With the colder months approaching for much of the world, it's time for Facebook and Tik Tok to start wheeling out the adverts for many scam devices, including tiny plug-in heaters and magical power saving plugs that instantly cut your electricity bill in half.
The sellers of these plugs often use emotional stories to manipulate people into buying the products at a very high profit. They use stock images and video to give the illusion that some kid invented these power savers and refused to let "big oil" buy them out, because they wanted to make the world a better place. Add some heart warming (but fake) testimonials and make sure that the payment processing is done in a less regulated country, and then just drop ship them directly from a Chinese warehouse to the unwitting customers.
The circuitry has changed though. In the early days these devices used to use a large capacitor normally used with things like fan motors. Those capacitors were often the cheapest they could get and posed a fire hazard when they failed. Then they started including the capacitors, but connecting them to blank pads on the PCB just to give the illusion of being connected. But now they are either using fake capacitors (empty cases filled with sand and resin) or just none at all. So that actually makes the products safer.
The main circuitry in these units is just to make the power indicator LEDs light up. And I'm glad to say that it is actually greatly improved over the original ones that had very odd and stressed circuitry.
If you want to buy some of these for fun, to reuse the cases or to plunder the purses of old ladies who are far too trusting, then I got these ones from AliExpress (not a sponsor). These are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay.
The typical cost including shipping is around £3 ($5?). They are available in various plug styles and you can also just search for keywords like "electricity saver plug" or "power saver box".
These units aren't a new thing. In the days before the Internet they were sold through newspaper and magazine adverts.
if you are experiencing a high electricity bill then check for things like a faulty water heater that is running too hot or not cutting out at all. Look for things like attic lights and heaters that have been left on. You can also make a huge difference to winter heating costs by turning the house heating temperature down by a few degrees and wearing warmer clothing.
If you use a heat pump for your heating and cooling then make sure it is kept clean with good airflow for maximum efficiency. One of the biggest issues with heat pump systems is the heat exchange fins on the outside unit getting clogged up with debris.
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