30kW energy saver plug teardown and schematic.
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2016
- Another of these quack power saving devices that claim to reduce your electricity bill. This one also does at least allude to being a transient suppressor of sorts. The case is actually very nice, although the UK style plug pins are fractionally shorter than they should be.
If you enjoy the channel you can help support it with a dollar for coffee, cookies and quack devices for taking apart at / bigclive - Věda a technologie
One of the big reasons I like your channel so much is your positivity. Even I this case where it's a burn quack device that's not exactly terribly well built and doesn't even have plugs that are up to spec, you still manage to find positive aspects to it. This makes your videos incredibly enjoyable. Thank you very much for being a big part of my evening entertainment. Plus, I've learned so much about electronics from you in the process.
This reminds me of a cartoon published in Popular Electronics magazine back in the late 1960s or early 1970s. A man was looking at a massive speaker enclosure with a sticker that said "WARNING: To avoid danger of shock, do not open". In the next panel he had removed the back to discover a cheap, tiny speaker all by itself in the enclosure, with another sticker saying "We warned you you'd be shocked"!
That's what I think of when I see such devices.
I love these electronic quackery breakdowns, as much as your cooking with Clive posts.
Your reaction to the capacitance meter's value literally made me smile. It must feel great to get those things right. I'm also assuming it doesn't happen frequently enough.
Correcting power factor does save a small amount of energy, particularly if the load is at the end of a long wiring run. A well pump is a good example. Unfortunately, for the best performance the capacitor should be located at the motor, which would be underwater in a submersible pump.
I've often wondered why domestic services are not penalized for poor power factors(less than 0.9), since they are wasteful, and easy to correct. The additional current caused by bad power factor, called reactive power, goes back through the step down transformer, until it is corrected somewhere. Presumably the utility has capacitors at substations that do the correction.
Thank you very much Clive. You've made electrical engineering/physics fun. I didn't enjoy it in school as our teacher wasn't the best.
It saves power by preventing you from plugging a space heater into the plug instead ;-)
can u plz tel me how could I use it
you don't. it's snake oil.
I remember something about industrial power consumers (IE: companies with big inductive loads on site) actually paying for reactive current, and installing big banks of capacitors to save on their electricity bill that way.
why do i love this channel?
well besides listening to you Clive...the accent is great.
Just love watching this stuff.
you're cute when you get excited. I don't think I've ever wanted to hug a burly Scotsman more :)
+Anthony Smith ur
Thank you for showing us this video I wait all the temp that a person who shows us that there has inside
The principle is possibly valid, even if the reality is less so
I live in the north of England - mill country ... we also had electric trams. It was common practice for "the bin men" to visit the electric mill premises to "tune" the ht 3 phase mains supplies (other power sources were available). A loom or spinning machine, is a huge inductive load, as is a trolly bus ... some of the kit was still DC with ghostly violet glowing rectifiers. The "bin men" would carry in massive bin size capacitors and "tune" the supply so that the induction was almost 0 and the consumption meters used were hardly bigger than domestic models because there was no apparent load. They'd then slap a multiplier label on the front indicating that the 10 Kw metered was actually 1000000000 GW ... (ok a slight exaggeration) - in that way the measuring rooms were kept quite compact and back EMF arc-ing in the mill or out in the road was reduced making life safer.
That kit was already on the way out when I was an apprentice in the 70s and I never used the kit - but it was still a part of my first year exams at tec. Now most of the mills have been demolished. Some of the steam power has been saved and is exhibited ... but either the scrappers took the electric kit ... or it went east.
In your formula you can swap the C and the X sub C. Capacitance = 1/2 pi f (capacitive reactance). Same formula just solving for the capacitance.
+Robert Gibbons Can the C's in either end of the equasion be struck off ?
+Maico No. Two different things. The C is capacitance in farads, while the X sub C is capacitive reactance in ohms.
OK clear now :)
Was thinking the same thing, ,just transpose to solve for C.
Worth buying just for the case and components !!
Australia is converting over to IEC38 too. So we have 230V nominal voltage. However, I work on systems all over the country. some of my sites are running at 265-270v AC. The high sites will have to come down a little in the future...
