For those with Heat Pump - Power correction, thoughts?

Andy_WSM

There are some cheap power correction units appearing on EBAY nowadays: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Power-Electricity-Energy-Saver-Save-5-to-30-UK-Pins_W0QQitemZ180408870689

I understand how these things "should" work and the basis behind the claims that they will save on consumption, but does anyone know IF they work - has anyone actually tried one either with or without any sort of heat pump?

albyota

if anyone thinks they will save money.......I have some Skyhooks and some Tartan Paint to go with it....:rolleyes:

Andy_WSM

albyota wrote: »

if anyone thinks they will save money.......I have some Skyhooks and some Tartan Paint to go with it....:rolleyes:

So that's why I am asking...Why won't they work? I'm guessing that appliances must already be built to be as efficient as possible and have power factor corrections caps built in?

Swipe

Well for £2 it's worth a shot. Go for it and let us know how you get on.

Cardew

Andy,
If they work on not, it doesn't save any money for domestic customers.

We pay for the kWh( not kVa) we use and that is what the meter measures.

Without going into electrical theory, correcting power factor in a house will not affect your bill.

Andy_WSM

Cardew wrote: »

Andy,
If they work on not, it doesn't save any money for domestic customers.

We pay for the kWh((kVa) we use and that is what meter measures.

Without going into electrical theory, correcting power factor in a house will not affect your bill.

If you correct power factor wouldn't you improve the efficiency of say, running a motor? If you improve the efficiency then you would use less to do the same job?

Andy_WSM

Swipe wrote: »

Well for £2 it's worth a shot. Go for it and let us know how you get on.

I can't see this being any more than a capacitor across the mains. But I might buy one to take apart and see what makes it tick It's only a few quid and would keep me occupied for a few hours - I could even update here to let everyone know whether or not to spend their money

albyota

as the question was
"has anyone actually tried one either with or without any sort of heat pump?"
firstly, most heat pumps have inverter driven compressors anyway, so this bit of kit would not help, secondly, most heat pumps are or should be hard wired to the mains and run at over 13A which, as I see it on the picture this is for plug in appliances.

Andy_WSM

albyota wrote: »

as the question was
"has anyone actually tried one either with or without any sort of heat pump?"
firstly, most heat pumps have inverter driven compressors anyway, so this bit of kit would not help, secondly, most heat pumps are or should be hard wired to the mains and run at over 13A which, as I see it on the picture this is for plug in appliances.

Ah, mine is neither. It is plugged in, draws around 8Amps and is not an invertor pump. Will this help then?!

albyota

You could try it, but I cannot see how you are going to tell the difference with or without, as cardew says, KVA power correction factor (0.9) (iIRC) on 3 phase industrial buildings with lots of motor installations, and the need to balance out the phases. I think this is some F.E.R being sold from the shop on the hill...

Cardew

Andy_WSM wrote: »

If you correct power factor wouldn't you improve the efficiency of say, running a motor? If you improve the efficiency then you would use less to do the same job?

Power factor correction does as you say improve efficiency in that you draw less current to run a device.

For factories etc power factor correction is important, although it is a lot more complicated than simply sticking a capacitor across the mains.

However in domestic applications, believe me it makes no difference at all. Domestic electricity meters only measure kWh, and the kVa you use does not matter.

It really is complicated to understand if you don't understand electrical theory, but if you 'Google' Power factor Correction or 'Apparent Power' you will get many explanations.