On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 12:51:34 -0500, George Georgalis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 16, 2005 at 04:06:58PM -0800, Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade wrote:
> >On Wednesday 16 February 2005 12:46 pm, Wayne Jr wrote:
> >>
> >> Here is the homepage of the company that makes it.
> >> http://www.energysmart.com/
> >
> >Ah, I thought that was what you were talking about. I've got three, with
> >one each on my refridgerator and chest freezer. We had the third one
> >driving a Patton fan that we haven't used for quite a while.
> >
> >They only work for AC motors, though, they'll likely fry any purely
> >electronic device. The theory is that they vary the current to the device
> >such that it draws only as much current as needed to run.
>
> Are you sure about that? They advertise a powerstrip for computer use.
The powerstrip is just a powerstrip. Nothing there for "power reduction".
But it reminds me of "diet bread", fewer calories per slice. It has a
very short cord, with a "can't tangle" claim. Just like the diet
bread has very thin slices so as to support the fewer calories claim.
> >Anecdotally, it made the fridge and chest freezer much quieter. I can't
> >even tell when the freezer is running anymore.
>
> The web site doesn't really say what they do...
>
> I think I remember some marketing for similar devices years ago, which
> basically change AC to pulsed DC, making motors run better and light
> bulbs last longer (specially formed diodes are inserted into light bulb
> socket to complete the circuit).
Makes the light bulb last longer, also reduces the amount of light output.
Cheaper to just buy a dim bulb, if that's what you want.
> Maybe they add resistance until it causes the voltage to drop on the
> equipment side _and_ change AC to pulsed DC? Don't know what either of
> these would do to electronics.
George, I tell you (again) you need to learn some fundamentals of
electrical engineering before speculating like this. Adding
resistance is a 100% efficient way of turning electrical power into
heat.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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