{"video_id":"jnsVGAgHEM8","title":"Don't fall for this Power Saving Scam!","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2025-05-04T14:53:29Z","duration_s":514,"segments":[{"start_s":0.24,"end_s":7.56,"text":"this is the most important invention since the printing press it comes in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.08,"end_s":11.36,"text":"many shapes and sizes and has even more names but don't worry about that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":9.76,"end_s":15.519,"text":"according to the sellers of these amazing little gadgets they do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.44,"end_s":20.24,"text":"everything from saving you money to cleaning your dirty unstable electricity","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":17.84,"end_s":24.76,"text":"to helping you finally get a good night's sleep but you better hurry we're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.72,"end_s":30.199,"text":"almost sold out there's no time for research when other people are buying","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.439,"end_s":33.6,"text":"them all just look at this graph","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.199,"end_s":37.28,"text":"and if you act right now you'll get 50","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.6,"end_s":39.2,"text":"65 no wait 70% off look at all these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":37.28,"end_s":45.2,"text":"logos of news organizations that you might trust don't they look nice here or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.84,"end_s":49.079,"text":"maybe over here wow these sites really","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":45.2,"end_s":51.039,"text":"are a master class in scummy marketing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.079,"end_s":56.8,"text":"but the craziest thing about these little miracle gizmos they aren't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.76,"end_s":59.64,"text":"actually a scam I mean they absolutely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.8,"end_s":62.879,"text":"are a scam but at the same time you know what this is going to take some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.8,"end_s":67.64,"text":"explaining up roll the thing for our sponsor big thanks to seic for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.68,"end_s":71.2,"text":"sponsoring this video they are Prime and focus series power supplies come with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":69.52,"end_s":74.84,"text":"12year warranty and we're going to talk about how they could actually save you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":73.24,"end_s":78.92,"text":"some money on your power bill a little bit later on let's kick off with the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":77.0,"end_s":82.36,"text":"beef you're feeling one with the all metal housing if this thing's just a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.72,"end_s":87.24,"text":"rock and some hot glue this is going to be a real short","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":83.88,"end_s":89.68,"text":"video man this thing is cool we can see","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.24,"end_s":94.399,"text":"every individual wire in here on the next slide we get a really good look at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.2,"end_s":96.84,"text":"a couple of resistors a diode uh We've","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.399,"end_s":103.72,"text":"also got what looks like a little LED here and this boxy structure if we alter","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.759,"end_s":109.159,"text":"our view a little bit enhance shows us that this is in fact a capacitor we can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.56,"end_s":113.799,"text":"see the two conductive plates inside of it now if half of the manufacturer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.719,"end_s":117.759,"text":"claims about these are true that right there is the hardest working capacitor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.68,"end_s":123.0,"text":"on the planet let's change gears and move over to our plastic ones","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.0,"end_s":126.799,"text":"well seems like they've got a couple more components on their boards","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.64,"end_s":131.76,"text":"including some capacitors on the boards themselves but the design is similar","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.319,"end_s":135.64,"text":"overall so why don't we change gears and talk about what these things are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.239,"end_s":139.519,"text":"supposed to do if you're familiar with electrical circuits you might already","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":137.36,"end_s":144.48,"text":"know about inductive resistive and capacitive loads for everyone else","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.879,"end_s":149.36,"text":"here's the tldr if something is mostly just making heat like a hot plate or an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.28,"end_s":154.519,"text":"old school incandescent light bulb it's a res resistive load and the voltage and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.48,"end_s":157.04,"text":"current remain in Phase or lined up if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.519,"end_s":161.319,"text":"something is moving ceiling fans and washing machines are good examples here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.92,"end_s":167.159,"text":"it's probably an inductive load and the current legs behind the voltage by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.239,"end_s":172.56,"text":"90° capacitive loads meanwhile tend to be more hidden especially in the home","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.76,"end_s":177.04,"text":"this is where the current leads 90° ahead of voltage so these loads are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.72,"end_s":182.159,"text":"typically used to balance out inductive loads and they're mostly found in well","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.879,"end_s":185.76,"text":"stuff that has capacitors in it like this Prime PX power supply from our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":183.76,"end_s":190.159,"text":"sponsor