Correct, residential customers are only billed for real power used, regardless of power factor so this capacitor would never pay for itself. Also, there's no indication that the residential unit monitors the home power factor so in fact at night and when you aren't at home running motors it would be wasteful, giving you a decreased capacitive power factor instead of reduced inductive power factor. The claim of increasing the life of appliances and motorized equipment is also complete bull. While these systems, when they include real time monitoring and switching, are used in industrial settings with benefit, this company is simply trying to ride the 'green wave' of money out of peoples pockets. On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Sean Breheny wrote: > I think that in the US, residential customers are billed only for real > power, not volt-amps, and are not penalized for having a low > power-factor. Also, as several people have mentioned, most high-power > residential electrical devices are resistive (incandescent lights, > electric stoves, electric heaters, electric hot water heaters, > toasters). The biggest exceptions would probably be fluorescent lights > (both long tube and compact), =A0the motors in washing machines and > dryers, and anything with a big switching power supply (e.g. TV). I > believe that government regulations are heading in the direction of > forcing many devices to have internal power factor correction anyway, > which would make this device even more redundant. > > Sean > > > On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 11:45 AM, alan smith wrote: >> Typically gives you savings if you have a large number of motors, caps w= ill do a power factor correction...as the NASA document says. =A0How many l= arge motors do YOU have? =A0Maybe the AC compressor and the fridge compress= or (new ones are more efficient anyway). =A0But just normal loads..lights, = etc...doubt it will make any change to the bill. >> >> Others with thoughts? >> >> --- On Mon, 1/18/10, William Couture wrote: >> >>> From: William Couture >>> Subject: [EE] Is this snake oil? >>> To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public." >>> Date: Monday, January 18, 2010, 8:02 AM >>> Hi everyone! >>> >>> My wife and I were at the local home show this weekend, and >>> one of the >>> exhibitors >>> was "four leaf energy", which was displaying / selling an >>> energy >>> saving unit for the >>> home. >>> >>> They claim it's a capacitor system that hooks up to your >>> breaker panel >>> and reduces >>> the load used by motors, saving energy and money. >>> >>> It this something real, or "snake oil"?=A0 I'd >>> appreciate your opinion. >>> >>> Their website is >>> =A0=A0=A0http://www.fourleafenergy.com >>> >>> Check out their brochure and the FAQ, where they try to >>> explain how the system >>> saves energy. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> =A0=A0=A0Bill >>> >>> -- >>> Psst...=A0 Hey, you... Buddy...=A0 Want a >>> kitten?=A0 straycatblues.petfinder.org >>> -- >>> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >>> View/change your membership options at >>> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist >>> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >> View/change your membership options at >> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist >> > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist