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[EDITOR’S NOTE: This Special Report will no doubt hit home (better yet, a home-run) with many of our readers since we are all now having to pay historically high rates for the electricity which touches every part of our lives (see page two). Problem is, electricity is a necessity of life for us. We can’t do without it. Although once-upon-a-time it was relatively cheap, many of us are now feeling the pinch. As our monthly power bills continue to climb year after year, more and more of us are finding ourselves wishing there was something we could do about it. Well, now there is…

In this issue, we’re going to reveal information about a small, new, low-cost electronic device which simply plugs into any outlet in your home and instantly provides you with measurable, substantial savings in your power consumption from that point on! Although the “PowerGard” technology is proprietary, we’ll do our level best to explain in intelligent layman’s terms how we think it works. Whether or not we’ve actually got the technology figured out, the bottom-line is that the company behind this amazing product very conservatively guarantees homeowners at least 10% savings on their monthly power bills. Being careful like this with a guarantee is completely understandable. However, as it turns out, the kind of savings homeowners have been enjoying seem to run significantly higher than this. In fact, some savings run much, much higher. It’s not all that uncommon to hear of individual homeowners saving 15%, 20%, 25%. Once in awhile, some do even better than that. Inside, we’ll show you documentation for one of these unusual examples where a homeowner has saved more than 30% with the amazing PowerGard technology.

The PowerGard has enjoyed widespread acceptance in the Orient, where it was first patented (Taiwan Patent #095203134; Copyright protection #M294777) and introduced to the consumer market there. As of this writing, more than 700,000 units are being used in homes in Taiwan and more than 1,000,000 units in China (in Korea: >100,000; the Philippines: >50,000; Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Singapore/VietNam: >100,000; and, Europe/Australia: >25,000 units).

PowerGard is now available here in the US and Canada having received the important UL listing for both countries (UL #E302379). It also has a CE Declaration of Conformity (#95-029) and a RoHS Conformance rating for Europe. Inside, we tell you how you can be one of the first in the USA to get your own personal PowerGard and start zzzzzapping your electric bill right away…]

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Modern Science vs. Mystery

Compared to the pond of knowledge, our ignorance remains Atlantic.

—Ronald Duncan
Miranda Weston-Smith
Editors
The Encyclopaedia of Ignorance

When we started doing our homework for this important Special Report, it didn’t take long for us to be reminded once again of the arrogance of Modern Science and its inability to answer the simple question, “Why?”. No matter what particular field of scientific endeavor you might choose to examine, whether it be something on a “macro” or “micro” level, whether it involves concrete or abstract concepts, you don’t have to play the entirety of the child’s game of Twenty Questions (i.e., asking the question, “Why?” and then following up 19 more times with the same question) before you soon discover that the Scientific Emperor has no clothes.

We run into this kind of thing all the time when we explore “off the beaten path” issues having to do with BioScience. When it comes to the Life Sciences, the intricacy, complexity, wonder and—dare we say it?—mystery of life slaps any open-minded seeker after knowledge and understanding right in the face. [Note: Since Modern Science’s overestimation of itself has become a pet peeve for us over the years, please permit us to climb on our soapbox for a couple of minutes. Although we feel the need to vent, we’ll also make this dovetail with the subject at hand—Ed.]

Not only does the Scientific Emperor have no clothes, he’s unwilling to admit the fact. Across the board, there is a consistent resistance among scientists in this regard. Rather than truthfully admitting to the limitations of their scientific field, their lack of understanding is often covered over by resorting to the use of jargon. “Men in White Coats” find a certain sense of security and power while hiding behind the jargon of their area of expertise.

Ideally, jargon serves as a very helpful kind of shorthand, enabling a very efficient form of communication between peers. Unfortunately, jargon can also be employed as a means by which one can reinforce one’s professional status and exclude others. It gives certain meanings to words in order to keep others from having access to the inner sanctum. It elevates and separates group members from others by their ability to understand their own private internal language. Words demonstrate power, especially if you and your group are the only ones who understand the symbolic language. Outsiders can’t argue with the high priests who wield the words. They can only bow and accept them in awe.