+tcpnetworks Same in Italy. My house is supplied with an old transformer, usually the voltage is around 221V (old standard being 220) but since it is a small 35kW transformer that feeds 7 homes (each with 6kW), when the neighborhood starts the AC or waterpumps the voltage goes down to 200V, sometimes even below... poor thing, it's from 1948 :-(
+simontay1984 That transformer makes some nasty noises sometimes.. depending on the load. But it still lives! Each house cannot draw more than 6kW (meter will trip) but at full load it's more than 35kW. probably it was fine until the deregulation/privatisation, then private companies started pushing to customers to upgrade their electric power to 6kW even when the transformer can't supply enough (once we had 4.5kW or even 3kW)
Great footage ....... nice case ......... looks like quite a good moulding .
Will it atleast 'stabilize the voltage' in case of voltage surges?
P.S. I'm not from 'Electrical Engg' backround. so kindly do answer, even if the question might seem basic.
I bet Mr. Clive has about 10 eBay Buyer-Protection Claims open: "Item defective or not working: Doesn't save energy magically, please refund me my money"
I have one that plug in to the wall and has outlet you plug into. Its directions said only use the Inductive load ( motors) NOT resistive load. I measured mine -- it truncated the sin wave thus reducing power. So mine works. We have a Power wheel here on our house --- outside power meter. Resister is for current limiter. If the unit consumed power you could not say it works. I saw a viewer that said they have switching power system that would not show up as saving. But when he put it to test it did make his power meter ( bench model) run slower so it worked. Not going to save alot but adds up. Like I said my is one made in USA. MIne -- Plug in and you plug into it. Would be for things that run non stop.
Wow! Anything that "truncates the sinewave" should catch fire if my understanding of electronics is correct!
A "Gun Camera"?! Man, Cameron's surveillance program got violent!! 😨
Thanks for another great video!
Do these save money on using space heaters during the winter
Where do you get your pen like screw driver from?
Do you think voltex needed to plugin in every plugin areas or just one needed to put where is better ?
None at all since they are fake.
I feel he's let us down, folks, a real thorough investigation would have involved taking a weight measurement of the prong and placing it in a 100ml beaker with 20cc water and reading the displacement then "doing the maths" and comparing the specific gravity to Cu and AL to make sure that prong is brass and not Aluminium.
Yea, especially since it's NOT even connected electrically and has no function what so ever to a piece of junk that actually uses more electricity to light the LED ! ,,,RIPOFF !
Not bad value. The cap could be used in a speaker crossover or something actually useful like that!
Could this be used to smooth a modified sinewave?
Brass is 'an alloy that's brassy-coloured' :)
+Rob Fenwitch - A bit like a stick is sticky!
It's true, you won't be able to buy a capacitor that size by itself. however, how far would you trust it after its been shaved?
Been wondering, as I understand it, these PF savings devices are only really useful in industrial applications where there are motors with higher loads involved. In the average consumer home, these devices have no effect, other than maybe some filtering etc...
But I was wondering what effect it would have when added to an electricity loop that has appliances like washing machines and fridges on it? These appliances tend to have fairly decent motors in them, so would PF correction actually have an effect here or not?
+Sidhion Sindarin It might take care of some reactive current from the motors and prevent it from going through the meter to the power plant, but unless you're actually billed for VA and not W (unlikely for household consumers) it'd make no difference on your bill.
Clive I see that you did this back in May 2016. I wanted to ask about your capacitance meter.
I don't see that brand when searching on Ebay and I wanted to add a good one to my tools.
Do you have one that your would recommend or have you done a video on on tools?
If you have not done a tool video would you think about doing one some day? Please.
Thanks
Sean
This power meter available on Daraz
Are there any countries that bill domestically in VA rather than watts? I'm just wondering if there is actually a market for these somewhere.
Careful, it might cost you more!
What's the voltage rating on that capacitor?
5:38 The highest I've ever heard clives voice go xD
could you convert one of these into a plugin surge protector?
how about doing one of those electronic bug repelling plug in devices?
The best thing about standards is the many variations they have! ;)
This would make a great case for a mains powered Arduino nano project.
+Mr Mase Or a PLC sheevaplug network sniffer.
I use one, on my first test with with just fridge/freezer I am saving 3%.Will do more tests.
More info on testing methodology, please!
In fact, start your own yt channel!
I am trying to find a power meter that uses a lead so I can use it on the bench rather than the plug in type meter. What make is yours Clive? Thanks in advance.
You could probably just plug the other kind into an extension cable.
it seems he uses a meter plugged into an extension cable
Thanks for your answers
Where do they get the 30kW rating from? If you did have a massive inductive load do you think it could correct much power factor?