C Sonic who has more models rated at Titanium or above by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":187.4,"end_s":195.799,"text":"cybernetics than any other manufacturer that means more than 90% efficiency with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":192.56,"end_s":197.2,"text":"a power factor of 98 or better that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":195.799,"end_s":200.4,"text":"power factor thing that's going to mean something to you in a minute coming back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.879,"end_s":205.159,"text":"to different kinds of loads if you've got a big industrial building that is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":202.36,"end_s":209.92,"text":"stuffed full of AC Motors Transformers and the like you can end up with so much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.72,"end_s":214.64,"text":"inductive load that it actually starts to impact the efficiency of the power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.319,"end_s":218.68,"text":"grid itself and I'm not talking efficiency like some waste heat from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.959,"end_s":223.239,"text":"your noodle extruding machine I'm talking the power company needs to send","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.08,"end_s":228.239,"text":"you more power than you're actually using harming their efficiency that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.4,"end_s":233.48,"text":"where something called the power factor comes into play it's a measure of how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":230.519,"end_s":238.519,"text":"much power is doing work called active power versus how much power it looks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":236.0,"end_s":243.2,"text":"like you're using called apparent power and we can find it with this very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.72,"end_s":247.239,"text":"Pythagoras looking formula here the ideal power factor is one meaning that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.92,"end_s":252.56,"text":"all the power you're drawing from the grid is doing actual work anything lower","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.68,"end_s":257.959,"text":"and you are impacting the efficiency of the grid which your power company is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.92,"end_s":260.44,"text":"100% going to charge you for so then how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.959,"end_s":266.36,"text":"do you reduce the inductive load so your power company doesn't start piling on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":262.28,"end_s":268.68,"text":"sech charges capacitors the power system","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":266.36,"end_s":273.44,"text":"in any big industrial facility likely has one or more more capacitor Banks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.56,"end_s":279.56,"text":"which act to smooth out their heavy inductive loads hence the capacitors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":276.68,"end_s":285.0,"text":"that showed up on our CT scans but here's the thing while the theory is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.96,"end_s":286.44,"text":"actually sound residential customers you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.0,"end_s":292.0,"text":"know the people they're marketing these devices too don't get charged based on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.68,"end_s":296.96,"text":"power factor a big part of the reason for that is pretty much all of the heavy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.4,"end_s":301.919,"text":"power devices in a house are either a resistive load or they already have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.759,"end_s":307.479,"text":"capacitors build into them to compensate for their inductive loads we looked from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.52,"end_s":313.08,"text":"Alberta to Zimbabwe and across the board residential and small business customers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.479,"end_s":314.8,"text":"are build only for the active power used","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.08,"end_s":318.52,"text":"now I'm sure there's some outliers that you guys are already furiously typing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":316.36,"end_s":322.68,"text":"comments about but generally speaking it's only when you ramp up to large","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":320.6,"end_s":326.479,"text":"commercial and Industrial facilities that power factor really enters the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.56,"end_s":332.28,"text":"equation and the folks selling these magical gizmos know all of this they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.16,"end_s":334.56,"text":"just don't care power factor is that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":332.28,"end_s":339.12,"text":"convenient Little Nugget of truth that they can wrap in the layers and layers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":336.759,"end_s":342.4,"text":"of BS marketing that your conspiracy loving uncle needs to convince them to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.72,"end_s":347.12,"text":"buy these things for the entire family for Christmas this year and some of them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":344.68,"end_s":350.759,"text":"take their scam even further let's crack this one open using our handy dandy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":348.72,"end_s":355.08,"text":"Precision screwdriver kit from LTD store.com built-in bit storage fidget","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":353.16,"end_s":360.479,"text":"spinner worthy uncap and built-in magnetic Parts tray with the one screw","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":357.28,"end_s":362.759,"text":"removed uh yeah there's not a whole lot","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":360.479,"end_s":366.44,"text":"going on in here we've got a basic LED power circuit that's how you know it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":364.24,"end_s":371.88,"text":"on then we just go ahead and remove this second screw and this IC right here