Nega Watt Box
by Summer Thompson
(Medford, OR, USA)
Which company produces Nega Watt Boxes and how do I buy one? Are they a good investment for a homeowner eager to save energy?
Answer from Green Energy Efficient Homes
After a bit more research into what these boxes are (see my Negawatt box article) I don't feel I should be giving away the names of companies selling these devices, as there is very little likelihood they will provide any benefit to homeowners and I don't like to recommend products I don't believe in.
These nega watt boxes are basically capacitors, which eliminate a discrepancy between how much electricity inductive motors use, and how much you get charged for on your power meter. They do not actually save any energy - just make your bill go down a little. How much your bill goes down is a matter of debate. The people selling these boxes like to claim a 10% or greater savings but if you read carefully you'll find there are no guarantees, and the people who actually did realize savings are typically not homeowners. Why is that? Because inductive loads make up a relatively small percentage of household electricity use, and in any case many inductive motors for home use already have built-in capacitors (for instance, most ENERGY STAR rated refrigerators will have a capacitor in the compressor motor). While a factory with lots of huge motors will save money by using capacitors to correct for power factor, the average house might only save a few pennies or dollars a month, not enough to justify the expense. Also, the amount of savings are within the realm of noise for a typical energy bill, so you are likely to confuse accidental savings due to normal fluctuation in your energy use with real savings resulting from the device.
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