Worse yet, if you want to fool someone and get him to think you actually understand something, then use jargon. Jargon is the secret language that eliminates the risk of having to discuss the foundations of one’s discipline with the outside world. Let a naïve questioner raise the challenge that Modern Science can’t even prove the basic presuppositions upon which it operates and he will be buried in jargon. When it comes to Modern Science and its unwillingness to acknowledge its limitations, speaking “the language” has, regrettably, become more important than having something to say.

As complicated and complex as it can often appear, Science is basically very simple: it makes observations. It measures things and then describes what it thinks it sees. Science ultimately cannot provide answers to questions along the lines of “Why did this observable event occur?”, “For what purpose?”, “What ultimately caused it in the first place?”, etc.

By way of simple illustration, let’s take a look at an aspiring young scientist (his classmates call him “Newt”) as he is taking a nap under the shade of a spreading apple tree one nice autumn day. Soon, he is awakened by an apple, which thumps him on the forehead. Not only does this hurt but it piques Newt’s curiosity. As he looks up into the apple-laden tree, it doesn’t take long before he notes an apple falling to the ground. Pretty soon another apple falls to the ground. Then, another. And another, and another. He notices that they seem to be falling at about the same speed, so he pulls out his stopwatch and starts timing each successive falling apple. After a few days, the tree is mostly bare of apples and Newt inductively reasons that not only do all apples more than likely fall from apple trees but they seem to do so at a speed of 32 feet/second/second. He then postulates there must be something which causes the apples to fall (why don’t they rise heavenward, instead?). He tentatively concludes there must be something, some kind of “force”, which somehow causes the apples to move toward the ground. He decides to call that force “gravity”. From that initial experience, he then begins to notice and observe the effects of gravity everywhere he looks.

Today, we have rather extensive and complicated instruments and mathematical formulae with which we can very specifically describe the effects of gravity. But with all its sophistication in that sense, Science is still unable to tell us what gravity really is nor can it tell us why gravity is. The best Science can do is tell us some of things which gravity does. It remains completely ignorant with respect to these other questions.

We could go on and on with this line of thinking. Suffice it to say here that although the discipline of Science is quite impressive and although Science has accomplished many practical things for us, it’s best not to put Science on too high a pedestal. It still has a lot to learn. Especially about its own inherent limitations. Quite frankly, whenever you see one of the “Men in White Coats”, remind yourself of the above-quoted statement from the Editors of the Encyclopaedia of Ignorance (a collection of essays dealing with some of the myriad things which science doesn’t know). Science and scientists could use a good serving of humble pie these days.

The Mystery of Electricity

“Some people honestly believe they understand electricity, just as alchemists once thought they understood how to transform lead into gold. Don’t despise or ridicule these poor souls. They should be tolerated and gently educated until they are ready to rejoin society. No one really understands electricity. But no one wants to admit it.

…If there is magic in the universe, the evidence must surely be electricity and life itself. Just as we know enough about life to perform crude biological parlor tricks (grow hybrid corn, treat a simple disease), so we are children in the sorcerer’s work-room playing with electrical spells we don’t really understand. We can no more explain the inner workings of the electrical phenomenon than we can breathe life into a crescent wrench. Yet we have seen its power, and the few tricks we can perform make us feel wise indeed.

—Kenn Amdahl
Author
There Are No Electrons

 

…“Electron flow” is an invalid mental model which is a source of numerous misconceptions. Long ago I identified this “electron flow” thing as being a central cause of many of my own misconceptions about the physics of circuitry. I was taught that electric currents were “really” electron flows…After I finally learned that electric currents were NOT made of flowing electrons, the scales fell from my eyes… Also, even though I was an electrical engineer, I had no real idea how batteries worked. The electrochem stuff from chemistry class didn’t make intuitive sense (although I certainly could memorize it for passing the tests!) The villian in all these cases was: “current is electron flow.” It sat there in my mind while distorting or rejecting any incoming information that conflicted with it.

—William Beaty
Electrical Engineer
 

“Electricity” is one of those phenomena which has been observed by scientists for centuries and has been manipulated and harnessed by engineers and yet is little understood. Physicists and Electrical Engineers will tell you that when electric current moves through a copper wire (or any other conductor), the wire becomes surrounded by a magnetic field. And, anytime a magnetic field moves across a copper wire (or any other conductor) it creates an electric current. Why this happens, no one knows. And, no one seems to care. Rather than being awestruck, amazed and even humbled by this “Mystery of Electricity”, Modern Science chooses to cover its ignorance.

