"Energy-saving artifact, say goodbye to expensive electricity bills"... In the cold winter, many consumers will use heating equipment at home, which consumes a lot of electricity. For this reason, some internet celebrity power savers have become popular again. Recently, reporters browsed several e-commerce platforms and found that many merchants sell various types of power savers, with prices ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan, claiming that the power saving effect can reach 30% to 45%. However, some consumers said, "After using it for a month, the electricity bill is quite high, which is a proper IQ tax."
The reporter placed an order for a power saver priced at 36.6 yuan in a store with a sales volume of over 30,000 units. The merchant said that the principle is: by optimizing the voltage, balancing the current loss in the current recovery circuit, automatically adjusting the current size according to the energy consumption of the appliance, and increasing the power to achieve the power saving effect. The effect can usually be seen after one month.
After arrival, the reporter found that the outer packaging of the product was all in English, and the power saver itself did not have any specification information printed on it. There was only a specification information sticker attached to the package, which was marked with two international certifications, CE certification and FCC certification, but there was no 3C certification mark (China Compulsory Product Certification). The reporter called the manufacturer, an energy-saving technology company in Shenzhen, for consultation. The other party said that they had questions to contact the merchant, and then hung up the phone.
Master Zhang, an electrician who has been in the industry for more than 10 years, dismantled and found that the internal structure of the power saver was a bit crude, with only a capacitor and a simple circuit board, and the cost was only a few yuan. Master Zhang said that capacitors can stabilize the voltage and reduce reactive power losses, but they do not change the active power. However, the power grid company only charges household electricity based on active power consumption, so the so-called power saver cannot save electricity bills.
"It is not recommended for home users to use power savers. Long-term use will not only consume power, but most importantly, there are safety hazards. Substandard capacitors may explode." Master Zhang said that the power savers used in factories and other places are "capacitance compensation devices", which are not only complex in components, but also relatively expensive.
In fact, this kind of internet-famous power saver was exposed by the media as a scam as early as 2007, and power departments in many places have issued warnings many times. Popular science blogger Xie Jianguo has dismantled many power savers on the market in recent years. "There are new models every year, but the actual internal structure is diodes, resistors and LED lights. The so-called upgraded chip is actually a black spot. There is nothing after taking it apart."
The reporter noticed that most of the purchase reviews for the above-mentioned products were positive, but some consumers questioned whether the good reviews were "swiped": "I reviewed the product on the same day, and I knew it was a trust at first sight." Some buyers also reported: "I have been using it for more than 3 months, and it has no effect at all. It started saying that it will be refunded within 100 days, and now the merchant is ignoring me at all."
Lawyer Zhao Liangshan from Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm said that the product performance promoted by the e-commerce platform does not match the actual performance. According to relevant regulations such as the Advertising Law and the Consumer Rights Protection Law, it is suspected of false propaganda and will face administrative penalties from the market supervision department. Relevant departments should intensify the investigation and punishment of such suspected false propaganda, urge e-commerce platforms to shoulder their responsibilities, remove what should be removed from the shelves, and regulate what should be regulated.