Update on smart meter controversy in Baraboo
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off,this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Not everything new is bad.
I get the “option” of paying $10 per month to not have the smart meter.
If I had the money, I’d send Mrs. Parker some solar panels and have someone install them for her!
Then I’d have a well driller dig her a well and a get someone to put a septic tank in.
Then she can tell the politicians to do something useful instead of harassing citizens.
I see a very clean broom sweeping in the next election.
So, denial of service, the easy way out. Hell, the other meter was in for years, you can’t sacrifice for a few years for the sake of the elderly. I wouldn’t buy your water just based on that alone. There are ways around it. Might cost some money to haul water to a cistern and a pump to the house, then guess what, you are now out of their system till they decide yours is a health hazard.
Did they kill analog TV for this, to make room on the frequency bandwidth for their smart grid?
-—— you get the smart meter or they shut you down———
Which is as it should be.
They sell, you buy. Don’t like the product, do without.
A quote from a friend about the above paper reference:
"The really amazing thing is that similar technology can be used for gas and water use, but requires a low cost (less than $50) but high bandwidth (essentially acoustic) pressure/flow sensor be installed. Something you may get with smart gas and water meters. They can detect a single dripping faucet or leaking toilet (and tell you which one) or give you a monthly total water use from a shower from ONE sensor on the water meter. F****** magic.. actually just very good time and frequency domain analysis, but still almost unreal."
In short this paper discusses how any electric utility supplied services to a residence can be analyzed at a very atomic level of operation. The comments also show how this is applicable to gas and water utility services too.
In addition, the head of Belkin (the company who purchased and is commercializing the technology) is a green fascist. He SPECIFICALLY wants to use the information to change and enforce behavior.
The product, now released, is called Belkin Echo. The launch customer is the US government.
You can have a smart meter installed, but just remember that another piece of your privacy is gone - and probably your control of your residence (see previous FReeper posts on new EPA refrigerator green program).
seems you could just wrap the meter in tin foil and ground it. Gets rid of the radio wave issues if that’s what’s bothering you.
Of course the invasion of privacy issue is something else. Best to install solar panels and get off the grid entirely
I will be moving further out to the country to do just that.
He should apply for a grant and put up a bird blender! And festoon his house with solar panels.
I think the smart meter makes a lot of sense. My dogs don't much like the meter reader and I had to remodel part of my new deck after he whined about the position of the handrail.
The smart meter can also be used to control any of your modern smart appliances, heat and air. It can also be used to brown/black out individual users.
First - these don’t sound like smart meters, just AMR’s (Automatic Meter Readers). Smart meters are bidirectional - that is, not only do they record and transmit electric usage but the can also send signals to the household to remotely control appliances. It’s this remote control capability that people should be concerned with.
Second, I’ve noticed over the years that the meter is quick to react to increased electric usage - the little wheels spin up very quickly - but they are slow to spin back down. That means they record usage that doesn’t really occur. They cheat you out of a few pennies every time you turn off an appliance!
What I would like to see is some enterprising person develop an isolating transformer or capacitor that would mask usage by filtering the spikes and smoothing out the signal that the meters “see”.
“It’s none of the city’s business when I’m using water”
Guess what sweetie?
They will know if you’re using water by reading the meter.
Another bunch of tinfoil hat crap IMO.
Most of those who gin up all of the myths and fearmonger these meters are the now displaced meter readers.
If I had an indoor garden (caugh caugh!) I could understand being opposed to a meter that can record a large and consistent electrical load change during the same 12 hour period each day. Otherwise, I don’t really understand the opposition to these meters, other than not wanting big brother collecting any more information than he already is.
But then, the utilities already know how much electricity per quarter you use versus your neighbors, so the electrical load of your indoor garden would still stand out next to your neighbor’s, even if they leaves all of their lights and televisions on 24/7.
That said, if the meters are to help the utility company cut costs, I think they should be offering a monthly opt-in credit, rather than an opt-out charge.