Take a look at the following unanswered questions. These (there are many more) help to illustrate the fact that Science is still very much in the dark when it comes to understanding this mysterious subject we call electricity:

Why does an electron have a “negative” charge? Why do protons have a “positive” charge? Where do charges come from? Just what is a charge, anyway? Why don’t neutrons have a charge? Why do opposite charges attract? Why do like charges repel? If like charges repel, why don’t protons (which have the same charge) within individual atoms repel each other, causing the nucleus to fly apart? Why does the movement of a magnet along a wire cause current to flow in a wire? Why does the flow of current in a wire cause a magnetic field? What is a magnetic field, anyway? When you get right down to it, what is energy, really?

The Inscrutable, Incredible PowerGard

Thankfully, even though we don’t understand it and even though we really don’t know exactly what it is, we are, nonetheless, able to take advantage of this stuff we call Electricity and this has completely transformed the way in which we live. Scientists and Engineers have discovered means to generate electricity; they have observed it long enough to be able to describe, measure and reliably predict ways in which it behaves. They have devised techniques to make it our willing servant, harnessing its power and manipulating it for specific purposes and desired ends.

The PowerGard is an example of this kind of thing. It employs a creative configuration of off-the-shelf technology to more efficiently use the electrical power which comes to our homes from local utilities. The PowerGard does not generate electricity. It simply helps to reduce the amount of electricity that is wasted. Among other things, reducing wasted power translates into lower consumption, which in turn translates into dollar savings in monthly power bills. In addition, the PowerGard circuitry is designed to reduce the impact of power surges and dips by stabilizing the flow of power to your equipment. This can lead to significantly longer motor life for your appliances.

Although we can measure ways in which the PowerGard works (for example, it decreases the number of amps to a motor without decreasing the motor’s efficiency) we cannot tell you why it is able to do what it does. We’ve talked with electrical engineers and power company employees. We’ve heard lots of jargon but no completely satisfying explanations. What makes our task even more challenging is that even though the components of the PowerGard are common to the industry, the configuration of the circuitry is proprietary and is locked in a vacuum-sealed compartment inside the unit, meaning we’d probably end up destroying it while trying to take a peek.

In order for us to get some kind of feel for how the PowerGard works, we managed to get one of the Taiwanese engineers who is familiar with it to answer a few questions for us. He was forthcoming to a point but wasn’t about to tell us anything that was considered a trade secret. To get to the engineer, we had to go through various levels of interpreters. The questions were asked in English, translated to French and then into Chinese. The engineer answered our questions in Chinese, which were translated into French and then translated into English. As a result, there was some loss in translation. Nonetheless, this effort did give us something to go on.

Here are some of our questions and the answers from the engineer via the translators. We have not edited them for grammar, spelling or specific word usage (we thought it would be more interesting—and humorous, in parts—for you to see them just the way we received them). We have inserted explanatory comment where appropriate…

BTN: Does the unit increase power factor by supplying power from capacitors to motors and other inductive loads?

Engineer: Yes.

Comment: “Inductive Load” is anything in the home that runs by motor (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, heat pumps, washers, dryers, fans, blower motors, pool and spa pumps, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, etc.). All motors require a certain amount of “non-working” power (technically referred to as “Reactive Power”) to “induce” or create an electromagnetic field around the motor to enable the motor to run. Transformers, AC and DC converters, battery chargers and lighting ballasts (found in fluorescent lights) are also inductive loads in that they require an electromagnetic field to operate.

Simply stated, “Power Factor” is basically a mathematical way of describing the “efficiency” of the operation of an inductive load. It’s expressed as the ratio between the “Real Power” which is being used to do the work and the “Reactive Power”, which is the power required to produce the magnetic fields which enable the motor to run. More “Reactive Power” must be supplied to the motor with a Power Factor of .75 than to a motor with a Power Factor of .85 and a Power Factor of .95 means that very little Reactive Power needs to be supplied to the motor in order to get it to operate.

“Capacitors” are off-the-shelf electrical components that have the capability of storing power and then releasing it when required. According to the engineer, the specially arranged circuitry of the PowerGard uses capacitors to supply Reactive Power as required, and which apparently would otherwise be wasted.

