Plug-In "Energy Savers"

Yes .I too remember.One brand I have come across is savawatt from UK.This can be used for refrigerators and air conditioners.I have not used it > may be yes its time to try a few.

Hi JRaef!

You've heard the expression "It was good while it lasted"?

Well, in this case, "it" wasn't!

Thanks

L. J.

Any extra device inserted into the line between the outlet and consuming device can only increase the total line resistance and, therefore, the energy usage. Physics is pretty much a universal set of laws and tends to disregard hucksterism.

hi

YEs . this device is available in india and bangladesh .. it has series ofor surges devices built in

Do you need the circuit or ?

I use the power strips with a cut off on it. When not in use cut all the things plugged into it off. All those things with INSTANT ON devices that use power while turned off.

Lower your bill by cutting the power to them.

Silicon Chip magazine has done at least 2 good expose's on these scam items. They explain thoroughly why and how they don't work and are well enough presented so non technical people can understand. The depth including figures and test results will also appeal trained technical people too.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that most of those "power savers" were SCR circuits that did reduce the power going to the appliance by clipping the sine wave of the AC power.

This is how a dimmer for an incandescent bulb works.

Of course it's also creating a "brownout" condition for the appliance. You'll save some energy but the appliance won't work to capacity and it's service life will be reduced.

It used to be that way, but in the last couple of years, a new wave of scams has come up on the internet. People sell "energy savers" that are nothing more than capacitors in a box. They make wild claims of energy savings and state that all you need to do is plug them in to your hose at any outlet, not even in-line with a load, to get these magic effects. Pure BS.

The SCR based units are what I was referring to above; they all use what is called the Nola circuit. They work in theory but not in practice except in the rarest of circumstances and they NEVER save as much energy as these scam artists say they do.

You reduce voltage to the device that is plugged in and the amperage will increase so that the wattage is the same - therefore NO SAVINGS at all. Reducing the voltage will also cause motors to heat up more - reducing the design life and putting more of a BTU load on your air conditioning in the warmer months. So you pay more in the end. Ed

We had one years ago. The reason I sent mine back was that it was electrically noisy and interfered with the wireless/radio reception.

The device you are trying to think of is probably a Smart Plug^TM.

It uses a triac to lower voltage by reducing the duty cycle of the applied power.

I have some of them and run my refrigerator on one to extend its life. It slows down the fan motor and lets the defroster run on lower wattage. Those are two things in refrigerators that I or other people I know have had trouble with.