Commercial – Industrial – Residential
Frequently Asked Questions
Reducing electrical waste and energy costs!
Energy efficiency is a commitment worth
making, especially with today’s global climate change. Become more earth friendly, while
reaping the financial savings from using the KVAR EC
What
is a KVAR Energy Controller? KVAR EC is an
electromagnetic control system that reduces the amount of non-productive
current in your existing electrical system. It helps to significantly reduce electrical costs and
pollution from energy generated by the utility companies.
KVAR
EC will reduce demand at the meter by reducing lost and wasted power, plus it
will reduce maintenance costs and increase equipment life by reducing heat
around the motor and wiring caused by reactive current.
Why
is energy efficiency so important?
Up
to 25% of the billable electricity consumed in homes and businesses is
non-productive and unusable.
Most
AC motors operate at 80% efficiency or less under a full load…the efficiency
drops dramatically at lower loads.
This
non-productive energy wastes money and also shortens the life of inductive
equipment such as motors, HVAC equipment, pumps and major appliances.
“Over
$16 billion dollars of electricity is unusable energy, but billable in the
U.S.”
Source: U.S.
Department of Energy
“The
adequacy of North America’s electricity system will decline unless changes are
made soon…demand for electricity is expected to increase over the next ten
years by 19 percent in the U.S. but confirmed power capacity will increase by
only 6 percent.”
Source: North
American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)
How
does KVAR help our energy shortages?
KVAR
EC fine tunes electrical systems to reduce non-productive and wasted
electricity giving you cost-effective energy!
Is
the KVAR Unit Legal? Absolutely, it has
fourteen patents nationally and internationally and has been UL (Underwriters
Laboratory) approval, CSA (Canadian Standard Approved) in addition to energy
and safety tests conducted by the following organizations, NASA, EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency), U.S. Department of Energy, and are RoHS
Complaint (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) UK.
The
manufacturer is KVAR Energy Savings, Inc. of Port Orange, Florida and distributing
to a worldwide distributor network.
The
authority of the power company ENDS at the sealed meter. Period! When the power company sends you all
this electricity much of the WASTED electricity is emitted and disposed of
throughout your home and all around you.
Within that wasted energy are EMF emissions you are constantly being
exposed to. Unless you have
something pulling/drawing that energy from the power source (AKA meter) that
energy sits there waiting for you to consume it. Even though you are not using ALL the energy they send you…
YOU are paying for what you use and what you waste. The KVAR unit takes that power being sent to you and pulls
it into the patented capacitors.
Then it sends that wasted energy back to the power company. There is no other product on the market
that offers a more COST EFFICIENT energy saving product than this one. The KVAR unit takes the active part of
energy and sends the excess right back through the transformer and back to the
electrical company that is sending it.
The legality of the product is the fourteen national and international
patents. Those patents are issued
with governmental approval and backed by U.S. Department of Energy.
The
power company’s would love to stop this product from being used. However the product is patented and
thereby protected.
Aside
from the approval and protection of these patents by the governments issuing
them, as well as, other accredited institutions backing the product with their
own tests and studies (i.e.: NASA, EPA, RoHC, CSA, etc.) the product maintains
an environmental approval rating of reducing the EMF emissions by up to
40%. With globalization of the
product use, it will reduce the carbon blueprints being emitted to eliminate
the need to build more power plants, and affect the reduction towards the
current contribution of global warming.
How
do KVAR Energy Controllers work? The KVAR Energy Controller optimizes the Power
Factor by reducing the amount of Reactive Power (kVAR) that the load draws from
the utility company. KVAR Energy Controllers store the Reactive Power (kVAR)
needed for the creation of the electromagnetic field (EMF) within the inductive
load. (Some examples of inductive motors are Air Conditioning units, Heat
Pumps, refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, pool pumps,
sprinkler systems, vacuum cleaners, furnace blower motors, fans and many other
items.) As the motor operates,
this reactive power is "pushed" and "pulled" to and from
the KVAR unit by the motor. Thus, through power factor optimization, the quantity
of reactive power required to be purchased from the utility company is greatly
reduced, perhaps even eliminated.
The
technology applied by the KVAR unit supplies that stored electricity back to
your inductive loads, thus causing you to decrease your demand from the
utility. If you decrease your
demand from the utility, your meter slows down, and you use less
electricity. The thought is,
you’ve already paid for that electricity, why pay for it and waste it when you
can pay for it, store it, and reuse it again. The whole process is called power factor optimization.
