OK, back from the scrimmage and other stuff, and all caught up on the LTE2.0, for the moment at least.
To answer Cathy's and BON's tiny tiny question, the residential widget costs $600 and must be installed by a licensed electrician, which of course costs extra. In the Triangle area, my electrician will do the install for (my cost) $100 and I make nothing at that price. Out of the Triangle, he's going to charge for travel time, so it should be cheaper to get a local electrician to install it. Installation takes less than 30 minutes, so his minimum labor charge would typically apply. Other than the device, he will need to supply a 2-pole 20 amp breaker (<$10 at Lowe's or Home Depot) and a short piece of flexible conduit, which he shouldn't charge your for. As for the cost of the unit, I will discount 10% for CTN friends. carolina fans can add 25% to the price.
The widget must be installed by a licensed electrician because
A) it is much safer for you that way
B) the manufacturer's warranty, when you send it in to start/validate the warranty, requires the electrician's company name and license number on it, or the warranty is void
The unit has a 10 year warranty and a 20 year expected service life. There is no maintenance/service required and if it fails you will get a new widget.
The widget does three things for you
1) it will save you 5 to 15% every month on your electric bill by reducing the kWH (kilowatt hours) you use. Most typical is 8 to 11%. It also reduces the kW demand if you are paying for that, as commercial and industrial users do or if you are billed on a Time of Use Demand rate program, as I am.
2) it gives you surge suppression, including lightning protection, which will extend the life of most electronics in your house, even by just diminishing the minor transients. It has a $25,000 connected equipment warranty, secondary to your homeowners insurance, if a direct lightening strike damages the unit and lightning gets through it to damage your stuff. Basically, it will pay for your deductible on your insurance claim, and pick up any unpaid damages if you have a per item limit in your homeowners policy (I saw one the other day where insurance would only pay for $1000 worth of lightning damage per item. This extra coverage, while $25,000 overall, has a $2,500 per item limit.
3) the harmonic filter will let all your motors run cooler because they get a cleaner wave form on the power. This in turn keeps motors running longer (life-wise) and you pick up a tiny bit more efficiency as well. And if the motors are inside your house, like your refrigerator, washing machine, drier, etc., generating less heat means you have less heat to cool with AC.
For those not in this area, I will ship the widget to you for $15 to $20. NC residents must add state sales tax to the equipment price.
Here's the web site again for those who are interested in saving money on their electric bills and protecting their electrical equipment in their house. Note the product brochure and warranty info can be downloaded from links at the bottom of the page.
http://www.continentalpowerworx.com/residential