SmartMeters are coming to your neighborhood... Are they really safe? Are they really smart?

While I set my profile location to "classified" as a joke, I will state here that I am in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati energy consumers will be among the first to experience a smart power grid. My meter was swapped out this week. While I agree that in theory, having real time energy usage data could be a good thing, that all depends on who has access to it. The way I understand it, all the usage data will be transmitted several times daily and stored in a database. In very short order a profile can be built that shows what time you get up in the morning, what time you leave for work, what time you get home, what time you eat, what day(s) you wash clothes, etc., etc.. Who would you like to have all this information? And if you think it through, you will realize that it could be used for nefarious purposes as well. Lets imagine that you have been marked an "enemy of the state" for your support of Ron Paul, or the second amendment, or your protest activities. Your meter data can be accessed in real time so the surveillance team knows when it's safe to come in and plant devices, or the assault team knows you're in bed (or maybe sitting in the dark and quiet, waiting for them... ; )). Also, your power can be disconnected remotely. Won't that be convenient for no knock warrants! I found it particularly ironic that the brand name of my meter is Echelon.

Now on to the safety issues. As I understand it, each smart meter is a node in a cellular mesh network that is constantly bursting radio frequency (RF) energy to maintain the network even though the data is only sent once or twice a day. I know, I know, the studies claim that you are not really cooking your brain with that cell phone glued to your head all day, and that it's not cellphones that are killing the bees, but as I understand it, smart meters are exempt from FCC cell phone RF limits and can transmit at up to 3 full watts. And this is mounted on your home, perhaps right outside your bedroom, so you can be radiated all night! ( Think about how much RF would be around a bank of meters on an apartment building.) Do some research and let's discuss the pros and cons of this new technology. What do you think?

Stop Smart Meters!

Get Your Smart Meter Radiation Out Of My Home!

Video comparing cell phones to smart meters.


Long video on the dark side of smart meters.


Video of smart meter killing shrub.

reply to post by mwc273

They are forcing it on us here in Norway as well.
There are even talks that they will implement a maximum limit for power usage, so they can kill your power with the flip of a switch if they want.

People need to wake up now, as we are really in 1984 territory already.

Smart Meters have a job
meter readers are becoming unemployed.
Hence they are smarter then humans
as they are still working.
I can hear the stories now...
What was the last thing you did before you got laid off?
Oh I was sent out to install Smart Meters.

These are causing major problems in Canada. Defective units can generate bills worth thousands of dollars and even though it is literally impossible for a household to use that much power in a single month the hydro company still takes the liberty to charge you the money anyway.

The most amount of power a household can use in a single day is about 40 KWh on a 240 volt, 200 amp service reduced to 80% of the total value as to not trip the breaker (Canadian electrical code) . Anything more than that and you would trip your main breaker.

These people would get bills stating that they were using over 100 KWh per day. This one couple from Manitoulin island were getting charged over 2k monthly for a camp in which they were paying a seasonal disconnect fee on, meaning the main breaker inside was shut off and the camp was vacant for the winter months. Ontario hydro one decided it was necessary to bill these people anyway as they were certain that the meter does not lie. Even the govt regulatory body measurement Canada ruled that the meter was faulty but apparently nothing could be done. The customer was charged a 300 dollar service fee to replace the meter.

For those of you who are technically inclined the best way to cheat the hydro companies is to installed a 10 Farad capacitor between your hydro panel and meter. Make sure it is rated for the amount of electricity your house runs on and amperage as well. This will probably run you up a few hundred dollars however it will reduce your bill by almost half.

Don't get caught by the hydro company though.

Your bill will go way up with a smart meter. It will datalog your power consumption at least every hour possibly more frequently depending on how it is programed. Your power company will use this info to determine what time of the day or night you used the power and start charging you more for the power used during "on-peak" hours.

New appliances are going to be able to communicate with the smart meter so they will now what device you are using also.

Most of the meters (water, gas, electric) have tamper sensors built in. They have a tilt sensor and usually a few hall-effect sensors to pick up magnetic fields. But my opinion is that they will be hacked easily in the near future using the wireless connection so physical contact won't be required.

There are a few ways to set up the data transfer on smart meter systems. They can be one-way or two-way. A one-way only sends the information from the meter when it receives a signal from a reader. With a two-way system, they can use mesh networks, GSM, 2.4Ghz wifi, and others.

