Re: Re: Power saving unit?

[Andy Davies <dajdavies@xxxxxxxxx>]

Anyone know if the Savaplugs you can get for fridges actually achieve
anything - ours had one when we got it?
2009/8/8 Phil Harris <phil@xxxxxxx>

> *chuckle* I did start to type a brief reply to the original post but
then
> gave up as there isn't a brief reply. My last employer (Schneider
Electric)
> had entire divisions of the company dedicated to power factor
correction on
> an industrial scale where active power factor correction systems would
be
> applied to systems where you had a large number of very similar loads
(say,
> multi story carpark lighting) but nowhere in their catalogue of
products
> did
> they have a bit of kit with the description "shhhhh - keep this a
secret
> but
> if you bolt in this box and it will automatically save you money no
matter
> what the mishmash of loads are hanging off it"...
>
>
> http://powerelectronics.com/power_management/motor_power_management/power-fa
> ctor-correction-0507/
>
> seems to be a reasonable attempt to explain power factor correction as
a
> general concept.
>
> Myself, I'd probably say that if you want to buy one of those things
then
> buy one and you can keep the instructions for it next to the
instructions
> for the metal balls that you drop into your fuel tank to increase the
> combustion efficiency of the petrol, the magnets that you clip to the
water
> pipes to soften your water, the electric fan "turbo" units
that you put of
> your cars air intake to give you more power and the sky hooks and left
> handed screwdrivers that the guys had you go fetch on your first day
at
> work... :-D
>
> Phil
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf
> > Of Ian Lowe
> > Sent: 08 August 2009 05:11
> > To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> > Subject: [ukha_d] Re: Power saving unit?
> >
> > --- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, Vargster <vargster@...> wrote:
> > >
> > > I think this http://www.powergard.ca is similar tp
the one that
> > appeared on
> > > the BBC news website.
> > > Any chance it might sctually work then? And thereby save on
the elecy
> > bill?
> > >
> > > Lee
> >
> > I'm sure one of the electricians can explain this better, but it
seems
> > to be trying to alter the power factor - which is a 'fake'
measure of
> > your consumption..
> >
> > power factor is a hound of a thing to explain...
> >
> > basically the power numbers you would get in a DC environment,
where
> > simple rules like power = voltage * current hold true, and the AC
world
> > are different.
> >
> > AC voltage traces out a sine wave - the current flowing in the
circuit
> > also follows a sine wave.. what's a little counterintuitive is
that the
> > current and voltage sine waves are not always in sync.
> >
> > if your circuit only contained simple components with just
resistance
> > the current and voltage would be in sync.
> >
> > As soon as you add inductance and capacitance into the circuits,
then
> > the current and voltage slip out of sync... and the calculation
of the
> > true power consumed becomes more complex - and the ratio between
your
> > theoretical Volts * Amps power, and the *actual* power being
consumed
> > is your power factor.
> >
> > Power meters make assumptions about your power ratio, as do
electricity
> > providers - devices like this may reduce a bill in the short term
(bt
> > almost certainly not by much - a few percent tops), but they
won't
> > affect the actual amount of power being used in any real sense:
the
> > same amount of coal/gas/whatever will need to be used to generate
the
> > same amount of juice - it will just read differently on the meter
in
> > your premises.
> >
> > If this is pants, please - I'd welcome a better explanation from
> > someone who relaly 'gets' power factor. I always feel that my
> > understanding is a bit tenuous...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------