Everyone wants to save electricity at the moment, which is why some providers are coming up with dubious inventions: the consumer center is now warning of so-called power saving boxes.
“Save up to 90 percent electricity for less than 60 euros purchase price”. This is how providers of energy-saving boxes advertise. But the consumer center warns of such devices, they are “ineffective and have no positive impact on the energy bill”.
So the actual calculation is as follows: you spend 60 euros on the energy-saving boxes and get a few electrical components that you can plug into the socket, electricity savings of 0 euros. The built-in LEDs on the useless devices even consume a bit more electricity. So you’re being ripped off cleanly.
The power-saving boxes are supposed to bring about an alleged stabilization of household electricity and thus save up to 90 percent of energy. The devices the size of a WLAN repeater would reduce the so-called reactive power. It is a by-product of the electricity supply and oscillates between the recipient and the producer. However, the reactive power for private households is generally not calculated and not recorded by most electricity meters.
Energy has never been as expensive as it is now. But instead of panicking, you should calmly check potential savings at home. As our guide shows, there are many of them.
The alleged power savers are also attractive because of their simple operation, it should be enough to plug the devices into a socket at home. Depending on the size of the apartment, there are also economy packs with two or more power boxes. However, the power saving boxes are completely ineffective. This was also demonstrated last year by the c’t colleagues in cooperation with the VDE. The power saving box tested at the time contained only overvoltage protection, a light-emitting diode and a black block with no technical function.
Instead of falling for the rip-off with the energy-saving boxes, the consumer advice center advises sticking to tried-and-tested measures that can be implemented independently. Devices such as televisions or game consoles that remain permanently in stand-by mode consume electricity unnecessarily.
It is advisable to unplug this when not in use. Socket strips, which can be used to disconnect several devices from the mains at the same time, are easy to use for everyone.
