Although not very pretty to look at, this brass tacks piece of equipment saves energy, money, and waste. Typically, the electronics in your home have unused energy that can be observed as heat and/or noise components.
[I]nductive loads such as electric motors kick back unusable energy into the power system. This unusable energy materializes as heat build-up in appliances, noise on transistor radios and cordless phones, etc. The KVAR Energy Optimizer contains a capacitor which absorbs this unusable energy and later releases it as usable electricity that can be used by electrical appliances, thereby reducing your energy demand…
For around 400$ the KVAR Energy Optimizer (read up on var here for further insight into the science behind this technology) is reported to save anywhere from 6-50% of your energy use per 200Amp circuit in your home. The installation is not a DIY job and should be performed by a professional but the savings you reap are worth the investment. Capable of weathering the outdoors, the KVAR can be attached to the side of your home and can move when you do. So this could be an ideal option for those of you interested in saving some money and reducing your energy demands.







Follow Doug Gunzelmann on Twitter: 
















phase – shifting has been done for years at large factories with huge inductive loads, and they usually involve capacitors, and they work well!. A home-sized application of the same principles should be just as effective, but remember, it only compensates for inductive loads, like motors and transformer type applications, so don’t expect miracles! Love it, it is an application whose time has come!
Thank you for the blog. It was extremely interesting to read it. I like anything connected to that topic. I hope to read more soon.
It is totally fraudulent to claim that this item saves energy, and it will only save money when used in an industrial setting.
Look closely at the image and you will see the words “Power Factor” printed on the unit. It corrects for what is known as “Imaginary Power”, which is the current that flows into and out of an induction motor but is not used to drive the load. Due to the timeing of this current, it draws power from the utility supply and then gives it back, at double the supply frequency, or at 120 Hertz, but this current is totally ignored by a residential power meter, which only responds to true power. If this unit is installed, the “Imaginary Power” current circulates between the motor and the power factor capacitor.
Industrial plants are penalized monetarily by the power company for a low power factor, as it increases the size of the conductors that they have to run to the plant, but they ignore it in residences, which do not have relatively large motors.
In short, this unit will not save you money unless the power company is penalizing you for a low power factor, which is unheard of in a residential setting.