BTN: Does the unit improve power factor by providing a “soft start” with feedback from voltage and current sensors (or other load sensors) so that it can chop/reduce voltage not only during starting but also during continuous operation at low torque load? In other words, does the unit make use of the “Nola” controller technology (originally patented by NASA engineer, Frank Nola)?

Engineer: Yes.

Comment: Here, we’re told the PowerGard also employs some form of voltage controller circuitry. It is well known that induction motors operate more efficiently at low load if their supply voltage is reduced. Controllers that reduce voltage at low load are often referred to generically as “Nola” controllers after the inventor Frank Nola of NASA. The original Nola patent US4052648 is for a motor voltage controller that infers loading from phase angle and reduces voltage, as load is reduced, to maintain the full load power factor. Accordingly, these controllers are sometimes called power factor controllers. The typical Nola controller is essentially an electronic “soft” starter with feedback from voltage and current sensors or other load sensors so that it can chop (i.e. reduce) voltage not only during starting, but also during continuous operation at low torque load.

Take the motor of an escalator as an example. It has been designed so that it runs most efficiently when operating at maximum load (i.e., all the moving steps are full of people). At this point, the “Power Factor” might be .85 or higher. Suppose half or more of the people get off. Although the escalator motor still runs the moving steps at the same speed as before, the load it has to move is now much less. “Power Factor” at this point might be .70 or lower. A Nola type controller would sense the drop in load and would supply the motor with less power. This means of raising the “Power Factor” (i.e., by reducing voltage to the motor) reduces power consumption (which translates into savings on the power bill).

BTN: How is the unit different than other power saving units on the market which make use of the above technologies?

Engineer: (1) There is only one product both pass the CE & UL certification all over the world now time. It’s given name of UL call “Direct plug-in EMI filter”. The other power saving unit on the market had CE self declaration but just all the component (materials) are UL approval, but the final product is not. One of the testing of UL is to put the product in 90 degrees Celsius circumstances for working 1000 hours. Very hard work.

(2) Anti-power-shock device. PD board control system.

(3) Reduces the impact of electrical surges (main technology inside the Capacitor).

(4) More effecient of raising Power Factor and life-span of the product. (All made in Taiwan)

Comment: The translation here is a bit rough. In any event, here are some of the characteristics of the PowerGard which make it unique:

You are probably already familiar with the important UL mark, one of the most trusted symbols in the world. It certifies the device has passed the rigorous safety testing standards of the Underwriters Laboratory here in the USA. The Taiwanese engineer indicates the PowerGard is listed somewhat generically by UL as a “direct plug-in electromagnetic interference filter”.

CE stands for Conformité Européenne, which is French for “European Conformity.” An electronic device cannot legally be sold in the countries of the European Union unless it has passed the required tests to receive the CE marking.

The engineer tells us that the unit has the ability to handle power surges and, apparently, the Printed Circuit board controls this (“PD” is no doubt a typo and appears as “PC” in a later answer). He is not very forthcoming here and we surmise that he may be keeping some proprietary information “close to the vest”.

He also tells us that the unit is more efficient in its ability to increase Power Factor. We know from other information that the unit has been designed to run flawlessly for at least 10 years.

BTN: How does the unit reduce the effect of power surges? Does it clamp power at a certain level of spike? How fast is the reaction time?

Engineer: (1) We made anti-power surge component inside the capacitor. 2) I will check the speed and feed back to you.

Comment: Again, he restricts his answer, telling us only that the surge suppressor is something “inside the capacitor”. We were curious about the speed with which the spike would be detected and suppressed and are awaiting more information on this at the time of writing.

BTN: Does the unit also reduce the effect of power line dips? If so, how?

Engineer: Yes, The main function of Capacitor, The main working of Capacitor is charging and discharging consistency, Just like a pump motor in the power lines. This main function can reduce the effect of power line dips.

Comment: This and the next two questions are somewhat similar and the engineer indicates that the capacitor is employed to act like a “pump motor” to keep the flow of power even and consistent. This explanation is a bit confusing to us, we have to admit. Wish we spoke Chinese. We’d like to know more if he would tell us.

BTN: How does the unit “stabilize the voltage”?

Engineer: The main working of Capacitor is charging and discharging consistency, This function can stabilize the voltage.

BTN: How does the unit compensate for wire loss?

Engineer: The main working of Capacitor is charging and discharging consistency. Just like a pump motor in the power lines. This function can compensate the line loss in a very short time.

