Energy Wizard

ewan_uzarmi

If anyone is contemplating parting with cash for one of these devices I suggest they take a look at this disclaimer from ENERGY STAR first.


http:// energystar . custhelp . com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4941

(Remove surplus spaces in first part of web address)

Paul_Varjak

ASA Adjudication on Associated Newspapers Ltd

Associated Newspapers Ltd t/a maillife.co.uk

Northcliffe House
2 Derry Street
London
W8 5TT

Ecotek UK Ltd

18 Napier Court
Gander Lane
Barlborough Links
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S43 4FZ


Date:

6 October 2010
Media:

National press
Sector:

Publishing

Number of complaints:

2
Complaint Ref:

131021


Ad

A reader offer, in the national press, showed a device that could be plugged into a mains socket. The ad was headlined “Save 10% on your electricity bill. Energy Wizard". Text continued “Get an actual saving of more than 10% on your electricity bill with this ingenious new product. It simply plugs into any mains socket in the home and, once in place, its intelligent technology will measure and adjust the voltage and current demanded of your appliances, most of which use more power than required. The tried-and-tested constant power correction will ensure that only the minimum required level of power is used throughout the home. The result is less power usage and lower electricity bills. The unit simply plugs into any available/spare three pin socket ... ”.
Issue

Two readers challenged whether the claim that the device could save users 10% on their electricity bill could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

3.17.1
Response

Maillife.co.uk (ML) sent a test report, which included figures related to energy saving for various home appliances; they said the average energy saving of all appliances tested was 12.6%.

Assessment

Upheld
The ASA noted the information submitted by ML, which stated that tests had been carried out on an "Electricity Saving Box" in September 2008. The report stated that the box had been used in the home and could save power. We noted the tests had been carried out on various home electrical appliances. The report said the tests were conducted for four hours each and measured against four hours normal use, without testing. We noted that the stated percentage of energy saving for some appliances was more than 10% but for other appliances there was no saving, or the stated saving was less than 10%. We were also concerned that the tests appeared to have been carried out only once per appliance. There was also no indication of the products performance beyond a four-hour period or its performance "throughout the home" when it was plugged into any spare socket. We noted there were no details on the make or model of the appliances tested or specific details of how the tests had been set up. We also noted that, because of the way in which some electricity tariffs worked, by charging different prices depending on the number of units used in a month, a 10% saving on energy used might not equate to a 10% monetary saving on electricity bills. We considered the evidence was not sufficiently robust to support the claim "Save 10% on your electricity bill ... ", which was likely to be interpreted as suggesting that consumers could make that saving in all instances, on their entire electricity bill, when the product was plugged into any socket in the home. We concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 11) clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told ML and Ecotek to ensure they held robust substantiation for future claims.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)

Tillytish

Maybe Moneysaving expert could do a test and then we would all be in the know. Either they are scamming consumers or they have something that everyone should have in the home.

50tony

I had an ECOTEK Energy Wizard and an Owl Power Monitor. I unplugged the Energy Wizard and the Owl monitor showed my power consuption immediately dropped by 50 Watts :mad:. It is a rip off.

Just to let everyone know, you need a business using a lot of power (3 phase) for power factor correction to be of any use. Small power consumption correction, like a house uses, is not worth the cost.

pennymakespounds

I've had the ecotek product for a year .

I do my meter readings every saturday and can categorically state there has not been one instance where i can say my useage has gone down .

I did email the company with all the readings/ graphs etc .. and got no reply.

sillygoose

pennymakespounds wrote: »

I've had the ecotek product for a year .

I do my meter readings every saturday and can categorically state there has not been one instance where i can say my useage has gone down .

I did email the company with all the readings/ graphs etc .. and got no reply.

These devices should be filed away on a dark, dusty shelf, next to the boxes of electronic water softeners and quite a few surge protectors.

Dave_Buchan

If you want to reduce your electricity bills try looking at voltage optimisation.

The bigger companies have been using this tech for years and now it's readily available within the domestic market.

I install the v-phase boxes for customers which will approx give you a 10% reduction on your electricity bills over the course of the year.

Your savings through using the device will ultimately be determined by your properties incoming supply voltage and the higher it is, the more you will save. Because of this reason an on-site inspection of the supply voltage is crucial before you decide to part with your cash as your savings would be minimal if you have an incoming supply of 220v or less.

Just google Vphase and all the info is on there.

Hope this helps

50tony

50tony wrote: »

I had an ECOTEK Energy Wizard and an Owl Power Monitor. I unplugged the Energy Wizard and the Owl monitor showed my power consuption immediately dropped by 50 Watts :mad:. It is a rip off.

Just to let everyone know, you need a business using a lot of power (3 phase) for power factor correction to be of any use. Small power consumption correction, like a house uses, is not worth the cost.

I just smashed open my ECOTEK Wizard. It contains a circuit for the green LED and a 6.8uF 450Volt capacitor connected directly across the supply. If it was a real 6.8uF capacitor the Wizard would probably catch fire. The current passing through it would be huge. The maximum value capacitor you can place directly across the mains is 0.47uF and they tend to get hot. So it's just a heap of junk. I think it uses 10% more electricity than you would normally use.

rdwarf12

Dave_Buchan wrote: »

If you want to reduce your electricity bills try looking at voltage optimisation.

The bigger companies have been using this tech for years and now it's readily available within the domestic market.

I install the v-phase boxes for customers which will approx give you a 10% reduction on your electricity bills over the course of the year.

Your savings through using the device will ultimately be determined by your properties incoming supply voltage and the higher it is, the more you will save. Because of this reason an on-site inspection of the supply voltage is crucial before you decide to part with your cash as your savings would be minimal if you have an incoming supply of 220v or less.

Just google Vphase and all the info is on there.

Hope this helps

I just used the Vphase savings calculator and it would only save me about £25 a year. Still 10% if I can achieve this is a good return over time, however my ROI would be quite long.

Out of interest I estimated my local pub's electric usage to be about £1000 a year it maybe more. The ROI for them would be much quicker 3-4 years. My local is really just an oversized house, so I am guessing the electric supply would be the same as mine. Would the vphase be suitable for small / medium pubs and corner shops with fridges and freezers etc ? I see it being a much better deal for them being higher electric users.

Just a thought on a Friday Morning !!

energy_saver_2

I have had my ecotek wizard since 1/10/10.

I submit my readings every month on the 1st and my electric consumption has gone down significantly

My Direct Debit (for electric) used to be £35 per month. It's now down to £31 per month and i'm still on the same fixed priced tariff until Sep 2011 with Atlantic.

So i'm saving £48 a year which is 11.428% a year. I live in a 3 bedroomed flat.

I thought it was too good to be true but my meter readings are down significantly on the same months the previous year (eg Oct 09 compared to October 10 etc).

At Christmas i got one for my parents and their electric is down by about 8% a year (based on the first 3 months of this year). They have a house though.

Based on my electric units used it works. And the same goes for my parents.