There are several types of network topologies in use to get the meter data back to a central computer. A star network is the most common, where a meter transmits its data to a central collector or repeater. Some systems use only collectors which receive and store data for processing. Others also use a repeater which forwards a reading from a more remote area back to a main collector without actually storing it. A repeater may be forwarded by RF signal or sometimes is converted to a wired network such as telephone or IP network to get the data back to a collector. Some manufacturers are developing mesh networks where meters themselves act as repeaters passing the data to nearby meters until it makes it to a main collector. The Swedish city of Gothenburg is having their electric meters connected in this manner, using the ZigBee protocol.[1] A mesh network may save the infrastructure of many collection points, but is more data intensive on the meters. One issue with mesh networks it that battery operated ones may need more power for the increased frequency of transmitting. It also requires that the meter devices be receivers as well as transmitters potentially making individual transceiver cost higher. However, the additional cost may be outweighed by the savings of multiple collectors and repeater antennas and finding places to mount them. Some fixed network systems are also capable of being installed as a hybrid AMR system where mobile and fixed network are intermixed by design. In a hybrid system, part of the system is read by fixed network, and parts may read by mobile or other technology, or both. Utilities with low density rural areas may not cost justify the fixed network infrastructure for parts of their service area, using it only for higher density zones or commercial accounts. Some hybrid networks allow reading of a meter by both methods concurrently as a source of redundancy. In the event of a failure of the network due a natural disaster, sabotage, power failure, or other network interruption, the mobile reading system is available in their disaster recovery plan as an alternative means of data collection to the fixed network.

I've seen lots of folks up here encasing them in barriers that block wireless communications.

My bill almost doubled when the damn thing was installed. I was fairly upset because I use around 300kwh per month. I'm basically the hydro nazi of my house, turning stuff off constantly.

We have had a smart meter here for about 2 months or something like that.

Its on the wall outside my room and recently ive been feeling sick in the head and touching things like my tv and xbox and getting zapped by them while nobody else does, i never considered the smart meter being the issue until i saw this.. Who knows.

reply to post by metaldemon2000


Yea... I've been looking into making a Faraday Cage out of copper screen. But you must look into the definition of tampering or interfering with a public utility meter. I think as long as you are not actually touching the meter, you would be OK...

reply to post by mwc273


Yeah the hydro companies are brutal with people who rip them off.

Lots of folk up here get busted placing wire coils near transmission lines to power their camps (yes this works). These people sometimes see jail time because the fines are huge. They are charged the billing for the full service of what the actual transmissions lines cost. A few million volts worth.

Use the letter below to forbid smart meter installation (or modify the letter to demand the meter be removed).

From:
Energy Customer's Name
Street Address
City State Zip

To:
Energy Provider
Street Address
City State Zip


Date of letter

NOTICE OF NO CONSENT TO TRESPASS AND SURVEILLANCE, NOTICE OF LIABILITY

Dear (Energy Provider) and all agents, officers, employees, contractors and interested parties,

If you intend to install a "Smart Meter" or any activity monitoring device at the above address, you and all other parties are hereby deny consent for installation and use of all such devices on the above property. Installation and use of any activity monitoring device is hereby refused and prohibited. Informed consent is legally required for installation of any surveillance device and any device that will collect and transmit private and personal data to undisclosed and unauthorized parties for undisclosed and unauthorized purposes. Authorization for sharing of personal and private information may only be given by the originator and subject of that information. That authorization is hereby denied and refused with regard to the above property and all its occupants. "Smart Meters" violate the law and cause endangerment to residents by the following factors:
1. They individually identify electrical devices inside the home and record when they are operated causing invasion of privacy.
2. They monitor household activity and occupancy in violation of rights and domestic security.
3. They transmit wireless signals which may be intercepted by unauthorized and unknown parties. Those signals can be used to monitor behavior and occupancy and they can be used by criminals to aid criminal activity against the occupants.
4. Data about occupant's daily habits and activities are collected, recorded and stored in permanent databases which are accessed by parties not authorized or invited to know and share that private data by those who's activities were recorded.
5. Those with access to the smart meter databases can review a permanent history of household activities complete with calendar and time-of-day metrics to gain a highly invasive and detailed view of the lives of the occupants.
6. Those databases may be shared with, or fall into the hands of criminals, blackmailers, corrupt law enforcement, private hackers of wireless transmissions, power company employees, and other unidentified parties who may act against the interests of the occupants under metered surveillance.
7. "Smart Meters" are, by definition, surveillance devices which violate Federal and State wiretapping laws by recording and storing databases of private and personal activities and behaviors without the consent or knowledge of those people who are monitored.
8. It is possible for example, with analysis of certain "Smart Meter" data, for unauthorized and distant parties to determine medical conditions, sexual activities, physical locations of persons within the home, vacancy patterns and personal information and habits of the occupants.
9. Your company has not adequately disclosed the particular recording and transmission capabilities of the smart meter, or the extent of the data that will be recorded, stored and shared, or the purposes to which the data will and will not be put.
10. Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency energy contamination from smart meters exceeds allowable safe and healthful limits for domestic environments as determined by the EPA and other scientific programs.