is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":369.039,"end_s":376.319,"text":"bridge rectifier that converts AC to DC so far so good but this is the part","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.199,"end_s":382.44,"text":"where we get into some funny business do you see our um capacitor here well one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":380.16,"end_s":386.72,"text":"of the two leads going to it doesn't seem to actually connect to the rest of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":384.479,"end_s":393.28,"text":"the circuit you can see it in the X-ray or actually just by holding it up to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":389.08,"end_s":395.4,"text":"light there's no Trace to that pad so my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.28,"end_s":400.479,"text":"question now then is if this is just here for looks is this even a real","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.52,"end_s":405.28,"text":"capacitor let's find out before I connect this it's worth","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":402.68,"end_s":410.84,"text":"noting that this is in nanofarads right now that's effectively zero Moment of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":407.4,"end_s":410.84,"text":"Truth is it a real","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":410.88,"end_s":416.44,"text":"capacitor survey says no I got to say","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":414.72,"end_s":422.199,"text":"I'm actually kind of surprised that it is more cost effective to build a fake","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.28,"end_s":426.8,"text":"Capac fer than it was to drop the 15 or maybe 30 cents on a real one it's got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.8,"end_s":431.72,"text":"some weight to it at least I cut one open see what's oh did you cut one open","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.28,"end_s":436.599,"text":"let's have a look at our fake capacitor oh is that like a little bit of cement","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.84,"end_s":441.08,"text":"that they just smeared on it it kind of looks like that whatever it is the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":439.4,"end_s":445.44,"text":"bottom line is if you want to save some money on your power bill maybe you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":443.639,"end_s":449.72,"text":"should consider upgrading your rig to a new 80 plus Platinum rated Prime PX","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":447.52,"end_s":454.8,"text":"power supply from our sponsor seic the prime PX series is fully modular and has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":452.36,"end_s":458.4,"text":"you covered all the way from 650 watts to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":455.919,"end_s":463.44,"text":"1,600 Watts backed by an industry-leading 12year warranty it uses","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":460.879,"end_s":467.319,"text":"a 135 mm fan to keep things cool and quiet and that fan doesn't even spin up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":466.159,"end_s":472.36,"text":"until it reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of around 30% load with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":470.4,"end_s":476.96,"text":"power supplies this efficient more of your money is going right into those","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":473.8,"end_s":479.12,"text":"sweet sweet FPS instead of being wasted","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":476.96,"end_s":482.039,"text":"generating excess heat and if you're not sure how much power you need you can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":480.639,"end_s":487.52,"text":"just click on the calculate button on their website and they will help you find the perfect fit so find your next","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":485.479,"end_s":492.36,"text":"power supply at the link down below and find your next video to watch at this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":490.24,"end_s":497.4,"text":"video right here where you can watch me get shocked repeatedly as we figure out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":494.72,"end_s":501.8,"text":"if those Wireless anti-static wristbands are a scam with the help of our friend","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":499.8,"end_s":507.199,"text":"electroboom yo Jordan how much did we spend on these things um about 20 bucks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":504.24,"end_s":510.96,"text":"for four well I mean at that price at least it's uh decent value as a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":509.08,"end_s":514.52,"text":"nightlight $5 nightlight","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"this is the most important invention since the printing press it comes in many shapes and sizes and has even more names but don't worry about that according to the sellers of these amazing little gadgets they do everything from saving you money to cleaning your dirty unstable electricity to helping you finally get a good night's sleep but you better hurry we're almost sold out there's no time for research when other people are buying them all just look at this graph and if you act right now you'll get 50 65 no wait 70% off look at all these logos of news organizations that you might trust don't they look nice here or maybe over here wow these sites really are a master class in scummy marketing but the craziest thing about these little miracle gizmos they aren't actually a scam I mean they absolutely are a scam but at the same time you know what this is going to take some explaining up roll the thing for our sponsor big thanks to seic for sponsoring this video they are Prime and focus series power supplies come with a 12year warranty and we're going to talk about how they could actually save you some money on your power bill a little bit later on let's kick off with the beef you're feeling one with the all metal housing if this thing's just a rock and some hot glue this is going to be a real short video man this thing is cool we can see every individual wire in here on the next slide we get a really good look at a couple of resistors a diode uh We've also got what looks like a little LED here and this boxy structure if we alter our view a little bit enhance shows us