Real
Power
is measured in kilowatts (kW). It does the "work" for the
system--providing the motion, light, etc.
Reactive
Power
is measured in kilovolt-amperes-reactive (kVAR). It doesn't do useful
"work.” it simply sustains the electromagnetic field needed for motors.
Apparent
Power
is what the utility company charges you.
Real
Power
and Reactive Power together make up Apparent Power. Apparent Power is measured in
kilovolt-amperes (kVA).
Induction
loads -
anything with a motor, require kVAR to establish EMF (electromagnetic field)
around the motor induction windings. The EMF provides the torque necessary to
turn the motor shaft. Without kVAR (reactive power), the motor would not turn.
Only after you have established the EMF around the motor induction windings
will the motor shaft then turn. The power that is used to turn the shaft on a
motor which turns pump impellers or fan blades etc… is called the real power or
kW. By implementing the KVAR Energy Controller to individual loads you are
providing the necessary kVAR for that load and therefore the power you buy from
your utility company is mostly Real Power or kW as opposed to a combination of
both Real power and Reactive Power – so your Reactive Power is reduced
therefore your energy consumption is reduced!
Does the
KVAR Unit work in any home? Yes, as long as you have a circuit breaker panel with
breaker switches and not the old screw-in type fuses, the unit will work on a
single-phase electric application from homes.
Is the
KVAR unit tested and approved by independent labs? Yes, the KVAR unit is UL listed and tested in the U.S. and
Canada, and has also been tested by many other highly credentialed
organizations such as: NASA, EPA, and RoHS. Also the technology is recognized by the U.S. Department of
Energy after their endorsement of the product.
Will the
KVAR Unit have a negative affect any of my appliances and their normal
use? No, additionally your motors will
run about 10% cooler, which is good for a motor because heat is the enemy of a
motor. This reduction of heat can
increase the life expectancy of the motor by 85%.
How much
can I expect to save per month by using the KVAR Unit? That depends on many factors. The size of your home, the amount of inductive motor load,
and the amount you are paying per kilowatt-hour for electricity.etc. However, generally speaking users of
the product have seen reductions over 40%, but the average savings is somewhere
in the 15 to 20 percent range.
How long
will it take for the KVAR Unit to pay for itself? Generally about 6-12 months, but again, the same factors
above apply, some will see sooner than six months and some will take longer
than 12 months to recover the cost of the unit and installation.
Is the
KVAR Energy –Saver easy to install? Yes it is,
however we strongly recommend installation by an electrician. The unit comes with complete
installation instructions. It
typically installs in 20 to 30 minutes and cost $65 to install.
How long
will the unit last? It has a
predicted lifespan of around 30 years.
Why
haven’t I heard of this product until now? That’s
easy; two words “cost effectiveness’.
Up until recently, electric rates throughout America were cheap, costing
us 2 to 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Now, electric rates are 8 to 19 cents in most of America and in some
cases higher. New your City is 22
cents per KWH, and Hawaii is 33.5 cents per KWH. At the cheaper rates the KVAR
Energy Saver didn’t make sense, but at the current rates, it makes all the
sense in the world.
Does
KVAR offer Surge Protections for AMP or Voltage Power Surges? Yes, amperage power surges are stopped at the panel offering
protection for your home and its many motors.
Doo you
have a 3-Phase KVAR Unit for commercial and industrial applications? Yes.
What is
the KVAR Warranty? As long as you have it installed by an
electrician, the KVAR unit carries and unconditional 12 year warranty, even if
the unit is struck directly by lightning.
Is the
Unit Weather Proofed for Exterior Placement? Yes it
is air tight and water proofed.
Are
there any code violations for mounting the unit to the fuse box, panel or
placement in any other area of the home or directly to the incoming power
lines? First of all, the power company’s
authority STOPS at the meter.
Installation of your power unit should be done by a licensed Electrician
to warrant the product and to ensure proper installation and liabilities. The unit is licensed and holds over 14
U.S. Governmental patents and International Patents. It carries UL approval as well as other accredited
organization standards of approval both domestically and internationally.
How do
you achieve Savings? As the demand for power runs through
your home, there is nonproductive current (heat) that strains your home
appliances and wiring. This heat
is wasted energy that you are paying for.
The KVAR unit optimizes the power that comes into your home, allowing your
appliances and equipment motors to operate more efficiently. This reduces heat (wasted electricity),
which in turn lowers your electric bill, reduces the chance of fires, and
increases the life of your appliances and motorized equipment.
