StopWatt Reviews
StopWatt Review: Legit or Scam?
The StopWatt is a small electrical device claimed by the seller to reduce energy use and help save you money on your electricity bill.
Below we take a closer look at StopWatt.
We look at how products of this type are claimed to work, point out red flags regarding the seller, and see what real customers are saying.
StopWatt seller claims
These kinds of "energy saving" devices have been marketed for a few years now, and the sellers make a number of seemingly "too good to be true" claims, such as promising customers "up to 47% savings off their power bill."
The ads for StopWatt use a lot of technical language, show graphs of electric currents, and try to get you to believe that they are a truly innovative tech company selling a useful product.
They purposely use vague language that makes unsuspecting readers believe they need the StopWatt to protect them from "dirty electricity", save their appliances from potential electrical damage, and lower their electricity bills.
Most people would have no way of knowing if these devices are actually doing anything at all, as electricity use tends to fluctuate seasonally.
Other claims made by the seller regarding the StopWatt (such as filtering of "dirty electricity" ) are difficult to either prove or disprove by the average user.
How is StopWatt claimed to work?
At its core, the promotional language for StopWatt takes real electrical engineering terms out of context and applies them to a residential scenario, where they are usually not applicable.
For instance, they claim “On The Spot Reactive Power Compensation.”
Without getting too technical, your home’s electrical system has two types of power, real power and reactive power.
- Real (working) power - the power that is producing work and is measured in watts, and by a residential power meter in kilowatt hours (kWh).
- Reactive Power - does not produce work but is necessary in inductive loads and oscillates between the source and the load. It's measured in volt-amperes reactive (VARs).
The total power is the combination of these two types of power.
Due to the nature of reactive power it can sometimes put excess demands on the power grid. For this reason power companies charge their commercial clients fees for reactive power.
These fees encourage heavy users like manufacturing plants to pursue methods of reactive power compensation which can include installing capacitor banks.
This is also referred to as power factor correction, another electrical engineering concept that is sometimes referenced by sellers of devices like the StopWatt.
Essentially, StopWatt is claimed to do this at a residential level.
What's misleading, however, is that residential clients are not charged for reactive power. You are only billed for the kwh that you use.
So even if the StopWatt did work as claimed, it would have no bearing on your electric bill as a typical residential consumer.
Many power companies have issued statements addressing these types of devices, stating that nothing that you plug into your outlet will lower your power bill.
StopWatt red flags
Aside from dubious claims and misleading advertising, we’ve identified some other concerns regarding the seller.
- No physical address - When we searched for the seller's address the result is a UPS store.
- Reseller product - Far from what the StopWatt seller claims, this is not a new or innovative tech product, and certainly has no association with Elon Musk.
These types devices are sold wholesale for a fraction of the price of the StopWatt. The seller simply rebrands the product with their name and resells it at an inflated price.
( Generic energy saving box found on AliBaba.com identical to the StopWatt, priced much lower )
- New version of an old scam - We've reviewed nearly identical products to the StopWatt under names such as Pro Power Save and MiracleWatt, both of which have terrible customer reviews.
These other products used the same types of ads as the StopWatt, and are probably sold be the same seller.
( Identical ad to the StopWatt with a changed name, likely because of too many negative customer reviews )
Customer service
StopWatts.com lists a phone number of (877) 636-6738 and an email address of [email protected].
Some customers have claimed that they only respond to emails.
The website states there is a refund policy of 90 days. However, you will need to reach out to the company for further instructions to initiate the refund.
Customer reviews & complaints
We found negative customer reviews regarding StopWatt, with customers complaining of:
- Being overbilled
- Having difficulty reaching customer service
- Product simply not working
Based on the history of these types of products, a large number of customer complaints are to be expected.
The bottom line
We do not recommend purchasing the StopWatt or any other type of “electricity bill saving" box online.
Many electricians, engineers, and other experts have left reviews on Reviewopedia attesting to the implausibility of these devices doing anything useful.
Furthermore, there are hundreds of reviews from real customers who’ve purchased devices like the StopWatt and have seen no reduction in their electric bills.
Finally, the seller purposely hides their location and makes contacting them a chore in order to avoid issuing refunds.
If you have any experience with the StopWatt, please leave your reviews below.
