The Faraday-efficiency effect refers to the potential for misinterpretation of data from experiments in electrochemistry through failure to take into account a Faraday efficiency of less than 100 percent.
[dubious – discuss] Many publications reporting the finding of excess heat included an explicit statement like: "The Faraday efficiency is assumed to be unity."
[citation needed] From 1991-1993 a group of investigators,[2][3] headed by Zvi Shkedi, in the state of Massachusetts, USA, built well-insulated cells and calorimeters which included the capability to measure the actual Faraday efficiency in real-time during the experiments.
This investigation has shown how conventional chemistry, i.e. internal recombination of hydrogen and oxygen, accounted for the entire amount of apparent excess heat.
The investigators concluded their publication[2] with the following word of advice:"All reports claiming the observation of excess heat should be accompanied by simultaneous measurements of the actual Faraday efficiency."