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        1. Will this work for every company?

        2. Why Do Utilities Charge a Power Factor Penalty (Tariff)?

        3. How will the PowerLink E-Box work for me?

        4. Electrical savings from PowerLink / PFC, real or scam?

        5. Is Installing Capacitors to Correct Power Factor Safe?

        6. How long do these e-boxes last?

        7. Why is this the first time we have heard of this?

        8. What is the guarantee on the PES / PowerLink solution?






Answers

        1. Will this work for every company?
A sales person would say yes, everyone needs this. Buy it as soon as you can.
Real world business and engineering answers are not as sales driven, or as simple. Power Efficiency Systems knows that this may not be for every industrial and commercial business. Companies with power bills of below $3,000 per month will see savings, but the ROI may be longer than what makes sense to the business. Some companies have already installed the expensive VFDs on several of their motors. There would be savings, but it may not be enough each month to justify spending more money for a minimal savings.
As this only helps with inductive loads (motors and pumps) an organization where the largest portion of the electric bill is for computer equipment and lighting, we may not be cost effective. For large office buildings, AC units are the primary focus for savings each month. The best way to determine if PES can help a company is to give us a call and send us a warm and cold month power bill.
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        2. Why Do Utilities Charge a Power Factor Penalty (Tariff)?
The easy answer is to generate additional revenue.
Utilities charge a power factor penalty because a facility with a low power factor draws more total power in the form of a higher current than a facility with a high power factor for the same amount of working power delivered. These higher currents mean that the utility needs to have and maintain larger equipment. Because of the costs associated with the wasted energy, electric utilities usually charge a significantly higher cost, in the form of a Power Factor Penalty, to industrial, commercial and institutional customers. The penalties typically kick in when the facility’s power factor falls below 90 or 95%.
If your utility is not charging your facility a power factor penalty at this time, that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen in the future, or is not happening in some hidden way like a ratchet or other calculation. All that is required for the utility to begin collecting a power factor surcharge is to switch to a more sophisticated meter or digital (smart meter), and upgrade their billing system.
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        3. How will the PowerLink E-Box work for me?
The PowerLink E-Box recycles, stores and supplies the reactive power to all inductive equipment.
The PowerLink E-Box stores reactive power used to create the electromagnetic field required by all motors to spin.
As the motors run, the reactive power is stored and released from the PowerLink E-Box at 120 cycles per second.
The PowerLink E-Box stores and releases only what the motors need to run more efficiently.
This unique approach reduces heat generated by inductive equipment and in doing so also reduces the strain put on the electrical system increasing the life of the equipment.
The electricity that is normally pushed back through the power lines is grabbed and recycled by the PowerLink E-Box.
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        4. Electrical savings from PowerLink / Power Factor Correction, real or scam?
It all comes down to Return-On-Investment (ROI) backed by a financial guarantee.
If the ROI does not make economic sense and does not come with a written financial guaranteed, then why do it? With our superior current technology products and proven 30+ years of installation experience, we are unique in not only providing accurate ROIs on our proposals but also providing a written PowerLink E-System® Guarantee that financially guarantees the savings we present to all customers or they get their money back. Guaranteed in writing and financially backed real savings on your electric bill every month from proven professionals is how you tell the difference between “Charlatan” salesmen from us (Power Efficiency Systems and PowerLink).
One issue that we have encountered over the past 30+ years of practical electrical engineering experience in Power Factor Correction are the effects of the “Charlatans” that sell (old technology) devices that will connect at the service entrance or Internet devices that plug into the wall, and claim to reduce the customer's utility bill by 20% to 40%. These are simply service entrance power factor devices or wall plug devices that will not save anything for the utility customer. They will help to improve the power factor on the utility system. However, they are an “Always On” type of device; they will add impedance to the system if there is a restart after a blackout. In addition, if they are sized larger than the reactive load of the building that they are installed in, they could actually increase the customer’s utility bill. If the devices are oversized, they will absorb VARS from neighboring services and increase the currents in the building in which they are located. The quantity of wire that is between the device and the meter will determine the amount of extra thermal (I2R) loss that will occur, and for which that the customer will have to pay.
Unfortunately, these Snake Oil salesmen have given the process a bad name. Power Factor Correction has merit and saves real money, but only if done properly. With most utilities in the United States only billing for kilowatts (KW) and not kilovolt-amps (KVA), the only place that power factor correction will save the utility customer money by reducing load, is to professionally size correction needed, type of units (automatic or static)(new technology only), and physically install the correction equipment at the most productive placement to the load.
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        5. Is Installing Capacitors to Correct Power Factor Safe?
Capacitors have been used to improve poor Power Factors since 1917.
From the time we were founded, GESG and Power Efficiency Systems has been helping industrial and commercial companies eliminate Power Factor Penalties by implementing turnkey capacitor solutions to maximize savings and return on investment.
Many utilities charge their industrial and commercial customers a significant premium, or surcharge, each month for their inefficient use of electricity because their Power Factor is below a threshold set by the utility in their rate tariff.
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        6. How long do these boxes last?
The life span for a PowerLink E-Box is 25 years or more.
All PowerLink (Static or Automatic) units come with a Manufacturer’s 5-year warranty,that can be extended.
There are no internal moving parts and they are sealed to withstand harsh weather conditions. There are rare failures, but the above warranty replaces the [E-box] quickly with no long discussions about what caused the issue.
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        7. Why is this the first time we have heard of this?
Electric providers have beeen using capacitors to corect poor Power Factors since 1917, but keep savings on thier side of the meter.
Most electric bills have the cost of bad power factor hidden deep within them, and only a person familiar with the jargon, rate schedules and tariffs associated with a particular electric provider could translate the real costs hidden in the bill.
Most companies do not have direct or visible power factor penalties on their bills, and others have addressed these penalties by having an electrical contractor install (old technology) capacitor devices at the service entrance. This will address any power factor penalty but does very little to reduce demand at the load (and might even increase KWh during none work hours).
We work with our manufacturer, who invented the proprietary sizing apparatus that allows us to go to each load and determine how to correct the power factor at the load. We do it the recommended way because we have the tools and knowledge to do it the correct way. Our solution addresses the power factor penalty, reduces the demand and overall KWh, saving money two ways with a predictable and guaranteed ROI.
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        8. What is the guarantee on the PES / PowerLink solution?
The savings and ROI on our proposals are backed up with a real money financial guarantee.
This is always dependent on the run times that we are provided by the customer for each load that we size. We only focus on the percentage saved as cost of Kwh and the demand of production can change to meet business requirements. We work with our customer to show the savings as workloads and temperatures change throughout the year.
But it all comes down to real money savings and Return-On-Investment (ROI) backed by a financial guarantee.
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Testimonials

The Power Efficiency Systems technicians were very professional and communicated very well with our team throughout the entire installation process.
Neal Tochtermann