saving on electricty

TnMtngirl · #1 07/26/06, 03:06 PM

Has anyone seen the commercial for Power Save?at 299.95 I am wondering if this thing would be worth it or if it really worked.A 25% savings would add up over time.Does anyone have one installed?

texican · #2 07/26/06, 07:48 PM

Never heard of it.

You could install 'wall switches' for all of your appliances... quite a few electronics use almost as much electricity while off, as they do when they're on... Back when I was off grid 100%, I'd unplug devices or flip the power off to that circuit...

rambler · #3 07/26/06, 11:35 PM

Never heard of it either, could you explain what it is a bit, or web site, or???

Sounds like 'snake oil' type of thing to me, just using common sense can save you 25% and not cost one anything.

--->Paul

Simpler1773 · #4 07/27/06, 01:58 AM

The links on the website aren't working too well, so I still don't know what it is, but here is the website.

http://www.power-save.com/

LagoVistaFarm · #5 07/27/06, 02:05 AM

Whenever I see "as seen on TV" my snake oil alarm goes off. Is always some "black box" that you just put somewhere. Like magnets on diesel fuel lines to reduce 20% of the fuel intake. I hope its true, but I doubt it.

Herb · #6 07/27/06, 05:45 AM

I would stay away from something like that. They don't even have pictures of the device on thier home page.
Change out to compact fluorescent bulbs. I did this and it dropped my bill $15.00 a month.
If you have central heat/air, put in a programmable thermostat.
Consider putting a timeclock on the electric water heater. Set it so that the heater is off when you are asleep or not at home. Have it come on an hour before you wake up and get home, then have it go off about the time you go to bed. There is no need for it to be running in the middle of the night. If the tank is insulated good, the water will stay warm for a long time with out the elements running.

whodunit · #7 07/27/06, 12:06 PM

We have our computer system on a power strip and shut it off at night to save electricity. We do the same to our entertainment system.

We also use compact flourescent bulbs in most lights.

Our bill averages $115 amonth at .085 a kwh. Not too bad considering we take 3-4 showers/baths a day, plus do several loads of laundry (dried in the dryer) and sometimes 2-3 loads of dishes a day in the dishwasher and sometimes water the yard with well water instead of irrigation water from the river.

We do get $15 from the nieghbor we share our well with.

Herb, I would be interested in a timeclock for the water heater. Can you give more information?

TnMtngirl · #8 07/27/06, 12:24 PM

We have a timer on the water heater,it helps alot.Its called the little gray box,avaliable at lowes and most home improvement stores.
I dont think the power save would be worth the money.Hubby thinks it would work,he will have to do a lot of talking to get me to buy this one

Hammer4 · #9 07/27/06, 01:02 PM

It looks like it reduces the amp loading to run inductive motors, they have some data to back it up from department of energy & a university study.

I'm not sure what technology they are using, but it looks real to me.

rufus · #10 07/27/06, 01:07 PM

Our timer seems to work well for us here. I turned the termostat down to a point where one requires no cold water for a comfortable shower. We wash our dishes in a machine with it's own heater and have the hot water tank come on twice per day, once in the morning once in the evening for two hours each. We schedual our laundry during these times and haven't run out of hot water yet but we have the largest best insulated water tank available at Lowe's. Further, we added that hotwater tank blanket around since we had one on the old tank. Don't know how effective the extra insulation is but we are using it non the less since we already had it. We have noticed around a 10-15 reduction in the electric bill but can't say exactly since we also changed to cf lighting and the electric company decided they weren't getting enough money and raised the rates again. I am very glad we went to the timer, they are simple to install and seem to have a payback in around 1-2 years.

Herb · #11 07/27/06, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammer4

It looks like it reduces the amp loading to run inductive motors, they have some data to back it up from department of energy & a university study.

I'm not sure what technology they are using, but it looks real to me.

I can't get their products page to load, so these are some general statements. On inductive motors, if the amperage is lowered, then the voltage is increased. Great you say. But it isn't great. We buy electricity by the watt, not the amp. The mathmatical formula for finding watts is to multiply the voltage by the amperage. Here is an example: say we have a motor that pulls 10 amp at 120 volts. The wattage is 1200 watts (10*120). That same motor pulls 5 amps at 240 volts. The wattage is 1200 watts (5*240)

rambler · #12 07/27/06, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammer4

It looks like it reduces the amp loading to run inductive motors, they have some data to back it up from department of energy & a university study.

I'm not sure what technology they are using, but it looks real to me.

I couldn't get their links to work either, just lots of bandwith used & nothing came of it.....

Anyhow, I heard of such a wonder box a couple years ago, I remember that description.

It's one of those things, where the theory is great, but in actual use, if you don't change your habits, it doesn't change your bill much. As well, it only works on motors, not lights, heaters, etc.

Now, if you change your habits, you can just do that, & not mess with the $300 they want.

As I remember of the discussion several years ago.

--->Paul

TheBlueOne · #13 07/28/06, 04:49 AM

I examined the website and read some of the links including the "university study proving...." and it appears to be a small single phase power correction capacitor. We use three phase power correction capacitors frequently on industrial machines, but only on 5 HP motors and above. On smaller motors the savings do not warrant the extra expense. On bigger motors (20 HP and above) the electricity savings are dramatic with payback times around two years.
For home use the product is a waste. Power correction capacitors are sized to a specific motor and are switched in and out of the circuit the same time as the motor that it is paired with. This "PowerSaver" thing is hard wired into the main breaker panel and is active all the time. In the average home the only two inductive loads that would even minimally benefit would be an old style washing machine (non front loader) and a central air conditioner's compressor. The money would be better spent upgrading to new, more energy efficient appliances than trying to correct old ones.