Voltage harmoniser ????

ROY47

The UK supply 230 V +10% which is 253 volts max
or - 6% which is 216.2 volts minimum
it varies constantly

"I came across it in a leaflet I received from Everest. They don't say much about it," = sales gimmick I would say

lindabea

ROY47 wrote: »

"I came across it in a leaflet I received from Everest. They don't say much about it," = sales gimmick I would say

I totally agree :beer:

Fifer

sillygoose wrote: »

Proper Power Factor Correction systems have been used for years in commercial situations, where the demands of for example 100's of switched mode PC power supplies benefit from phase alignment between current demands and AC voltage peaks. Even so thats as much about smoothing out the load on the facilities power system than consumption.

But this stuff is just... snake oil, probably from the snake that bit Lembit at that!

Yes, power factor correction is something completely different. That's about 'balancing' capacitive and inductive loads to optimise the load impedance for minimum power consumption.

espresso

lindabea wrote: »

Hi Can anyone please tell me what a voltage harmoniser is? Apparently, it's some gadget that reduces the voltage from 240 to 220 thereby saving electricity cost. I'd be grateful if someone can explain more and whether it's worth considering.

sillygoose wrote: »

Proper Power Factor Correction systems have been used for years in commercial situations, where the demands of for example 100's of switched mode PC power supplies benefit from phase alignment between current demands and AC voltage peaks. Even so thats as much about smoothing out the load on the facilities power system than consumption.

But this stuff is just... snake oil, probably from the snake that bit Lembit at that!

The question was about voltage optimisation/regulation where the domestic mains voltage is reduced down to 220V.

Power factor correction is totally irrelevant to this topic. Power factor has no effect on domestic metering, energy consumption and any savings that can be made by voltage reduction on the customers premises.

lindabea wrote: »

Does anyone know what the installation cost might be?

The domestic units cost about £250 and would need to be fitted by a qualified electrician. Payback time would obviously depend on your usage and with energy constantly increasing in price, it would not surprise me if these devices were made compulsory in years to come on new builds. SSE & BG has teamed up with one manufacturer see here.

Fifer

espresso wrote: »

SSE & BG has teamed up with one manufacturer see here.

SSE and BG are trialling the units. I'd be interested to see the outcome of the trial.

lindabea

£250 sounds reasonable if there is a good payback over it's lifetime. Any idea what the installation costs would be? Also, where would the unit be fitted - with the electric meter or somewhere else.

stevemcol

interesting stuff. seems counter intuitive initially but then actually makes sense. no use for resistive heating and lighting applications but otherwise, i could imagine real savings. not quite perpetual motion but it's got legs.

fwor

At a guess I'd say installation would be in the region £50-100, probably fitted between meter/company fuse and the consumer unit?

IMO a saving of £133 a year is highly unlikely - as others have already said, most appliances that take lots of power like kettles and heaters will gain nothing from this. A few tens of pounds a year sounds more realistic - possible break even at around 10 years?

debitcardmayhem

fwor wrote: »

At a guess I'd say installation would be in the region £50-100, probably fitted between meter/company fuse and the consumer unit?

IMO a saving of £133 a year is highly unlikely - as others have already said, most appliances that take lots of power like kettles and heaters will gain nothing from this. A few tens of pounds a year sounds more realistic - possible break even at around 10 years?

Have you taken into account the effect of inflation I have no idea about the physics not done any for mumblemumble years .

almillar

15% saving on an incandescent bulb? Anyone wanting to save energy would've fitted a fluorescent to save around 75%, which with the electronics inside, wouldn't save much on the lower voltage.
Kettle, washing machine, fridge, freezer, hob, oven all have to work harder, for longer, to do the same amount of work. No thanks.