How is a
Transformer Used? To solve the problem of sending
electricity over long distances, George Westinghouse developed a device called
a transformer. The transformer
allowed electricity to be efficiently transmitted over long distances. This made it possible to supply
electricity to homes and businesses located far from the electric generating
plant.
Despite its
great importance in our daily lives, most of us rarely stop to think what life
would be like without electricity.
Yet like air and water, we tend to take electricity for granted. Every day, we use electricity to do
many functions for us-from lighting and heating/cooling our homes, to being the
power source for televisions and computers. Electricity is a controllable and convenient form of energy
used in the applications of heat, light and power.
What
about KAVR Energy Saver for Surge Protection? The KVAR Unit also protects the entire home against power surges. The unit has two thousand jolts of
surge suppression in each capacitor in the unit. We don’t claim to stop lightening, that alone is a one-in-a
million chance. The KVAR unit
basically stops all the waste the electric company wants to send you and sends
it back to the power company. The
KVAR unit is simply a waste eliminator to stop the power company from robbing
you.
Today the
United States electric power industry is organized to ensure that an adequate
supply of electricity is available to meet all demand requirements at any given
instant. But what the Electrical
Power Company’s are not able to do is help you save money nor would they want
to. They are in the business to
make money. Building more power
plants to provide power to meet supply and demand is not the solution. In addition to the increase of the
costs, we lose valuable resources such as land and the environment due to the
increase use of energy. Regulating
the energy and reducing these affects by implementing the KVAR system globally
will reduce the waste of energy, reduce harmful EMF emissions, and reduce the
carbon footprint that we all contribute to Global Warming by up to 25%.
The
most immediate savings you will see are lower electric bills. Other benefits that can serve commercial and industrial
applications are the penalty charges the power company imposes called
“surcharges” or “demand charges” to businesses that exceed their monthly access
allotment. By regulating and
conserving the amount of energy you use you need not worry about these
surcharges.
What
is Power Factor? It is the percentage of
electricity that’s delivered to your house and used effectively, compared to
what is wasted. For example, a 1.0
power factor means that all the electricity that’s being delivered to your
home. However, most homes in
America today have a .77 power factor or less. This means that 77% of the electricity that is coming through
your meter at your home or business is being used effectively; the other 23% is
being wasted by your inductive load. With a low power factor, the utility has to deliver
more electricity to do the same work.
However, the KVAR unit increases that power factor in most cases to .97
or .98, thus increasing the effective use of your electric and lowering your
usage.
Depending upon the rate
structure of your electric utility, you may be able to save a substantial
amount of money on your electric bill. Pay-back period for an equipment
purchase including installation cost may be six months up to three years.
Utility rate structures that account for reactive power consumption, by either
a KVA or var demand usage, or a power factor penalty are the ones that can
provide this pay-back. Other ancillary benefits to be gained by optimizing
power factor are: lower energy losses, better voltage regulation and released
system capacity. This page explains the fundamentals of power factor and how
KEC Units can benefit you.
All electric equipment requires "vars" - a term used by electric
power engineers to describe the reactive or magnetizing power required by the
inductive characteristics of electrical equipment. These inductive
characteristics are more pronounced in motors and transformers, and therefore,
can be quite significant in industrial facilities. The flow of vars, or
reactive power, through a watt-hour meter will not affect the meter reading,
but the flow of vars through the power system will result in energy losses on
both the utility and the industrial facility. Some utilities charge for these
vars in the form of a penalty, or KVA demand charge, to justify the cost for
lost energy and the additional conductor and transformer capacity required to
carry the vars. In addition to energy losses, var flow can also cause excessive
voltage drop, which may have to be optimized by either the application of KEC
Units, or other more expensive equipment, such as load-tap changing
transformers, synchronous motors, and synchronous condensers.
The power triangle shown in figure 1, is the simplest way to understand the
effects of reactive power. The figure illustrates the relationship of active
(real) and reactive (imaginary or magnetizing) power. The active power
(represented by the horizontal leg) is the actual power, or watts that produce
real work. This component is the energy transfer component, which represents
fuel burned at the power plant. The reactive power, or magnetizing power
(represented by the vertical leg of the upper or lower triangle), is the power
required to produce the magnetic fields to enable the real work to be done.
