Does putting capacitors on your home really work.?

Question

Save on amps and provide surge protections. Aswell as prolong life of motors?

Answer 1

I think you are referring to the latest gimmick/scam, adding power factor correction caps to your service power.

First of all, power companies in the US charge you by the real power only, so correcting the PF has no advantage.

Second, homes do not need PF correction, usually.

Answer 2

It only helps if your electric utiliity bills in kVA-hours.  If they bill you in kWh (kilowatt-hours) then there is no savings by improving your power factor.

A typical residential home in the US (with natural gas for heating) has a peak-load power factor better than 0.90 lagging.

Answer 3

Surge protection is usually provided by a Metal Oxide Varistor. They look like a small capacitor, but they do not store energy, they absorb surges.

Capacitors are often used with high power audio amplifiers in cars to store energy to provide power when needed. They also protect somewhat against surges by storing energy. Capacitors are also used in the power lines for inductive loads to provide power factor correction, which reduces energy loss in the power lines.

MOV devices on power lines for any valuable electronics is a good idea.

Answer 4

good lord, no.

they'd just waste electricity.

keep in mind, they can be used to smooth out DC.

not AC.