+codebeard I did some quick maths and 3.2uf would not be enough to correct the power factor on much of an inductive load. However if you completely bodge the maths and assume that there is power factor correction in most equipment and that some of it is resistive loads anyway that don't need correction then the total load that this could "correct" would be 30kw.
depends on its inductance and resistive load
I'd say the LEDs are in parallel so they don't need to install links when not all LEDs are fitted.
Good point. It's b. s. anyway, so who cares how bright or otherwise they are!
Are these of any use when dealing with Inverters or Generators (or other off-grid AC source)?
As I understand it, you should connect them near to the equipment being powered that has a poor power factor, match the reactive power produced by them with the one consumed by the (inductive) equipment (things like fridge, air conditioning, microwave) but it should help if for instance you have a 500W inverter and a 550W drill or no?
Thx :D
+MrOpenGL Not for intermittent loads. When they're off, and your magic PF corrector is still plugged in, your power line is then too capacitive.
Each device should be individually compensated to PF of 1, or close enough. Light loads are not going to matter, but when you throw a water pump or refrigerator on it, it could start off inductive or capacitive (cap start) for a second, then turn inductive while it runs. So you need to measure your load with one of those meters (like Kill-A Watt)and see what kind of capacitor to compensate it with. Or buy gadgets with near-unity PF. Or, derate your generator output with inductive loads.
James Van Damme Basically apart from measuring it is more practical to calculate the capacitance required and buy an off the shelf capacitor (to connect after the motor relay) rather than one of these mystery box. Well I just wanted to find an use for them (I haven't bought one yet though!) :-(
factories using huge amounts of inductive load such as motors or fluorescent lights of course have cabinets full of capacitors across the mains...PFC Correction. Maybe this little plug will save energy off the motor in your fridge
Needs further testing, by plugging it into a split socket that is finally plugged into your powermeter (hoping it is not capable to measure effective power) with a reactive power consumer like a TV or washing mashine (mine drain around 6-15W of inductive reactive power while off).
How tf does a modern TV draw any reactive current when switched off? There would be a small SMPS drawing a milliamp at most powering the remote receiver to be able to switch it on with the remote control. Hardly a highly inductive load!
Clive enjoy your videos and humor. When you measure power factor, you never say if it's leading or lagging. Wouldn't all these capacitor droppers and this capacitor cause leading power factor? And if you didn't have inductive loads, these capacitors might raise the system voltage if a leading power factor results. Worse case, these capacitors might combine with the system inductance and cause voltage ringing if the resultant L-C system is resonant on some of those switchmode frequency or dimmer inputs that are chopping up the sinewave.
You're not wrong, but the level of coincidence required for any issue to arise is verging on the astronomical, imho!
If they made all the voltages the same it would mean changing a lot of substations. People would not be happy haveing the power out at the time. Its new builds like mine that are at the EU compliant 230V. Everyone else is the 240V - 250V they have always been.
I come for the math and stay for the quackery
MATHS
+William Kane listen man, I come from THE ONLY COUNTRY with truly free people *as long you're an upper middle class white male born between 1944 and 1970* and in MY GLORIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL NATION, WE THE GOD KINGS/POLICE OF THE WORLD pronounce that shit Math, as in Mathematics
... "as in Mathematic", surely?
Todd M P
Seems you have to watch your diction too...
It will only be positive for the energy supplier. Large factories are required these type (but much more serious) of systems. More information can be found by googling for "Cos φ compensation".
They're able to sell these for £2.73 because they've got hundreds of them plugged in cancelling out their overheads.
Hahaha!
Quackfest, the music festival for ducks.
+Mandrake Fernflower No, that's Utter Fucking Harmful Bullshit Fest.
+Mandrake Fernflower If by 'medicine provider' you mean 'powdered water pill provider'
+SilentS
I hope you don't mean that homeopathy is _directly_ harmful. Because, you know, placebos won't hurt you, themselves.
What makes homeopathy harmful is that people think it's anything other than a placebo, and that quacks peddle it and spread their misinformation about it.
I'm sure you knew all this, but you didn't mention it specifically, so I had to make sure.
+theuncalledfor derp
One thing I've never understood about these obviously quack/fraud devices: how do they get away with it? I live in the 'States, and if I built or sold these here, I'd _EXPECT_ to get federal agents, insurance investigators, and/or angry engineers busting down my door, if not beating my face.
China is a magical place.
