Global Data Firm: “We Help Utilities Surveil and Profile Their Customers, and Monetize Home Surveillance Data”
It’s all in definitions.
We even tag the appliances that we see being used in the home.
I have a problem with that. But the rest of it, meh. I don’t want them sharing how much power my particular meter uses, but if they want to share how much power my neighborhood uses, they can have at it.
I can always grow the illicit drugs with solar. ;)
I didn’t read the article, but it should be clear that just from reading the meter on a constant basis, it should be able to determine at what moment you use how much power, and from that, make good guesses as to what has been turned on or off and when.
1 fridge? 2? How many different lights are activated at what wattages? Garage door opener? Water pump? Stove, and number of burners? Power saw? Lathe? Vacuum cleaner? Everything plugged in has a signature.
Call me paranoid if you want, but I believe Google is using Google Earth for ad revenue. My house is set back in the woods and I’ve been swamped since last year, never got around to getting the leaves up or the gutters cleaned out. Guess what I started seeing in online ads? Leaf blowers, gutter guards, etcetera. I also am going to be needing a new roof in the next several years, the algae stains are pretty bad even though it’s still serviceable with no leaks. Ads for roofing, too. Never got them before, haven’t done any web searches for these goods or services.
Power meters. Cars. Smart devices. And now refrigerators.
Love how iPhone voicemail now converts voice messages to text for you. So, assume ALL conversations are converted and stored away, all quickly text-scannable.
Who reads the EULA fine print in phone, TV, smart device and game console apps, about microphone and camera access? Take a close look...
Scary and enraging crap, this. We are pwned. I am tired of it.
In California, PG&E connected our smart meters to our Comcast cable, AT&T cable, or what ever cable you had.
Their cover story was they needed a ground.
Yeah sure ground our electric line into a cable connecting to our tv, computers, phones and routers. Don’t think so.
One of our conservative neighbors made fun of me when I disconnected it from our Comcast incoming cable.
I told him to ask his two SILs, both EE engineers.
He did and they helped him to disconnect his smart meter from their Comcast cable. Then, they went to their homes disconnect their smart meters from their Comcast cables.
The plus side of the smart meters is we have fewer power outages, and they are confined to smaller geographical areas.
I am not an electrician but it would SEEM to me that it would be possible to filter or condition the circuits so that no information would be sent to the meter.
Any freepers out there can confirm this idea?
I would also encourage a metal foil or plate between the meter and the house to reduce the RF coming into the house from these meters.
California nia has a horribly corrupt utility regulation system —which goes right up to the top in Sacramento as that state’s legislature and governors routinely take big $$ from the supposedly- regulated utility corporations. Result is highest utility rates in 48 or 50 or 57 states
My daughter’s house (I own it) got a smart meter last week.
At least now we don’t have make sure someone is home to let the meter reader into the basement any more.
My daughter’s house (I own it) got a smart meter last week.
At least now we don’t have make sure someone is home to let the meter reader into the basement any more.
And it’s only the municipal water meter.
They even provide data that shows when the home is empty. Burglars could do a lot with electrical usage graphs.