Quick premise: The grid is more complex than it was 20 years ago. When waveform distortion increases, equipment can run hotter and less efficiently. The winning strategy is simple: stop guessing, start measuring.
Power Quality Is Becoming the Next Big Conversation in Energy
Over the past two decades, the electrical grid has changed in ways most people never see day to day. We have transitioned from a system dominated by large centralized generators and relatively simple loads to one filled with inverter-based resources, nonlinear devices, switching power supplies, smart equipment, and distributed generation.
Solar inverters, battery systems, EV chargers, variable frequency drives, LED lighting, and electronic controls are now common. The result is a power environment that can vary feeder to feeder and neighborhood to neighborhood.
Recent industry research and grid monitoring studies have highlighted localized harmonic variability across the U.S.
What Most People Don’t See: Total Harmonic Distortion
One of the clearest indicators of power quality is Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). The U.S. grid is designed to deliver a clean 60 Hz sine wave. Many motors, compressors, and transformers operate most efficiently when that waveform remains smooth and undistorted.
Industry standards such as IEEE 519 establish recommended harmonic limits at the point of common coupling.
Plain English
THD is a measurement of how “distorted” the voltage waveform becomes due to harmonics introduced by modern loads and grid components.
Why contractors care
High THD can correlate with heat, stress, nuisance trips, and shortened lifespan in motors, transformers, and sensitive controls.
Clarifying a Common Misconception About “No Waste” Electricity
A common objection online goes like this: “Electricity is 100% efficient because it becomes heat, so there’s no waste.” That statement mixes two different ideas: energy conservation versus equipment efficiency and power quality.
Heat inside motor windings, transformer cores, control panels, and electronic components is not “useful heat.” It represents electrical loss and stress. In warm months, it also becomes added cooling load. In commercial and industrial settings, it can translate into maintenance issues and lifecycle cost.
The better question is whether equipment can deliver the same work with less stress under real electrical conditions. That is a measurement conversation: baseline readings, verification, and performance data.
Where Energy Optimization Fits
There is a category of electrical technologies designed to improve local power conditions and address certain forms of distortion. When properly evaluated and installed, these systems are intended to support cleaner power delivery at the point of consumption.
Every site is different. Load mix, wiring, distance to transformer, and equipment profiles vary. So the responsible approach is: baseline readings, post-install verification, and real performance data.
Who This Makes Sense For
- Electrical service companies working on panels, motors, service calls, and troubleshooting “mystery” issues
- HVAC companies supporting compressor-heavy environments and equipment longevity
- Commercial operators (restaurants, retail, laundromats, hospitality, light industrial)
- Homeowners with heavy motor loads, lots of electronics, or repeated equipment failures
Why Dave’s Energy Solutions Aligned with Commonstead
Most service companies live in a loop: pay for leads, close the job, do the install, then start over at zero. The future is not one product. It is infrastructure that stacks logically over time: energy, power quality, thermal efficiency, water, and whole-home improvements.
That is why Dave’s Energy Solutions has aligned with Commonstead as an ecosystem model: a way for service companies to broaden what they can offer responsibly, collaborate across complementary solutions, and increase long-term customer value without turning into a high-pressure sales operation.
My role through Dave’s Energy Solutions is to connect the right companies and the right customers to the right lane, in partnership with Commonstead products and Commonstead professionals.