Hello Mark,

Maybe the device could be a phase correction unit which is based on the
Frank Nola patent. It is  sucessfull in energy saving on small induction
motors if they are only partially loaded.

Secondly this could be an automatic voltage regulator whis is inserted in
the mains inlet of a house. If the load of the line is high, -because the
other houses on the same line used a lot of electric energy,- the voltage
drops to 110 to volts.
If the load decreases the line voltage will increase and more power is
consumed by the (mostly resistive) loads.

The AVR will keep this voltage constant at a predefined low level. A
manufaturer of such a device is here:
www.microplanetltd.com

Hope this helps
Thomas

 



Hi Piclisters,

My boss has asked me to evaluate a device (which I can't get a hold of to
see) which supposedly saves gobs of money on electricity (sound familiar).

Anyway, this device, hooks to the incoming power. My initial reaction was
"Oh, power factor correction". My boss says "oh no, they say this is not
power factor correction". Ok what is it then. Nobody is telling me. This is
all I am being told - I don't have any details.

Some of the claims for this magical device... (Feel free to laugh out loud
at some, most or all of these)

Motors run cooler
Light bulb and ballasts run cooler
Transformers, panels, switchgear, breakers, starters, controls run cooler
SCRs, diodes, switching transistors and microprocessors all run cooler
Switching power supplies are more stable Process and production controls are
more accurate and reliable Air conditioning and refrigeration is more
effective and reliable In-House and outside maintenance and repair labor
costs decrease Equipment repair and maintenance parts cost decrease Light
bulb and ballast replacement costs decrease Costs to production or process
downtime are decreased Computer data is more secure and safe Computer
operation is more reliable and safe Communications systems are more reliable
Lights flicker less

I do know you can save some $$ with power factor correction - but I
seriously doubt some of the above claims. For example, how is hooking a
gizmo to my mains going to make my uP run any cooler? Light bulbs run
cooler?

They do stop short of telling me my hair will grow back and I'll lose 20
pounds.

I'm curious to hear comments from the list on some of the more "interesting"
claims :) Have fun.

-- Mark

Doesn't matter what your business card says...
We're all in the results business.



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