Because the brick makes it work. The rest is there for show and has nothing to do with how it works. Customers don't complain because the property of the brick, made almost certainly of zirconia ceramic is to smooth out electrical interference which then results in lower electric bills.
A. They don't necessarily go bang and start fires (but could, if cheap and nasty caps are used, although in this case it's fused, so probably wouldn't)
B. They could, in some situations actually save you a few cents a year.
C. Who ya gunna sue?
@@kelleyeidem667 whaaat?
There is actually one legitimate use for these in homes. In my case I have a window air conditioner and a microwave in my room. In the case they are both on simultaneously for an extended period ~1 to 2 minutes, the 15 amp breaker will trip. Correcting the power factor just a small amount with small capacitors like this keeps the total current under 15 amps and keeps me from having to worry about both loads being on simultaneously. I Could of course change the breaker and wiring but it's far cheaper and easier to solve the problem with a little pfc.
+Jacob Dykstra Tell us if that actually works for you.
+Jacob Dykstra Yeah, modifying the PF for inductive loads is all these things will do. EEVBlog did a good video on them, testing them with bench equipment to show the effect. Of course, any modern power meter will not benefit from these.
Darthane
That's what I thought. EEVlog is extremely good but I just have trouble listening to his voice and he either drinks too much coffee or gets too excited too quick. He should tune his mic down an octave and he'd much easier to listen to. Not that I feel its my duty to say it to his face.
Once an awhile he fails to lack researching the premise behind a video he does but his circuitwork and math are top notch.
urbex2007 Its a simlple 5000 btu window AC no one in their right mind would invest thousands to add new wiring in an exising house just to power a window AC. I am aware the circuit breaker is trying to protect me that's why I added power factor correction it is not at all neglecting safety. You clearly do not have the knowledge to understand my comment or did not properly read it. Please re-read it and enlighten me as to how I am neglecting safety, otherwise go study up on your physics and understand power factor correction. This method is used by engineers all over the world for this exact problem. Not trying to be rude but your comment is inaccurate.
Nice Video! Forgive me for chiming in, I would appreciate your opinion. Have you ever tried - Chiveard Wealth Storage Framework (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now)? It is a smashing exclusive product for slashing your energy bills minus the normal expense. Ive heard some pretty good things about it and my mate finally got excellent success with it.
5:39 is my new text message ringtone.
+David S. I'm sure Clive's getting a bit more camp and jolly every video.
best part! I love this guy! so much knowledge and interesting at the same time!
+David S. Loved that too! Came down to the comments immediately after it to find a comment about it! Cheers!
There are filters circuites to save reactive energy so! What I don't know which ones to employer in residences
Love the FCC logo :)
Clive, this type of writing on a plane can get you brought to the stewardess
i don't get it, how is this supposed to save energy or (more down to earth statement) filter transients when there is only an input, shouldn't it have some sort of output plug?
That's a very futuristic paper weight...
your videos are fun :)
Clive's Complete Quackfest
maths: xc=1/(2.pi.f.C) divide both sides by xc to get 1=1/(2.pi.f.C.xc) then multiply both sides by C to get C=1/(2.pi.f.xc) not that hard? works because for any x, if a=b then a.x=b.x and a/x=b/x (if x is not null). Conclusion C~1/(314.xc) for 50Hz.
you said it might filter transients... are you talking about how when the lights dim when you turn on an appliance with a high power draw?
+I don't want a channel I'm just commenting No. That's voltage drop. It could shunt very sharp electrical spikes.
+bigclivedotcom is that the sound spike i get on my speaker when i start the electric window shutter?
+bigclivedotcom I've got a belkin surgemaster 10 socket extension that absorbs spikes, also buffers the current so dips in voltage don't shut the pc ot tv down, doesn't save any electricity, just thousands of pounds on new equipment if something goes wrong with the supply.
+gazyounglive belkin surgemaster do not buffers the current it only provide surge protection (and even that it do not do good). If you want device which as you call buffers the current then only option is online UPS (not standby, line Interactive, standby on-line hybrid
or standby-ferro only double conversion on-line or delta conversion on-line). Dips in voltage do not shut down PC or TV (for any decent quality) and PC and TV power supplies are made to be tolerant to at least one full cycle of power loss (that mean they voltage can drop to 0 volts for at least 1/50 seconds and equpmant will not react to it).
belkin surgemaster is only good to get electric shock from it (but same problem have and similar product from APC) due wrongly chosen bleed resistors on capacitors
+I don't want a channel I'm just commenting He means it will keep the homeless from hiding under your home in the crawl spaces smoking crack.