that this is in fact a capacitor we can see the two conductive plates inside of it now if half of the manufacturer claims about these are true that right there is the hardest working capacitor on the planet let's change gears and move over to our plastic ones well seems like they've got a couple more components on their boards including some capacitors on the boards themselves but the design is similar overall so why don't we change gears and talk about what these things are supposed to do if you're familiar with electrical circuits you might already know about inductive resistive and capacitive loads for everyone else here's the tldr if something is mostly just making heat like a hot plate or an old school incandescent light bulb it's a res resistive load and the voltage and current remain in Phase or lined up if something is moving ceiling fans and washing machines are good examples here it's probably an inductive load and the current legs behind the voltage by 90° capacitive loads meanwhile tend to be more hidden especially in the home this is where the current leads 90° ahead of voltage so these loads are typically used to balance out inductive loads and they're mostly found in well stuff that has capacitors in it like this Prime PX power supply from our sponsor C Sonic who has more models rated at Titanium or above by cybernetics than any other manufacturer that means more than 90% efficiency with a power factor of 98 or better that power factor thing that's going to mean something to you in a minute coming back to different kinds of loads if you've got a big industrial building that is stuffed full of AC Motors Transformers and the like you can end up with so much inductive load that it actually starts to impact the efficiency of the power grid itself and I'm not talking efficiency like some waste heat from your noodle extruding machine I'm talking the power company needs to send you more power than you're actually using harming their efficiency that's where something called the power factor comes into play it's a measure of how much power is doing work called active power versus how much power it looks like you're using called apparent power and we can find it with this very Pythagoras looking formula here the ideal power factor is one meaning that all the power you're drawing from the grid is doing actual work anything lower and you are impacting the efficiency of the grid which your power company is 100% going to charge you for so then how do you reduce the inductive load so your power company doesn't start piling on sech charges capacitors the power system in any big industrial facility likely has one or more more capacitor Banks which act to smooth out their heavy inductive loads hence the capacitors that showed up on our CT scans but here's the thing while the theory is actually sound residential customers you know the people they're marketing these devices too don't get charged based on power factor a big part of the reason for that is pretty much all of the heavy power devices in a house are either a resistive load or they already have capacitors build into them to compensate for their inductive loads we looked from Alberta to Zimbabwe and across the board residential and small business customers are build only for the active power used now I'm sure there's some outliers that you guys are already furiously typing comments about but generally speaking it's only when you ramp up to large commercial and Industrial facilities that power factor really enters the equation and the folks selling these magical gizmos know all of this they just don't care power factor is that convenient Little Nugget of truth that they can wrap in the layers and layers of BS marketing that your conspiracy loving uncle needs to convince them to buy these things for the entire family for Christmas this year and some of them take their scam even further let's crack this one open using our handy dandy Precision screwdriver kit from LTD store.com built-in bit storage fidget spinner worthy uncap and built-in magnetic Parts tray with the one screw removed uh yeah there's not a whole lot going on in here we've got a basic LED power circuit that's how you know it's on then we just go ahead and remove this second screw and this IC right here is a bridge rectifier that converts AC to DC so far so good but this is the part where we get into some funny business do you see our um capacitor here well one of the two leads going to it doesn't seem to actually connect to the rest of the circuit you can see it in the X-ray or actually just by holding it up to the light there's no Trace to that pad so my question now then is if this is just here for looks is this even a real capacitor let's find out before I connect this it's worth noting that this is in nanofarads right now that's effectively zero Moment of Truth is it a real capacitor survey says no I got to say I'm actually kind of surprised that it is more cost effective to build a fake Capac fer than it was to drop the 15 or maybe 30 cents on a real one it's got some weight to it at least I cut one open see what's oh did you cut one open let's have a look at our fake capacitor oh is that like a little bit of cement that they just smeared on it it kind of looks like that whatever it is the bottom line is if you want to save some money on your power bill maybe you should consider upgrading your rig to a new 80 plus Platinum rated Prime PX power supply from our sponsor seic the prime PX series is fully modular and has you covered all the way from 650 watts to 1,600 Watts backed by an industry-leading 12year warranty it uses a 135 mm fan to keep things cool and quiet and that fan doesn't even spin up until it reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of around 30% load with power supplies this efficient more of your money is going right into those sweet sweet FPS instead of being wasted generating excess heat and if you're not sure how much power you need you can just click on the calculate button on their website and they will help you find the perfect fit so find your next power supply at the link down below and find your next video to watch at this video right here where you can watch me get shocked repeatedly as we figure out if those Wireless anti-static wristbands are a scam with the help of our friend electroboom yo Jordan how much did we spend on these things um about 20 bucks for four well I mean at that price at least it's uh decent value as a nightlight $5 nightlight"}