>         I've seen on TV advertisement, a device which promises to
> bring down
> electricity consumption. Interestingly, they show a test, wherein they
> plug the device in one of the outlets  where other appliances such as
> refs, TV's, aircons, motors and the likes are also plugged in. The
> ammeter shows significant drops in readings. Are these devices, safe to
> use together with our appliances, do you recommend these kind of devices
> ?
>         I understand that these devices has something to do with
> power factor
> correction, can you point some resources where i can learn more.
> Is a PIC based power factor corrector feasible,can you give me hints on
> how to go about it. If it is ok, maybe i'll push thru with it one of
> these days....

    Chances are it is a very simple device, all it does is try to match the
amount of capacitance or inductance on the system with the opposite, which
eliminates the amount of complex power consumed. When you saw this
demonstration which ammeter did they show, a hand held one? Did they show
the actually power meter that the electrical company reads slow down? I
doubt it since I believe all meters ignore the effects of this sort of
thing. I don't believe it would damage anything, but I don't think it would
reduce the amount of power the power company charges you for using, I might
be wrong though. TTYL