There are some power saver devices shown in TV advertisements that they can save electricity bills.
But, does they really cut down electricity bills as advertised? Does they really cut down bills by 50%?
No.
How they can save bills and how much?
They merges the cosine spikes in electrical waveform resulting in less spike height, so they can save bills a bit. They are simply plugged into wall plug and they do that by help of a capacitor. There are some indicator lights in the device which does nothing but just shows power ok. It can save power around 10% actually.
Which appliances power consumption it can make low?
Only inductive loads produce cosine waves and it can be useful in cases of electric heaters, air conditioners, electrical motors, induction cookers, etc.
How to make it?
You just need a capacitor of 5-10µF of 220V or 440V according to your area grid voltage is 110V or 220V. For this, I’d recommend buying the oil based capacitors that are used in ceiling fans. They are just 2.5µF, so you need to parallel 2 to 4 capacitors. After that, just connect them into plug and see it works.
Bottomline: If you run AC, refrigerator, electric water pump, etc then connect a capacitor at the same plug to save some bill.
Good reading: http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/the-real-truth-behind-household-power-savers Thanks Prakash!
clearly show the whole diagram, how to connect it?
Dear Arup,
What is the value of the resistance connected in parrallel to the capacitor? Also please mention the value of resistance that need to be connected in series with the LED to give indication of power.
An early reply is requested.
Directly insert two pins of the capacitor to your wall plug.
Mr. Arup it is wonderful, but i need more details on it, suppose, shall i connect 2 lead to two end of only phase just after the MCB, or on the both phase and neutral, or anywhere else in the board in both phase and neutral ??? please let me know.
Just plus the two wires to the mains socket. One to neutral, one to phase.
please teach me how to connect in singal phase
Connect to Phase and Neutral.
Hi arup, can we connect this to any switch board in home?
Yes. But connect in same switch board where the target device (fridge, etc) is connected.
i think capacitor can burst
if i m wrong
sir kindly explain me
Fridge diagram merco bana ke do na
If we increase no. of capacitors in parallel the how it saves the electricity? i think it consumes more!!
Adding capacitors only makes the current waveform smoother thus eliminating spikes in current graph so that meters catch a lower point as the average current load.
as u said i made a circuit using the oil based electrolyte capasitor of 10 uf /440v and connect the mov 14D471K in parallel with the capacitor?
can it work as pfc or power saver? is the value is higher so will it harm or dameges the equipment????
MOV not needed.
You can use it, dont tension.
is this effective to air condition unit? by how many % of electric bill can we save out this? i mean by how many % of electric consumption we can save out of this
This is effective if your air conditioner is consuming power roughly. The actual % would depend on how much bad power spikes the unit makes.
if I add 3 pcs capacitor does it interfere with any other electric equipment?
There is very less chance that it will cause any problems.
im an idiot when it comes to this, but let me just ask this straight… so you are telling us that we should just make a parallel circuit out of those capacitors then just plug their terminals right into the socket??? wouldn’t this explode???
Yeah. But it won’t explode. Just like we use DC capacitors to remove ripples from DC line from rectifier, the same way this works.
where to buy it?
Electrical shop.
i need a circuit diagram for power save energy . Can you help me
I need to a easy power saver circuit.
Hi, can you give me a complete circuit diagram of energy saving device and its component list.
guruji(arup) i want to ask that i have to connect capacitor in series with neutral and other capacitor with phasee and then to the appliance or connect the same cappacitor’s one end to neutrall and other ends to phasre
guruji plz relpy as soon as possible
Just plug in the capacitor in wall plug.
good logic
Dear sir,
Kindly send me the circuit diagram of the device
sir u have described solar ckt in whichwe use solar energy to light. a led sir is it possible to connect a inverter to battery to convert dc to ac and then step up transformer to step it up to 220v and connect our home aplliance load to it
Yes. Possible.
gurudev can you plz give me the ckt diagram of solar inverter?
There’s no difference between an ordinary inverter and a solar inverter.
Yeah this is the thing..or the main working principle of inverters…
Mr. Arup
I have 220-240VAC–1KW Electricity meter installaed at my home and want to use only one capacitor instead of using 2-3 2.5F ceiling fan Capacitor.Recommend value of Capacitor.
I guess it would be 10?F 440V…..am i right?
Yes.
Dear Arup,
Once again I have something to say…:-)
1) There are 30 comments in this page, so many people read your articles, but it is amazing that nobody has noticed that you have mentioned the values of the capacitor as 5-10 F! Please get your fundamentals clear, F means Farad, whereas it should be uF or Micro Farad. 1000uF makes 1MF or Milli Farad, and 1000 milli farads make one Farad! So 1 Farad equals 1,000,000 uF.