Hahaha i laughed when you said "Ahorrador de energia inteligente". Im from argentina btw. It's sad that people do believe this crap of "energy savers". Anyway, nice video!
I've been seeing clips out of this video in some of the Facebook ads for that exact product.
There is a certain irony to that. The Chinese sellers seem to help themselves to everyone's video material.
Could the 5.1K resistor be a discharge resistor for the unpopulated smoothing cap? Maybe they took the cap out to save money but forgot to remove the resistor.
+David Anderson The voltage across the cap would have been really low. But it did cross my mind that it might have been to limit the voltage across the capacitor if the LED went open circuit.
I'm a bit more puzzled with the 100R on series with the LED.
+Susana Godinho Dampens the variations in current compared to running the LED directly as the voltage varies, though you need to run the supply at 1V higher if you're running the LED at 10mA.
The higher the rellative margin (and voltage dropped over the resistor, the less noticeable difference in LED intensity due to varying voltage.
+Michael Tempsch
But the 100nF capacitor already behaves as a 32K resistor in series with the mains. Im a bit sceptical what 100R would do.
+Susana Godinho The 100R resistor will limit the maximum current through the LED when power is first applied at a point other than the zero crossing point of the mains waveform, as otherwise the capacitor would just let through a high pulse of current.
If anyone cares: in NC USA, scotchman convenience stores sell those screw drivers in many colors for 6.99 with 10 bits, same look. Seems to be decent quality. Lowe's Home Improvement stores have them too in their Kobalt brand tool line. You can order one at Lowes.com...
🖊🖊🖊🔩🔩🔩🛠🛠🛠⚒🔨🔧🔧
I truly expected it to be totally empty inside...
This quacker uses capacitive impedance to cancel out inductive impedance of electric motor device load which any electric engineer should know.
The so-called quack device almost certainly relies on zirconia ceramic to lower electric bills. The lighting system has zero to do with anything other than to convince the user it is "on." I use z-ceramic and it does lower the monthly bill. It's taped onto the circuit breaker door and on top of the outside a/c unit in the middle near where the motor is.
PLEASE make an LED spikeball from the case. Cram so many LEDs into the case that the 3.2uf cap is the dropper capacitor :D
yesh!!!!!
If my calculations are correct-thanks for teaching me Xc, Clive!-that'll be about 19.5 V per series string of LEDs. So, ~6-10 LEDs in series, depending on their Vf, times however many strings he can put in parallel.
What's a transient suppressor big Clive and I love the accent 👍
notice the qc sticker? it passed the quack consumer product testing
+Random_rapper20 The duck said AFLAC as it passed by on the conveyor belt....
+BikingMNViking lol
+Anthony Smith ?
"European harmonisation", also known as "Someone making work where none was needed because nothing changed, but they got paid for it anyway"... :P
It does make me wonder who actually buys those things without actually researching them first, they appear on youtube so often and debunked as utter crap, so, there's no excuse for not knowing! :\
And speaking of short pis, about 21 years ago I was in france (I only know it's 21 years cos I'm 31 in a couple months!), I went to a "Monsieur Bricolage" store there and they sold UK plugs, but looking at them I noticed straight away they had much shorter pins than proper UK ones, so even back then they were making our plugs non-compliant... :P
is that a fancy pbswiss screwdriver?
At least you get a 3.2uF mains rated capacitor out of it.
I don't get it. HOW DOES IT SAVE POWER? What is it suppose to do? Looks like just a box with a LED.
is that a quid land calculator .
In Denmark all Industrial installations is required by law to have a CosPhi between 0.9 and 9.9 (1 ideal)
Soon also all household installations the same, this is sorted by Authorized Electricians who can "phase compensate" basically adding a capacitor.
If your company or in the future your household, does not meet the requirements you will be fined and the local power company will then correct the installation
on your behalf, and on your bill.
So Phase correcting is something that has become more and more important and less optional atleast here, also i live in the SW denmark, where we have some of
the most modern powergrid in Europe, they can measure everything remotely and adjust accordingly, meaning they are infact actively measuring not only consumption
but also CosinePhi, because it allows them to put more power through smaller cables.
;) However, It's IMPORTANT for people to know, these "POWER SAVERS" DOES NOT FIX cosPhi because they have a capacitor in them,
the capacitor has to be configured for each house installation, depending on load etc, "smart capacitors"
+Eqvaliser also don't forget about the harmonics.
you also gotta take harmonics into account when fixing cosphi.
