D
Donald
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
Beware of Energy Smart's Power Planner by Coast Energy Management
www.energysmart.com
The claims are not arrived at in a valid way. The power measurements must
ALLWAYS be taken BEFORE the Power Planner and not AFTER. Power factor
must be used to calculate the actual power measured at the meter.
The "demo" units commonly found in Home Depot have an "optimized" unit. A
unit from the shelf will not yeild the same savings.
Expect a payback on a unit running 24 hours a day to be 18months to 5
years not 6 to 14 months!
Rules of thumb for any real savings:
Must have full rated voltage as stated on the data plate.
Must have stable power factor or the Power Planner will disengage.
Must be running at less than 60% of the rated load of the motor.
CAN work on more than one motor at a time but they must be under the same load.
Watch out for the ground lug/bolts on the boxes. The powder coat does NOT
conduct! Mounting the compensating capacitors to the ground lug/bolt
isn't a great idea to begin with and if the lug isn't really grounded
could make for a shocking experience! Using the ground as a current
return is probably against most electrical codes as well.
This guy is slick! If he pauses and squints a little, it's time to leave.
Bottom line: they work but not like they say they do at EnergySmart.
www.energysmart.com
The claims are not arrived at in a valid way. The power measurements must
ALLWAYS be taken BEFORE the Power Planner and not AFTER. Power factor
must be used to calculate the actual power measured at the meter.
The "demo" units commonly found in Home Depot have an "optimized" unit. A
unit from the shelf will not yeild the same savings.
Expect a payback on a unit running 24 hours a day to be 18months to 5
years not 6 to 14 months!
Rules of thumb for any real savings:
Must have full rated voltage as stated on the data plate.
Must have stable power factor or the Power Planner will disengage.
Must be running at less than 60% of the rated load of the motor.
CAN work on more than one motor at a time but they must be under the same load.
Watch out for the ground lug/bolts on the boxes. The powder coat does NOT
conduct! Mounting the compensating capacitors to the ground lug/bolt
isn't a great idea to begin with and if the lug isn't really grounded
could make for a shocking experience! Using the ground as a current
return is probably against most electrical codes as well.
This guy is slick! If he pauses and squints a little, it's time to leave.
Bottom line: they work but not like they say they do at EnergySmart.