Without magnetizing power, transformers, conductors, motors, and even resistors
and capacitors would not be able to operate. Reactive power is normally
supplied by generators, capacitors and synchronous motors. The longest leg of
the triangle (on the upper or lower triangle), labeled total power, represents
the vector sum of the reactive power and real power components. Mathematically,
this is equal to:
Electric power engineers often call total power, kVA, MVA, apparent power, or
complex power. Some utilities measure this total power, (usually averaged over
a 15 minute load period) and charge a monthly fee or tariff for the highest
fifteen minute average load reading in the month. This tariff is usually added
to the energy charge or kilowatt-hour charge. This type of billing is often
called kva demand billing and can be quite costly to an industrial facility.
KEC Units can save your company money by decreasing your reactive power
component supplied by the utility to near zero vars.
The power triangle and the equation above show, that as the reactive power
component is decreased by adding KEC Units, the total power will also decrease.
This is shown by the decreased length of the dashed lines in the power triangle
as the reactive power component approaches zero. Therefore, adding KEC Units,
which will supply reactive power locally, can reduce your total power and
monthly kva demand charge.
The angle "phi" in the power triangle is called the power factor
angle and is mathematically equal to:
The ratio of the real power to the total power in the equation above (or the
cos of phi) is called power factor. As the angle gets larger (caused by
increasing reactive power) the power factor gets smaller. In fact, the power
factor can vary from 0 to 1, and can be either inductive (lagging) or
capacitive (leading). Capacitive loads are drawn down, and inductive loads are
drawn up on the power triangle. Most industrials normally operate on the upper
triangle (inductive or lagging triangle). As industrial ads capacitors, the
length of reactive (inductive) power leg is shortened by the number of
capacitive KEC that were added. If the number of capacitive KEC added exceeds
the industrials inductive KEC load, operation occurs on the lower triangle.
This is commonly referred to as over compensation.
Utilities charge for reactive power in a countless number of ways. Some
utilities charge for KEC demand, while others charge a strait fee for a power
factor less than their target. To fully understand the benefits of the KEC
UNIT, you must acquire your electric billing rate structure. This rate
structure will describe how costs for poor power factor are added to your
monthly bills.
You could put the KEC UNIT anywhere on the system as shown (between the
transformer and load and not only at Points A, B, and C) and achieve unity
power factor for the system. The utility company will perceive this power
system as having a unity power factor no matter where it is located on the
distribution line as long as it's sized correctly to deliver the proper amount
of KEC.
However, optimum efficiency and economics will be achieved if the KEC UNIT bank
is located as close to the load as possible.
The reason for this is because when you optimize power factor, you can reduce
the total line current to the load and therefore you reduce the total losses in
the line conductor and decrease the voltage drop in the line. This decrease in
voltage drop will only occur if you locate the KEC UNIT close to the load, as
explained below.
Assume the load is a motor. A motor uses KW to perform work. It uses KEC to
magnetize its coil windings. (We will refer to the magnetic requirements of the
motor's windings as the motor's "inductance". It is this inductance
that utilizes the KEC.)
The motor load draws a line current that has two components. The first
component is the amperage that supplies the KW to the load, so that the motor
can perform work such as lifting an object. The second part supplies the
amperage to provide the load with KEC which in the case of the motor is the
power necessary to energize the magnetic fields in the motor's windings.
Together the two amounts of current supply the total KVA to the load.
Normally the system generator or transformer supplies all this current. But
when a KEC UNIT is used to optimize the power factor, the KEC UNIT supplies the
KEC reactive current component to the load. The KEC UNIT is, in effect, a
reactive power generator. (Remember, the KEC UNIT stores energy. The KEC UNIT
stores reactive energy in its electric field when it charges up, and releases
it when it discharges.)
The generator (or transformer) must still supply the load's KW requirements.
The reactive current component is now supplied by the KEC UNIT and not the
generator. By moving the KEC UNIT closer to the load, the reactive current does
not have to travel as far through the line conductors to get to the load.
If the KEC UNIT is placed at the load, the reactive current only needs to
travel through a short distance (e.g. the lead length of connecting wire) to
get to the load. Since this reactive current component no longer travels
through the conductor line from the generator to the load, it does not travel
through the impedances in the line conductor.
Since this reactive current no longer flows through the line impedances, there
is less heating of the line, less losses (in the form of heat), and less
voltage drop across these in - line impedances (which reduces the overall
voltage drop from generator to load).
The KW current component is all that the generator has to supply to the motor.
Therefore the generator now runs at unity power factor and allows the KEC UNIT
to supply the KEC requirement of the motor's inductive windings.
The energy "contained" in the KEC current component is transferred
back and forth between the KEC UNIT and the motor 2 times for every voltage
sine wave cycle (i.e. at 120 times a second).
