"Ben, the German highway system concept actually started BEFORE Nazi Germany during the…"
Power Factor Correction Devices
So let me throw this out - I had a customer today ask me about Power Factor Correction Devices. The context that lead up to our discussion says it all; a salesman knocked on his door pitching radiant barriers (applied directly over his attic insulation), solar-powered attic ventilators, and power factor correction devices. I like pointing customers to credible sources regarding new products, such as ORNL or the Florida Solar Energy Center for radiant barriers, for example. I don't mind telling my opinion on such "sounds too good to be true" products as power factor correction devices, but does anyone know of any DOE-type articles to pass along? Many thanks!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bud Poll on -
Here's some reading for you. I always have difficulty trusting anything I find on the internet, so these look like dot gov sites, but I'll let you decide on their authenticity. I have only skimmed their information as I hate spending time on these misplaced product claims.
http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=903669
http://www.nist.gov/pml/quantum/power_121509.cfm
Bud
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Hyde on -
Working full time in energy efficiency consulting I see a lot of "to good to be true" products in ads, home shows, and regretably, on job sites. In the real world there is no requirement for truth in advertizing. Advertizing sells, sales make the world go round.
Since "Connecting home energy proffesionals" appears in the heading of this site, I have to assume most visitors have some indepth knowledge of the products they may encounter in projects they work on. If you encounter a new (to you) product start with a Google search. Read the products site, but more importantly read the sites related to the product - in this product search those that include "SCAM". Several are:
www.srpnet.com/energy/powerwise/kvar.aspx
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091217102304.htm
www.srpnet.com/energy/powerwise/kvar.aspx
www.open4energy.com/forum/home/scam/power_factor_correction
You can always go direct to DOE site or to EnergyStar.gov but one of my favorites is the Energy Vanguard blog site. They maintain an index of past posting on all things related to energy efficiency. Their posts about the different scams always have links out to refrences. Some recent posts included insulating paint, Oh, shinny stuff (radient barriers), power factor correction and R-6 bubble wrap insulation.
www.energyvanguard.com/blog-building-science-HERS-BPI
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