I think the big cap may be to add weight, to give the feeling of more technology inside.
No, its actually there for its actual capacitance to correct power factor. If they wanted to add weight theyd do tha same thing the chinese fake harddrive (tiny usb memory stick inside a harddrive case) sellers do, hot glue some scrap nuts and bolts inside.
Just got an advert for one of these on Facebook from an outfit called 88mail.
3.2uf isn't really going to do bugger all to the power factor since a tiny 18w fluorescent fittings normally has a 6 uf PFC cap in it.
+simontay1984 Well I've just grabbed a 10uf cap out of my lighting spares box and it's a cylinder that only measures 30 x 70mm...
It sounded like brass when it hit the table.
Remove the bleed resistor, shock people with the pins
lmao
+I don't want a channel I'm just commenting I love your name
+Mike Rich
I get that a lot along with requests for videos. I haven't decided on an arbitrary number yet, But if I get enough subscribers I'm going to start making videos.
That case looks like it's meant for a computer mouse & the openings for the buttons & optical device haven't been cut out.
+milksheihk Lets make it a PC mouse. We can do it. Just some basic push buttons.
A mains powered LED festooned mouse with exiting large capacitors connected to the buttons.
Exactly.
Why do I feel like I'm watching these videos to feel smarter than I really am?
+Jonathan Green I figure that if I watch enough of these, somehow a small fraction of Clive's vast knowledge and understanding will soak into my brain. Same goes of AvE. So much there that is totally over my head, but I love this stuff.
Why the Spanish instructions but a UK plug? That seems most odd. Gibraltar maybe?
Thank you!
I was able to get my wife to cancel her order.
Hopefully the order was refunded OK.
Hoorai more quackers
Isn't it lovely?
It looks like a computer mouse.
That calculator though. xD
Does it really lower your electricity bills?
That black brick is most likely zirconia ceramic. It will indeed smooth out the interference and lower the electric bill. The rest of the gizmo is just a marketing scam to give it higher perceived value. I use z-c and my usage was down 20% over the same month last year. I know a woman who also does this and saved $130 for her home and chicken coop combined. She told me it was the lowest bill she had ever had.
Scan or photograph the instructions and post a link and I will translate them.
Please show The schematic of a true energy saver device to us. Many thanks endeed
"Oh and it has passed it's quality assurance test" :D
+Martin J I'll buy one for every socket in my house. I'm bound to save energy then!
Does anyone know the name of his power meter? I can't find it.
I got it from a UK store called Maplin a long time ago, but haven't seen this exact model there since.
+bigclivedotcom I love Maplin! thanks for replying
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Kill-a-Watt meter performs similar (or identical) functions.
that formula again.....
does anyone know why π has anything to do with capacitive reactance? esp when theres no physical dimension in the formula, no length of any diameter or radius of any circle or sphere
+0yeme0 AC volts are sine waves.
+0yeme0 pi actually has nothing to do with it, it is tau which is the relation of the rate of change of the curve while pi is based on area. pi is half of tau, which is why 2pi is used.
ahhhhhhhh ok I can see that ty. now Im wondering about square and saw waves and things
+0yeme0 Those waves can be considered built up of a number of sinus waves of different frequencies and amplitudes, so a bit messy dependent on how precise you want to be. There are probably formulas for the basic wave forms (where the sum of frequencies and amplitude factors have been taken to infinity (or as far as needed for real world application) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_reactance has a bit for the square wave.
Couldn't this also help correct your power factor from high inductive loads in your house from items such as air conditioners and washing machines?
+Ryan Toomey
my understanding is that residential is metered in a way that is oblivious to power factor
You have to consider also that not all the devices coming out of china are for first world countries. While we may well be using the latest tec meters and kit. In Africa india, china etc available infrastructure and tec is a mix of anything from 1900 through 1950s/60s to meet the modern world. Where there is metering, it's often the old "clockwork".
I counted 53 countries that use the British BS 1363 plug (from Wikipedia's list). I'm actually surprised it's so popular. It is quite well designed, though.
I'm actually surprised anyone uses a BS plug /s
it's those short pins that save you power.... lol
So, just by plugging it in, it uses about £30 of power per year. :)
At least it's a nice enclosure that you could use to put your own electrical gubbins inside :-/
EDIT: Ha, that was a good guess. :D
Brass alloy, what madness is this :)