WMBD/WYZZ-TV - PEORIA -- Just about everywhere you look there is something or someone promising to save you money on your electric bill.  But several members of a Peoria family are offering their own testimonials about a device that's saved *them* money.

 "We don't want home owners tryin' to hook this up themselves..." warns Gary Ogborn.  He's talking about his gray box.  He calls it his "magic box" because it saves him a lot of money on his electric bill.

 "I've had mine for about 6 months," muses Ogborn,  "and I save on an average of about 17%, maybe 20.  On an average.  Each month?  Each month, yeah."

It's called the Power Save 1200 .  Ogborn and his siblings are retired on fixed incomes and were fretting over their electric bills.  He says the Power Save 1200 has a twofold benefit...it acts as a surge protector for your whole house...and saves electricity until you turn on an appliance:

 "You know how you buy an energy star appliance so it can run more efficiently.  Well, this thing makes everything in your house, all your appliances and everything Energy Star certified.

To be fair there is another way you can save money.  You can unplug most if not all of your appliances.  But that does present a bit of an inconvenience.

Ogborn is a retired electrician so the manufacturers had to convince him.  "And we grilled 'em,' remembers Ogborn.  "I was very skeptical.  And I said you gotta tell me something that's gonna stand up in a court of law."

There's a 5-year warranty on the Power Save 1200 but it's projected to last 20 years.  It costs $300 plus tax:

"Less than a year you get all your investment back and what you paid for this and even the installation by an electrician -- they aren't cheap," notes Ogborn.

He and his family are official resellers of the Power Save 1200.  You can buy the device from the company's internet site or the firm will tell you how to contact the Ogborns. 

Again, they emphasize that the Power-Save 1200 must be installed by a licensed, bonded, and insured electrician.