This reactive energy is never consumed by either the KEC UNIT or the motor.
(NOTE: The KW energy, on the other hand, performs real work and is totally
consumed.)
Rather, the reactive energy is only "BORROWED" half of the time by
the KEC UNIT and half of the time by the motor. The energy is used to charge
the AC electric field of the KEC UNIT and to energize and create the AC
magnetic fields contained in the motor's windings.
A KEC UNIT absorbs this energy from the power system and stores this energy in
its electric field when it charges up (120 times a second). The KEC UNIT
releases this energy back into the power when it discharges (120 times a
second).
The motor's inductance absorbs the reactive energy from the power system and
stores this energy in its windings' magnetic fields when the fields are
expanding (120 times a second). The inductance releases this energy back into
the power system when the windings magnetic fields are collapsing (120 times a
second).
The secret is that when the motor's inductance requires reactive energy to
expand its magnetic field, the KEC UNIT discharges to supply the energy. And
when the magnetic field in the motor's inductive windings is collapsing and
returning energy to the system, the KEC UNIT uses this energy to charge up.
So the capacitance in the KEC UNIT and the inductance in the motor's windings
"slinky" this reactive energy back and forth 120 times a second, each
supplying the others needs. The reactive current of the KEC UNIT is 180 degrees
out of phase with the reactive current of the inductance. When one is giving, the
other is taking and vice versa.
Again, the reactive energy is never consumed (except for some small and usually
insignificant losses); it is only borrowed. The generator needs to supply the
original reactive KEC energy only once when the system is first energized.
After that, this amount of energy is simply transferred back and forth between
inductance and capacitance.
Power Factor is a measurement of how much of the KVA is actually in the form of
KW. The advantage of a high power factor is that line currents can be reduced
which will in turn reduce voltage drop and decrease line losses. This saves
money. It also means that since equipment such as transformers will supply only
KW, the KVA rating of the equipment can be reduced, or alternatively, more loads
can be added to the system without purchasing larger equipment.
The KVA rating of a transformer is based on the transformers ability to supply
power either all in KW or all in KEC or in a combination of both. Drawing more
than rated KVA from a transformer is easily done, but the transformer's life
will be reduced due to increasing heat which destroys the transformer's winding
insulation.
By increasing the power factor, all of a transformer's KVA can be utilized to
supply KW in order to perform useful work rather than to supply KEC just to
energize electric and magnetic fields.
Increasing the power factor seen by the transformer creates "room" on
the transformer for adding more loads. Room can also be created on circuit
breakers. Since line current is reduced by increasing power factor, load can be
added to the system without upgrading the breaker to a larger size.
How is
KVAR distributed? KVAR is distributed directly from the
Inventor, Gregory Taylor, the scientists and manufactures that developed the
KVAR Unit. KVAR ENERGY SAVING
INC. stands behind
their products 100%. The KVAR Unit
carries a 12-year manufacturer’s warranty.
How is
KVAR installed? KVAR EC panel mounted system is
attached to the top breaker on a 100, 200 or 400 amp single or three phase
service panel. By installing KVAR
EC in this location, you are optimizing both sides of the busbar in your panel
and insuring whole facility surge protection. KVAR EC panel system can be installed outdoors or indoors,
at the main breaker panel or a sub-panel.
For larger
three phase motors, the preferred location of KVAR EC is at the motors’
disconnect, which are installed after trained electricians have performed an
individual sizing of the respective motors. This creates the largest savings and quickest return on
investment. (ROI)
Note: Qualified electricians should perform all work.
Businesses
can now dramatically reduce the cost of determining how much capacitance is
required to optimize each inductive load at their facility. The patented KVAR apparatus and
methodology achieves this by eliminating the typical electrical engineering,
design and manufacturing costs.
This precision technology fine tunes each motor to unity for immediate
savings with a quick ROI.
Installation is fast, simple and sized to the specific unit.
KVAR EC Advantages
·
Return
on investment is rapid (6 to 12 months)
·
Power savings are immediate and average
from 8% up to 25%
·
10%
Energy Savings guaranteed
·
Up to $500 in Tax Credits Available
·
Reduces
power surges
·
Increases
motor and appliance life
·
Reduces
the harmful effects from electromagnetic
fields
·
12
yr. (home) & 5 yr. warranty on business/industrial
·
25
year life expectancy
·
U.S.
Patented, NASA Tested, UL Listed, CSA Approved, Cleaner & Greener Certified
RoHS Certified
“Energy Saving Solutions for
the Future”
International Distributors for
KVAR EC