Electrical "Snake Oil"

With the recent announcements by Progress Energy and Florida Power that our rates will be going up another 31% in January (not including rate hikes for fuel charges), we have all become more interested in saving energy. While there are many fine energy saving products on the market that allow us to save energy, there are, unfortunately, scam artist out there selling "snake oil" type products on the unsuspecting.

It seems every 10 or 15 years, a new "miracle" product appears on the market that just plugs in and saves you money. The last one I recall was about 15 years ago and was so popular it was being sold at the home improvement centers.

The latest hoax is very clever and is being marketed to electrical contractors for resale to their customers. It is a TVSS (transient voltage surge suppressor) that in addition to protecting your electronics, it claims to reduce energy cost. That is not possible. What is unique about this product is that is comes with a U.L. (Underwriters Laboratory) listing. U.L. is a consumer protection agency that helps protect the public for electrical safety. It does not test for any wild claims made by the manufacturer about performance or energy savings. So, you can be assured this product is safe, but not that it will save energy.

TVSS is a good investment to help protect your very expensive microprocessor investments, it is not an energy saving product.

To learn more about TVSS and real energy savings tips, please follow the links under Morrissette Electric Learning Center on the menu.