2) Secondly, cutting down spikes and smoothing cosine waves have nothing to do with power factor correction. It is a complex subject, basically dealing with reactive power and resistive power in any circuit. A capacitor basically helps to neutralize the phase lag between the voltage and the current in any reactive load to, thus reducing the actual power registered by the power meter. Consider a child on a swing. If you push them when they are going backwards you will actually slow them down. In order to push with maximum efficiency, the motion of the swing and your push must be “in phase”. Similarly in electricity, voltage and current must be in phase for optimum performance. Equipment such as motors, ballasts and variable speed drives tend to move voltage and current out of phase with each other.
Fast note:
I’ve used meu-F and not uF in the article. If the correct unicode font is missing from your system, you’ll see either a Box sign or ? mark in the places where meu was used.
EDIT after 3 mins: I’ve changed the font family and now you should be able to see the µ sign under Windows.
Hi,
I don’t know what I am missing, but unfortunately there was neither a box sign nor a ? mark, just the letter F. Anyway, its good that you have changed the font, that shall clear a lot of doubts in the minds of newbies.
But Arup, you didn’t comment on my second point? I hope I have cleared some fundamentals regarding power factor?
Regarding the second point, I have no much knowledge about those deep physics, the harmonics of voltage and current upon loads of different kinds.
But I do know that there’s just a Rs. 20-50/- capacitor inside the power saver products that teleshops sell in thousands to loot customers.
dear Arup
can i connect 10 mfd capacitor in my mains electric supply of my house or I have to increase the value of the same.
reply soon
Single 10µF should be enough.
THANKS ARUPJI. VERY USEFULL ONE THIS
am using single phase for my house.
AM USING THESE : A/C,WASHING MACHINE, INDUCTION STOVE, AND ALSO FANS AND TUBES.
WHICH CAPACITOR I WANT TO BUY
220V OR 440V ?
A SINGLE CAPACITOR ENOUGH?
RATING OF CAPACITOR?
thanks arupda but I forget to mention that we have 3 ac installed. 10 mfd is enough.
thanks and regards.
HI Arup. why my capacitor makes an audible sound? it makes me nervous so i unplug it to the outlet..
Don’t worry. Buy good brand capacitors which comes in aluminum body.
sir plz tell me
the chip with blck dot used in door bell to store ringing sound is called chip on board or not am i true or not?
sir plz answer my question that what is that chip called which is used in door bell to store any song which door bell plays
basically my question is wht is that chip called?
Any IC that is embedded into PCB is called COB or chip-on-board.
Hi Arup,
Good to see number of comments on your post. I have 3 quiries. Please answer it.
1)My house electric meter is of 5 KV – 220V, which capacitor should i use.
2)How much % it will effect the electricity bill.
3)What will happen if we install high power capacitor.
Thanks
Try yourself.
Arup,
One more question.. can power relay of 10 amp helps in slowing the power meter?
No. Never.
sir if i direcectly connect two pins in plug the capacitor can burst
nd sir if i connect 15uf is it going to harm equipment?
i ask u this i hav 15uf single capacitor i dont jhamela of connecting2uf capacitor in parallel
Just connect.
sir arup i have an internet shop. i need a power saver it because of big power billing in my counry.. can you help me to reduce my me electric bill.
hope so give my attention to solve it…
thanks arup….
sir i want to ask i haveto connect the two pins of capacitor as i connect the plug of a electrical aplliance in the supply
Sir please send me a circuit diagram of 4.1 home theater in my email
I understand that the ceiling fan capacitor some is moulted with plastic, can we use this type. Let say only one 3 pin socket is available in the appliance is it that we have to fix another 3 pin socket next to it. Thanks and hope to hear from you.
Yes, you can do that.
Thanks sir.
what if i installed 20-40 microfarad 440v and plug it? does it make any difference?
Why don’t you just try yourself and let us know?
Don’t do it…High MFD may increase Line voltage….!above specific value capacitor is useless in PF Correction….10 MFD/250v is O.K for upto a 2000w Inductive load.
Arup, recently i used electrolitic type capacitor value 47 micro F / 450 v, I connected it directly to the outlet n then my capacitor burst. CAn you explain to me why??
It happened because you used polarized capacitors. We need non-polarized ones.
arup sir
i am use the capacitor but not working still daily 8 unit
please reply me sir
hello arup,I already installed my capacitor hope my next bill lowers a bit.
I
Sir,
I used 10 uf +-5% / 440 VAC Capacitor and attached as parallel with my double door fridge. Nothing happened. My electricity consumption is still same as it was.
What wrong with me?
