Are there really people this willfully ignorant in the world?
As a designer of smart meters, I challenge anyone to show me mean-time-between-failures figures that prove that analog meters are more reliable than electronic.
You can't.
Electronic meters HAVE NO MOVING PARTS TO WEAR OUT.
Not long ago, one of my customers sent back a "smart" gas meter that had been in the field since 1987.
Yes, you read that right.
And it was still working.
And they're plenty safe, folks. It's not ionizing radiation, it's radio waves, same as your cell phone, baby monitor, and wireless key fob for your car. I did the calculations for safe RF exposure myself, folks. It's not going to hurt you.
No, smart meters cannot report on how often you have sex, what magazines you read, or whether you are a candidate to go to a FEMA camp. It JUST MEASURES POWER/WATER/GAS. It doesn't have the computer power, memory, or gumption to do anything else. It just obeys its boring little program, reporting meter readings ever 4 hours so the utility company can balance their loads.
Sheesh, can we stop with the smart meter paranoia on FR already?
while they may be “smart” and you claim “safe” I like my mechanical one..
You can’t send it a signal to “adjust” the amount of electricity used. You can’t send it a signal to limit my usage..
my electric company can’t even read my meter with out coming out to my house.
I like it that way.
Thanks for the info. Have also been hearing of these “smart” meters and about same time our Elect. provider began “offering” some “smart thermostat” or somesuch. I think many, include self, have smart meter confused with the smart thermostat thingy.
Couple of years ago ONCOR replaced our analog meter with one they can read over the powerline, their reasoning was to quit the meterreaders.
I seriously doubt the smart meter has any way to cut power or reduce power to us and as you say is to report usage every 4 hours. Interrupting 200 amps is not something that could be done in that small smart meter package. Right?
My objection is that these utilities are getting government subsidies to install these. If so much money is to be saved, why does it take the government to finance this?