I forbid, refuse and deny consent of any installation and use of any monitoring, eavesdropping, and surveillance devices on my property, my place of residence and my place of occupancy. That applies to and includes "Smart Meters" and activity monitoring devices of any and all kinds. Any attempt to install any such device directed at me, other occupants, my property or residence will constitute trespass, stalking, wiretapping and unlawful surveillance and endangerment of health and safety, all prohibited and punishable by law through criminal and civil complaints. All persons, government agencies and private organizations responsible for installing or operating monitoring devices directed at or recording my activities, which I have not specifically authorized in writing, will be fully liable for any violations, intrusions, harm or negative consequences caused or made possible by those devices whether those negative consequences are justified by "law" or not..

This is legal notice. After this delivery the liabilities listed above may not be denied or avoided by parties named and implied in this notice. Civil Servant immunities and protections do not apply to the installation of smart meters due to the criminal violations they represent.

Notice to principal is notice to agent and notice to agent is notice to principal. All rights reserved.

Signature.

They have been introducing them here and plan to have the whole island on them soon. Thing is they still send people out to check them. People are already complaining that they do not work properly and that bills have increased.

A friend of mine told me he can get a special magnet to stick on the side that costs €1000. Its supposed to reduce it by 70%.

The thing is, I am sure these are guys working for the electric company who are selling them.

reply to post by mwc273



2 years ago my electric meter was swapped with the smart meter, 2 years ago my highest elec bill was $125.00, k ow I pay a low of $250.00 as high as $375.00. They have supposed ways to hear and see the occupants, I hate it. Next the smart meter will be on your gas and water...big brother is watching us.
P.S. I'm In texas

Another thing.. One of the times a bloke came to check it he just helped himself to it lol, it's about 30 meters from the bottom of my driveway to the house and I hear this tapping sound coming from outside and the guy is performing intercourse with my box. I wish, but yeah a weird thing to wake up to.

Cant say I really buy any of the negative hype that goes with the smart meters but anything is possible.

We have had our for several months now and there has been no change in our bill etc. As mentioned in other threads there are ways around any meter being able to identify devices based on there power usage bye using power inventors or line conditioners. Personally I think all that falls into the BS category since power companies are businesses and only care about money. Sure maybe the Gov entities could find some benefit in that sort of nfo before they raid your house but if they are looking at anyone that hard how much info your meter gives off is probably the last thing to be worried about.

As for health risks no amount of microwaves of any type are good for you but everywhere we go we are bathed now more than ever in wi-fi , cellphones and god knows what else so its probably a losing battle as public spaces go. That said shielding shouldn't be too difficult to achieve for those who wish to do so and I'm sure there are plenty of people doing just that in a perfectly legal manner. I will probably shield mine too

reply to post by 1825114


I have a friend who has attempted this strategy, and he has been formally notified that he has to accept the new meter, or his service will be disconnected. He plans to pursue a class action suit in that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio prohibits disconnection except for non payment. We shall see...

Here's another video that compares a bank of smart meters to a cell phone tower.

Another thing is the fact that they can disconnect your power remotely. Wouldn't that be most convenient during martial law... Turn off all residential power while leaving infrastructure and/or government powered. Your whole neighborhood, or even state, goes dark except for the police station(s) and the national guard armory(s).

I wouldnt accept anything (Smart meter) that some one else can control besides my self. I would do my best to avoid the smart meter at all cost. They have a guy that comes by and checks the meter.

No one is going to mess with my damn air conditioner unless its me.

SMART METER BYLAW's HAVE BEEN INACTED BUT THEY CANNOT BE ENFORCED UNTILL 2013 - BY THEN IF ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE VOICE THEY COMPLAINTS THEN IT IS PROBABLE THAT THE BYLAW WILL BE RECEEDED. (Copy and Pasted sorry for the caps)

reply to post by milkyway12
get ready for it is coming to a power com near you the plan is have all on this smart meter sys by 2018 www.sys-con.com... when they think you are using to much power posting some thing they do not like, off will go your power, so i have been told.
I for one do not believe the last part but when it come to brown outs yep they will kill your power