Comment: Again, a similar answer. Although this time we were referring to “line loss”. This is a phenomenon where, when a wire runs over a distance, it is not uncommon for voltage to drop.

BTN: How does the unit reduce voltage to electrical equipment and appliances? What kind of technology is involved here?

Engineer: The more facilities used, the lower voltage will come into the closed house. We take the main function of capacitor to stabilize the voltage in current voltage (The more facilities used, the lower voltage will come)

Comment: It appears that he misunderstood our question here. He seems to be thinking in terms of a drop in voltage to a house when lots of appliances are being used simultaneously and therefore remarks that the PowerGard makes up for this where needed.

BTN: How does the unit detect and provide “power bypass” if voltage drops? Reaction time?

Engineer: If Voltage drop, the PC board will autoshut down the product to off function, The power come in, It’s will autopower on.

Comment: We had a hard time following him on this. The answer might lie in a piece of information we scrounged from another source. Apparently, part of the operation of the PowerGard involves a continuous monitoring of voltage to the various appliances which happen to be running at any point in time. It will drop the voltage by incremental, pre-set amounts and check to see if the appliance is still running optimally. This is probably part of the “Nola” controller kind of technology we talked about earlier. In any event, should the voltage drop be too far, then the engineer seems to indicate that the printed circuit board will shut off this procedure in order to allow voltage to rise to the appliance, as needed. Then, when power is back up, the procedure of monitoring and reducing voltage wherever possible proceeds.

BTN: If a consumer is using 5000kwh per month (or higher), are more than two (2) units required?

Engineer: We suggest 1500 - 2000kwh per month must be used one product, if you were 5000kwh per month should be used 2 - 3 products.

Comment: We asked this because some folks have much larger homes here in the US than elsewhere. The basic rule of thumb is that for every 1500-2000 kilowatt hours you use, you should have one PowerGard. In other words, if your monthly power bill shows that you use, on average, 3500kwh per month, then you should use two PowerGard units in your home in order to get the best performance.

BTN: Please explain the specifics of the saving principle(s) which are unique to the unit and which make it different from other products on the market.

Engineer: (1) The only one which both pass the CE & UL certification. Can direct “plug in” an outlet.

(2) More safety than other products. Anti-Power Shock device.

(3) All made in Taiwan.

Comment: This is similar to a question already asked. But it is worth noting that the PowerGard is unbelievably “consumer friendly” since all you need to do to get it to work for you is plug it into a wall socket. Other types of controllers and power saving devices we’ve seen over the years require an electrician to come in and install the unit either prior to or inside the electrical panel on the home. Note that he also says the unit is safer than other products he’s seen. The units are made in Taiwan (not to be confused with mainland China) and their defective rate is almost nil.

BTN: How many units are being used by consumers worldwide? In what geographical locations?

Engineer: (1) In Taiwan more than 700,000 Units.

(2) In China more than 1 million units.

(3) Korea 100,000 Units.

(4) Philippines 50,000 units.

(5) Mayliacia, Indonisia, Tailand, Singapore, Vianam 100,000 units.

(6) European : France, UK, Morrow, Hungry ....20,000 units

(7) America : USA, Canada, Mixco, Dominica ... 20,000 units.

(8) Austrolia : 5000 units.

Comment: Although the spelling and punctuation are a little out of the ordinary, they should still be intelligible to you. This the approximate count as of this writing. It is growing rapidly.

The Final Word

After all is said and done, we can’t tell you definitively how the PowerGard works. As with a lot of other things in life, we’re going to have to be content to leave this question “on the shelf” until later.

That said, the real Bottom Line here, in our opinion, is that if the PowerGard can help us keep from wasting power and help reduce our electric bills; if it can help prevent long-term, cumulative damage to our appliances caused by power surges and dips; if it can help make the various motors in our homes run cooler, more efficiently and last longer; and if it can help us be better stewards of the environment...Then it really doesn’t matter much what the PowerGard’s “proprietary technology” turns out to be. So long as the PowerGard does what the manufacturer says it does, more power to them.

Obviously, everyone’s situation is different, so results will vary. We live in different size homes with different kinds of power requirements. Some of our homes, wiring and appliances are old, some are new. But with the chance to save serious money on your electric bills, we think the PowerGard opportunity is a no-brainer. Take advantage of it TODAY!

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