lwmuddy
So.carolina
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Joined: 04/07/2002
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So, do these new meters transmit info wirelessly or over power line.
If so, either could have hacking vulnerabilities.
I'm starting to read the piles of internet information on the 'Smart Meters".
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5thwheeleroldman
Texas
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Joined: 06/26/2007
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Thanks for all the input; maybe I'm worrying too much. Can't stand to wait for that first bill. We are hearing stories of bills going from $250 to $800, or $350 to $1500, etc. Hope it's all just media hype.
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p220sigman
Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Joined: 09/16/2004
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They changed our meter over a couple of months ago. I haven't noticed any difference other than I don't have to go out and read the meter and report the reading on-line. I have looked at what they say the reading is when the bill comes and compare it to the meter just to be sure that the reporting was correct and it seems to be. Currently, our co-op doesn't bill differently for peak vs off-peak. Our bill would probably go down if they did because we are gone for pretty much the entire time that is typically peak usage time.
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mgirardo
Brunswick, GA
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Our smart meter was only installed a few months ago, but we haven't noticed a difference in our electric bill.
Doing a quick Google search using "electric bill smart meter", it seems like residents of Texas and California are seeing higher electric bills because of the peak hour usage issue. Basically people are being penalized (charged more) for using a lot of electricity during high peak usage periods.
Installing your own meter won't solve the problem unless you do your own hour to hour analysis and compare it to what the electric company reports. I get the impression that the smart meters aren't reporting more usage, they just allow the Electric Companies to charge more for the electricity used during high peak hours. If you don't use high electricity consuming appliances (including TVs) during peak hours, it sounds like you might actually save money.
-Michael
Michael Girardo :: michael@ecxc.com
2009 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS Class C Motorhome
2006 Rockwood Roo 233 Hybrid Travel Trailer
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msmith1199
Central, CA
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I may be wrong, but I think the smart readers just transmit short distances. They still have to drive by all of the houses in a vehicle that has the reciever in it that collects the information. They may have different types of these meters, but that is my understanding of how the one at my house works.
2004 National Tropi-Cal T-350, Class A, Triple slide, 330 HP Cat DP.
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Pawz4me
North Carolina
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msmith1199 wrote:I may be wrong, but I think the smart readers just transmit short distances. They still have to drive by all of the houses in a vehicle that has the reciever in it that collects the information. They may have different types of these meters, but that is my understanding of how the one at my house works.
That's my understanding of how ours works. We've been here over five years and haven't had any reason to doubt its accuracy.
Me and the DH 
Two boys and two dogs (and two cats who prefer to stay home)
2008 Forest River Georgetown 350DS (bunkhouse model)
2001 Honda CR-V
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hokeypokey
xxx
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I think Smart meters are different than what our little town mandated 16-18 years ago which was a box wired in to control energy useage. City paid to have these installed in every (350) hookup in town.
Here's our experience: We get our furnace serviced early every Fall before it's turned on for heating season. Checked out fine. When weather turned colder, furnace gave us trouble so the heating/cooling guy came back. Told me it seemed OK but he tweaked it somewhat. Had to call again since it still wasn't working right. Repairman told me he couldn't understand it & I think his supervisor was not happy with him.
Fast forward to a very COLD day: Before I left for work, I heard loud racket in basement so when I went down to see, I was shocked to discover our furnace was making this noise! Honestly, I have to describe it like an out-of-balance cement mixer!! I called DH & he said get the heating/cooling guy there - fast. I tried to explain by phone to H/C & they seemed skeptical but said someone would be coming. I called back when furnace started up & held the phone so they could hear - it was the clincher.
Different repairman came &I was in basement with him & it dawned on me to ask if a control box had anything to do with malfunctions. (Box was in a different room with a wire connecting to the furnace back so it wasn't visible) He looked at it and with 1 clip of his pliers, cut the wire. He told me "I hate when they put this stuff on our equipment." Never had another incident with our furnace.
I went to the City & told them their box is off & it's staying off. They didn't argue. Then I wrote a complaint letter to the company that installed the box. I enclosed copies of all H/C bills but not the original one, of course. I also figured amount it cost me in wages to stay home & deal with it. It was well over $400 & before long I get a check from them.
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Orion
Pacific South West
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msmith1199 wrote:I may be wrong, but I think the smart readers just transmit short distances. They still have to drive by all of the houses in a vehicle that has the reciever in it that collects the information. They may have different types of these meters, but that is my understanding of how the one at my house works.
I think that they are a little more than that. There is a lot of controversy over the installation of these meters in BC at the moment, not so much because of the increase in fees, but in the radiation that these are supposed to give out. They have the range of a typical cell phone and transmit the usage back to the electricity office several times a day. They often cite the example of a cluster of meters near an apartment or townhouse complex, giving off a lot of radiation.
The advantages of these meters is that they will provide the electric company with HOURLY usage and will be able to facilitate tiered billing that varies with the time of day & also to provide instant notification of a power outage.
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msmith1199
Central, CA
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Yeah after I posted the last I did a Google search and see they have a lot of various types of meters and they transmit the data in different ways. Some short range like I said, some over cell networks, some over the cables and some over other radio means. I know the smart water meter we have does just transmit a short distance because I know the city worker who drives around in a truck with a computer in it that collects the water use data. He just drives around all day long letting the computer do the work. I have no idea how the collect the electrical data on my smart meter there.
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Joined: 11/11/2010
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When we bought our house 18+ years ago, it was our first experience with one of these meters. Our bills were immediately larger than the old place, but then again we went from a small townhouse to a larger single family home. Even after deregulation and having two kids, our bills haven't even doubled in those 18 years (well a couple of years ago they were double in the summer and winter). The bills for our neighbors have quadrupled in those years.
Why? We have made efforts to make our house more energy efficient:
1. Geothermal heat pump with desuper heater installed August 2009.
2. Upgraded the insulation in the attic and basement. Fix it in places where we open things up to do other work.
3. Upgraded the windows and sliding glass door on the back of the house.
4. Switch the CFLs 15 years ago. Currently switching over to LEDs.
5. Replaced some appliances with Energy Star compliant ones -- including TVs which seem to be on a lot.
Our neighbors haven't done any of these things other than a few CFLs here and there. Most of them have bought huge plasma TVs and can't figure out why their bill suddenly jumped after getting the new TV.
ERS
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