Energy Wizard

hh13

Yes, I took it to mean that they're saying it's a false reading. Is it possible for you to leave everything off overnight and do a test? If so, you'd expect just over 1kW/h to be used overnight (8 hours) so you could check your main electricity meter and see if that has gone up by a kWh or not. After all, it's that meter reading you'll actually be billed on.

System

[quote=keith969;32964253

if you really want to save electricity, get an owl wireless electricity monitor, then you can find out just how much electricity you are using at any moment, and see the effect of turning on or off different appliances.[/quote]

ive just got one of these and my god its a revelation -my biggest useage is the kettle and the washing machine

collingbone614

I don't know if it's the same across England but where I live (Lancashire) can borrow wireless electric monitors from the local library. If there's no reserve list the cost appears to be zero to borrow one, if there is a reserve, it's 60p.

knowloads

Not read all of the threads, BUT. I have just done a 4 month contract with Tesco Express, doing electrical surveys for a voltage regulator system that is already fitted to Asda and Tesco superstores. The saving in the bigger stores prompted them to start a voltage use survey on over 350 smaller retail units. powerperfector.com was the company providing the system, and though I am aware that a Tesco uses a lot more power, I do know that it reduces voltage to the actual amount needed to run each appliance ????? I think ! Maybe this system is similar thoug I am not saying they work, just an obseravtion.

brig001

The Powerperfector system does work, but is very limited in a domestic environment. It reduces the voltage and certainly saves energy on lighting, but all the bulbs go dimmer, so you may need more, then you are back to square one. This study explains it quite well: http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~aupec/aupec04/papers/PaperID77.pdf

On the original product, I have contacted the manufacturer to get them to publish (or let me read) the "Tests carried out by an independent laboratory...", but no progress yet. Read into that what you will.
HTH,
Brian.

Woking_Wounded

As I understand it the most "efficient" load is a resistive load (Power Factor = 1). Traditionally most households have loads that are either resistive (e.g. kettles, electric cookers, old style incandescent light bulbs) or inductive (caused by electrical windings e.g. ballast in fluorescent tubes, motors in fridge + freezer compressors, washing machine motors) so that the overall household load is inductive. Savings can be achieved by adding capacitance (which does not increase power usage) to balance the net inductance to bring the overall load back to a power factor of 1 and this is what the Power Wizard is supposed to do (add capacitance).

So there are two issues here:
1. In a modern household with its proliferation of switched mode power supplies for supplying / charging mobile phones, DECT phone handsets, digital picture frames, low voltage halogen lamps etc (which are reactive (capacitive)) and also low energy light bulbs which nowadays mainly have electronic ballasts (which are capacitive) rather than the magnetic ones of the traditional fluorescent tube (which are inductive), how inductive overall is the typical household and what scope is there to improve its load efficiency?

2. Does the Energy Wizard work? I found this website (which admittedly is trying to sell the product) which a) has a fair description of what is going on ( [FONT=&quot]www . nigelsecostore . com / acatalog / Energy _ Wizard _ Information . html[/FONT] you will have to copy this and take out the spaces to follow this link because of the restriction on posting links), and b) identifies (www . [FONT=&quot]nigelsecostore . com / acatalog / Energy _ Wizard . html[/FONT]) the "independent internationally accredited test house" as ECMG Laboratories (www . [FONT=&quot]elliottlabs . com)[/FONT]. I can't find any details of the test on the tester's website but even if we assume that they are kosher and confirmed that the product worked, it still depends on having a significantly inductive household load overall to begin with - which depends on what you have actually got in your house, rather than the 10 "appliances that would be found in a typical household" used in the test.

Trouble is, I have no idea what the base power factor of my house is. If all the halogen and low energy lamps balance out the telephones etc then it's possible that my house has a natural base power factor of 1 in which case buying the Energy Wizard, even if it works, is pointless!

Poverty_2

What you pay for is kilowatt-hours, ie real energy used.

You do not pay for kilovoltamp-hours.

This device brings the power factor nearer to unity (ie bringing the voltamps nearer to the watts) by adding capacitance whenever an inductive load is switched on (ie a washing machine).

This does not change the energy that you are using - it only reduces the current necessary to produce that energy, thus reducing the losses in the generators and distribution system.

But as you pay for energy (ie current and voltage in phase - watts) and not current, it makes no difference to your bill - it only helps the transmission system.

That is, if it works at all !!

rita-rabbit

Damn
Glad I read this thread - was going to buy some: one for myself, Mum & Aunt - if it doesn't work that's a fair bit of cash & potentially additional electricity wasted - as the Tesco ad says "every little bit helps"

rdwarf12

Poverty wrote: »

What you pay for is kilowatt-hours, ie real energy used.

You do not pay for kilovoltamp-hours.

This device brings the power factor nearer to unity (ie bringing the voltamps nearer to the watts) by adding capacitance whenever an inductive load is switched on (ie a washing machine).

This does not change the energy that you are using - it only reduces the current necessary to produce that energy, thus reducing the losses in the generators and distribution system.

But as you pay for energy (ie current and voltage in phase - watts) and not current, it makes no difference to your bill - it only helps the transmission system.

That is, if it works at all !!

So just thinking aloud here, but what if you generated your own electric via say Solar panels or something. Could this device perceivable be useful in reducing the consumption by your appliances of this locally generated powered.

Poverty_2

rdwarf12
There are three types of solar panels - those that produce heat directly and circulate it through pipes to heat your water (no electricity), those that produce DC electricity and use this for lighting and heating, and those that come with a separate device (an inverter) that converts the DC from the panels to AC for using with any appliance in the home (within the panel's power rating). This last type is the only one which could theoretically benefit from one of these Energy Wizards, but the losses in your local wiring are insignificant compared to the energy that you are supplying to your appliances - not like the grid which has very long distribution lines.