By: Zhang Qi

Zhang Qi — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:14:04 +0000

The power saver actually works, and this has been proven by a principal known as power factor correction which is a technique where the reactive power released by inductors are absorbed by capacitors and sent back to the circuit. Inductive reactive power is the electrical energy leaked by inductors back to the power source due to imperfections in their ability to store energy much like water pipes leaking due to cracks, or batteries self discharging to the neutralization of their electrochemical reactant’s volatility. To eliminate this problem, the capacitors absorb the energy released by the inductors and push the electric current back into the load. Capacitors can be placed in all devices using inductors like air-conditioners, electric fans, and washing machines. However, because the power consumption of these devices can fluctuate due to changes in the motor’s speed and because most of today’s appliances such as computers and digital washing machines are automatic and adjust their own power levels, the capacitors can end up draining the energy meant to reach the loads and end up making the appliance inefficient. In order to remove any electrical wastage, the capacity of the capacitor must equal the waste energy of the inductor and in order for this to be possible, the capacitor must have variable capacitance. This is done by having switches cutoff certain plates in the capacitor so that they do not absorb any energy. However having an operator constantly adjust the capacitance of the capacitor is impractical and tedious, therefore the capacitor must have an automatically controlled switch operated by a sensor which measures the inductive reactive power of the device and then operates the switch by means of fast response transistor switching technology. All of these components including the sensors, automatic transistor switches, and capacitors can be expensive due to the complexity of the machine’s design because it is basically a device that automatically checks and regulates the recycling of power in an electrical network and that is why appliances do not have them because it would increase the purchase cost of the device so to reduce the cost of power factor correction, one sensor and transitor switch connected to a single high wattage capacitor does the task of correcting the power of an entire building instead of having several small capacitors in several appliances each having sensors and transistor switches since several small capacitors in total would equal the cost of one high wattage capacitor but the sensors and transistor switches which can operate any capacitor irregardless of size will multiply the total cost of power factor correction if they were placed in every single appliance, so instead a single set of sensors and transistor switches are made to regulate the power factor of the entire building so that only one set will be needed.

Comments on: Manila’s Little Electric Power Saver

By: Zhang Qi