Not a Confabulator, but close

[motion]

My neighbor is selling these. What do you electrical guys think? My electric bill is $300-$400 or so a month, so any savings is a big deal to me.

KVAR Express - Save Money on Your Energy Bill

Be sure to watch the Youtube video on the main page.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I keep hearing radio ads about this thing. 99% of my brain keeps screaming "SNAKE OIL!" while the remaining 1% is trying to figure out how to do it on my own.

I did come up with one method--since our power company has a "time of use" plan that we utilize, our electricity costs are lower during off-peak hours. The simple solution would to build a box of batteries that "learns" your usage habits and charges just enough during off-peak hours, while discharging during on-peak. All you would have to do is program in the correct time windows.

[onlycafe]

a contact list of interested people would sell like hotcakes amongst the demographers.

[cashflyer]

I'm no electrical engineer, but I am skeptical.

1) The site reads like it is just a big ol' capacitor.
Capacitors are rated in farads, not amps, but a farad is 1 As/v... and a capacitor that could discharge 50 As @ 220 v will cost you about $35 at an industrial supply store. (disclaimer - see my first statement)

2) The site claims that a motor, upon startup, sends a request for the electricity up to the transformer. The electricity is in the wire already. Don't believe me? Go lick a drop cord. And that big-assed stepdown transformer could really care less about an extra few amps of demand surge when that motor starts.


You want to really make a difference in your electric bill?
Turn off a few things. Especially things with "ghost demand".

[motion]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

The site claims that a motor, upon startup, sends a request for the electricity up to the transformer. The electricity is in the wire already.

That's what I thought, too. This seems to be the premise of the device, to eliminate the call. So yeah, doesn't make sense. The video compares last year's bills to this year's. Well duh, there are too many variables involved. They really over-simplify.

[imcarthur]

Motors on startup have a very quick amperage spike. For milliseconds. That's why the delay-type fuses are used on motor circuits. I say BS.

Ian

[Talewinds]

Meh. The need for power factor correction can be an issue in large industrial/ heavy commercial facilities, places with lots of motors and 3-phase power.
In a residential setting, well, it just doesn't seem necessary. And for $450-$795, ummmm, no.

[wdfifteen]

Finally someone has found a way to "increase power factor by reducing the amount of reactive power (kVAR) that the load draws from the utility company. KVAR PFC Units store the reactive power (kVAR) needed for the creation of the EMF within the inductive load." Can you believe it? Throw in a flux capacitor and I'll buy two.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Add on a Cool Collar and an E-Ram and your KVAR unit would send your power bills into NEGATIVE territory!

[red-beard]

There are watts, and then there are vars...

Motors are funny things. With inductive motors, the larger the difference between the motor speed and the system frequency (slip), the more the output. But, when measured on the meter, the power can be higher than true power.

The problem is the way power gets measured. It is a scaler vs. vector issue. The scaler says you only used X amount of power. But the vector shows you used 0.85X. Guess which one the power company charges?

When you have a bunch of inductive loads, you can add capacitors and offset the inductance. This should give you a closer to unity power factor and more correct true power usage.

The actual power is a cosine function. So, you need a pretty high inductive load for power factor correction to become an issue. The simple fix is adding a capacitor with each motor, assuming a near constant load. Most high efficient motors have capacitors, which accomplish this.

If you have old pool pump and old A/C motors, power factor correction might help. But, if you live in the north, and most of your electrical usage is a refrigerator and lights, forget it. If you have modern electrical motors, forget it. They already have capacitors to improve efficiency.

The place where PF correction actually works, is where the motor operated of a range of power output, so the capacitors needed are not constant. This is not a regular issue in houses.

So, yes, it can help. But, for most home owners, it is snake oil.

[HunterVonWurst]

Scam.

NIST Team Demystifies Utility of Power Factor Correction Devices

[legion]

You guys are all idiots. I got my gererator years ago...