Regards,
Ashish
Mr. Arup,
You have given good useful tip and understood. But the conclusion of your idea is not clear.
I mean, the said Capacitor has to connect in parallel to the individual power sockets, which we use with some appliance. Am I t correct or not. Plz let me know.
Dear Arup
if i connect the capacitor to the TELEVISION pin & insert in a plug can it cause any harm?
does increasing capacitors can reduce more electricity?
Very nice article
1 question though i have 3 phase meter
as per my understanding i should connect 3 capacitor for 3 phase
i have already bought 3 440 v ac 25 MFD shall i connect it directly to main power coming from meter does it hurt any appliances like Plasma tv or computer and also i have a 3 phase bore well motor connected to it is there any problems with this type of connection??
what to do for 3 phase power saver?
what to do for 3 phase energy saver?
he anup plz help me the name of capasitor told me what finder relay used and finder stop the meter and tell me what finder function
The real truth behind household power savers
http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/the-real-truth-behind-household-power-savers
Thanks for the link.
hy arup. please tell me know about what is used electrolight capacitor is good or bad
sir arup, can u please give a simple circuit diagram of this with a complete detail of the parts and their value? thanks a lot.
Did you really read the article?
Good day Arup,
I saw a power saver equipment whereby they connect one wire to Phase and one more was to the Ground. there was no neutral connection at all.
based on my understanding, any Capacitor, one leg will be connect to line wire and another to the ground wire. This is to Discharge back the capacitor.
If we fix the capacitor as you instructed, the charge will be kept in the capacitor and how it goin to discharge?
Kindly pls advice
Neutral line is connected to ground in the grid supply.
hy arrup,
kia capasitor bijli ke factor ko sahi kar deta he kia capasitor analog on digital dono meter par work karta he .maximum capasitor ki value kitni honi chahy
main ne 2 capasitor lagain he aik 2.5uf ka or 4.5uf ka kia main or capasitor laga sakta ho ya nahin
That’s quite enough.
I myself made power saver using 20micro Farad Capacitor. I am saving 1.5 units per day.
Congrats.
Hi,
Happy New year 2013 !!
Can you tell me how to make the power saver with a 20uF capacitor? I am having 3 phase connection @ my home.
Thanks in advance.
Regds,
Mani
how much capacitor is used for a double door fridge it is consuming a large amount of power help me to find the solution
Dear sir,
i have spare capacitors 25 mfd capacitor +-5% 440vac. can i use it. can u tell me pls how to check capacitor is working or not. i mean capacitors is working properly.
thankx for your help
Insert capacitor to mains plug and switch it on. After few seconds switch the plug off and take out capacitor and short the two pins. Is there is powerful spark and sound, the capacitor is fine.
thankx a lot sir
Thank Anup,
You saved my Rs.1600/- which is the market price of the power saver, but in the marked we used to see the small adapter just about 300 grams weight. what contents insides?, sure not this capacitor
That’s capacitor. Just buy and open it for your curiosity.
Hi Arup Ji,
My New year 2013 wishes to you !!
1) Shall we use a 20uF capacitor instead of 10uF ?
2) Let us know how can we use these capacitor for a 3 Phase connections . I am having 3 phase connection @ my home.
Pls reply my query.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Vijay
Mr . Arup
By connecting capacitor u can never reduce electricity bill as fundamentals bill ehich u r paying is for onlly real power i.e. KWH (Killowatt Hour) by connecing capacitor in parallel u are improving power factor and reducing Reactive power KVAR ( Killovolt ampere reactive) but not changing real power. Real Power is the power which u converting in to use able form of energy and reactive power is not converted into real work or useable form of energy. so u r carged for only real power i.e. KWH. I recommend please clear ur fundamentals.
Hi Vikas,
Thanks for dropping a long comment.
I’d like to tell you the following,
The capacitor just acts as a power factor corrector (PFC). This increases PF to 1(or near 1) and reduces the load current (I). Reducing the current, the voltage loss(& heat loss) among the conduction wires becomes less. For example if PF=0.50 earlier and now PF=1.00 after adding PFC, then current heat loss will be 25% of previous.
Another advantage of adding capacitor is smooth running of inductive loads like fans. If you have an inverter/UPS setup then run in battery mode and light a Tubelight(ballast one) and a ceiling fan, then you connect the PFC to plug and you’ll notice much improvement in tube’s light and fan’s speed.
This is not about decreasing the energy out devices eat. This saves the energy that are charged but not consumes by the appliances.
hy arup
i am sajid from pakistan.plz resolve my problam.main ne 4.5uf ka capasitor lgaya he wo work kare ka oil based nahn he tell me