Science ? Marketing ? Reality ?
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These guys claim that microprocessors put electrical noise on the lines in your home and especially the lines in your business. I have never heard of such a thing. But then, there's a lot I don't know. This is the: Two Minute YouTube Video[^] that presents a simplified science view of their stuff. They claim that their device takes an ugly noisy 60 Hz line and changes it back into a smooth nearly pure signal again, with the result being lower electrical bills. I will thank anyone who really knows about electricity for an opinion on this.
It's fraudulent.
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Actually, it's not entirely BS (but definitely overhyped). IF this device works as advertised it would be doing it by 'power factor correction'. For an explanation of power factor and how it affects the useful power you get vs what you pay for, see What is Power Factor?[^] The upshot is that filtering out harmonics would do little or nothing for you. What would need fixing is the angle, or lag, between the voltage & current waveforms. Even this though wouldn't often helps your bills, at least for domestic consumers. In the UK at least, suppliers charge for electricity in KWh (the useful energy you get out). If the power factor drops below a certain value they will add a 'reactive supplement' or just charge in KVA instead of KWh - which would reflect the energy they're having to generate instead of the useful output you're getting. This situation would only arise for industrial customers though - the low power factor would only be cause by loads such as large electric motors that generate significant inductive loads, residential customers would not be affected.
Check that link, will you ? It screws up over here.
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Check that link, will you ? It screws up over here.
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Check that link, will you ? It screws up over here.
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Actually, it's not entirely BS (but definitely overhyped). IF this device works as advertised it would be doing it by 'power factor correction'. For an explanation of power factor and how it affects the useful power you get vs what you pay for, see What is Power Factor?[^] The upshot is that filtering out harmonics would do little or nothing for you. What would need fixing is the angle, or lag, between the voltage & current waveforms. Even this though wouldn't often helps your bills, at least for domestic consumers. In the UK at least, suppliers charge for electricity in KWh (the useful energy you get out). If the power factor drops below a certain value they will add a 'reactive supplement' or just charge in KVA instead of KWh - which would reflect the energy they're having to generate instead of the useful output you're getting. This situation would only arise for industrial customers though - the low power factor would only be cause by loads such as large electric motors that generate significant inductive loads, residential customers would not be affected.
pt1401 wrote:
Actually, it's not entirely BS (but definitely overhyped)...This situation would only arise for industrial customers though
However the video is obviously directed at consumers. For which it is pointless. Presuming that the equipment actually does anything at all, which is not guaranteed, that itself would consume some amount of power. Thus increasing, probably a small amount, costs.
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These guys claim that microprocessors put electrical noise on the lines in your home and especially the lines in your business. I have never heard of such a thing. But then, there's a lot I don't know. This is the: Two Minute YouTube Video[^] that presents a simplified science view of their stuff. They claim that their device takes an ugly noisy 60 Hz line and changes it back into a smooth nearly pure signal again, with the result being lower electrical bills. I will thank anyone who really knows about electricity for an opinion on this.
C-P-User-3 wrote:
I will thank anyone who really knows about electricity for an opinion on this.
Pointless even presuming it actually does anything. Following is about something that literally didn't do anything. The story of the fake bomb detectors - BBC News[^]
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C-P-User-3 wrote:
I will thank anyone who really knows about electricity for an opinion on this.
Pointless even presuming it actually does anything. Following is about something that literally didn't do anything. The story of the fake bomb detectors - BBC News[^]
My friend and I built a Gonkulator way back when. It detected airplanes in the sky. It worked. We demonstrated it to the kids in the neighborhood.
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Marketing... (In a few words...Harmonics are created on a line, because different devices draw current in different patterns...It is true that at certain level harmonics need more current, but simply 'removing' those harmonics can not help...The most common solution in case of know difference between devices is to connect them to different power sources...)
Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
Surely a harmonic would be a multiple of the base fequency, i.e. 60Hz in this case. The term is incorrectly used. They should be talking about noise which has been added to the line because of incorrectly suppressed equipment. Computer noise would be a very low level signal superimposed on the a.c. waveform and would not affect the power factor, carbon footprint or any of the other items mentioned in this nonsense. The most significant source of line noise is usually an electric carbon brush motor, such as an electric drill. This noise should be treated at source as it may interfere with sensitive equipment, e.g. computers. Conclusion, the correct term for this product is B.S. I may not last forever but the mess I leave behind certainly will.
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These guys claim that microprocessors put electrical noise on the lines in your home and especially the lines in your business. I have never heard of such a thing. But then, there's a lot I don't know. This is the: Two Minute YouTube Video[^] that presents a simplified science view of their stuff. They claim that their device takes an ugly noisy 60 Hz line and changes it back into a smooth nearly pure signal again, with the result being lower electrical bills. I will thank anyone who really knows about electricity for an opinion on this.
-
Actually, it's not entirely BS (but definitely overhyped). IF this device works as advertised it would be doing it by 'power factor correction'. For an explanation of power factor and how it affects the useful power you get vs what you pay for, see What is Power Factor?[^] The upshot is that filtering out harmonics would do little or nothing for you. What would need fixing is the angle, or lag, between the voltage & current waveforms. Even this though wouldn't often helps your bills, at least for domestic consumers. In the UK at least, suppliers charge for electricity in KWh (the useful energy you get out). If the power factor drops below a certain value they will add a 'reactive supplement' or just charge in KVA instead of KWh - which would reflect the energy they're having to generate instead of the useful output you're getting. This situation would only arise for industrial customers though - the low power factor would only be cause by loads such as large electric motors that generate significant inductive loads, residential customers would not be affected.
Plus, even if a household manages to drop its power factor, the solution would be a capacitor bank to keep the power factor up even during heavy machinery use.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson ---- Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
