly used for large industrial plants where a lot of electric motors and suchlike are used, but probably completely pointless in a domestic situation. Theoretically it might save you some energy, but in reality you wouldn't even notice the difference in a normal house.
This. It'll probably be a weedy small capacitor inna box, and bloody useless domestically.

There are good technical reasons for worrying about PFC for commerical users, but not at a domestic scale, and not via this crude a route. Besides which domestic users aren't billed for reactive power (KVAr), only 'real' KwH used. So it will never pay for itself!