Smart Meter rant- technology going Backwards!

[3930dave]

As I've said before on this subject, mostly your choice comes down to Pay the Tribute, or Disconnect.

I "get" what it takes to provide a reliable power grid. Costs had to rise in most areas, for new build outs/refurbishments.

Instead of running the numbers and saying "Costs are rising for these reasons ________, so kwh flat rates need to go to _______________ cents/kwh , the Marketing mavens came up with Smart Grid.

What they have managed to do is thoroughly obfuscate what is going on with your bill (once the Time of Use billing is fully rolling in your area). Try arguing with a billing computer that 85% of your consumption was NOT at peak time.

Smart Grid has a few other secondary agendas, but the primary one is to blur Rate Increases behind a cloak of environmentalism and the "opportunity" for consumers to "save" money.

Pay the Tribute, or Disconnect.

Rgds, D.

 

[kenmac]

Well, I have a smart meter at my rual property so, I have use of power when I'm there. I get charged a min. fee just to have the meter there for use when I need it ... My flat fee for non use is $ 240.00 per yr. Free money to the power co.

 

[Mousefield]

Guess? :confused3: the one good thing will be when they are reading them remotely is if our power goes off they are notified automatically.
Had 4 installed on our property about 3 months ago. All meters are about 100 feet from a residence and then the wires are underground from there.
They still come out to read the meters, every 2 months, as it will be awhile :confused2: before they can read them remotely.

 

[dmccarty]

When we built the house, we wanted a smart meter so the meter reader would not have to visit the house but the power company wanted an extra $10-20 a month! They wanted us to spend extra money so that they could save money not having to send a read down our road and up to the house. :shocked: $%^&*() 'em. They sent a meter reader for a few years and then all of the houses in the area had the old meters replaced with smart readers. No more meter reader at the house and it does not cost us a cent.

I don't know for sure, but what we were told, was that the meter reader still has to drive into the area but no longer has to visit each meter. The reader had to drive into the area to pick up the values.

I googled. A story I found said that our power company had installed meters that transmitted the meter usage via radio that was picked up by a nearby meter reader. They said they the signal went a few hundred feet but ours certainly goes farther. The story said that new meters are being installed that do not require a visit by a meter reader. Furthermore, the new meters have time of use information. They make it sound like this is a good thing but I think it will just allow different billing aka increase power bills.

We have not had any problems with the smart meter. I have logged every power bill, including cost, days of usages, daily KWH usage and overall KWH usage since we built the house. I did not see any difference between the old meter and the new.

Later,
Dan

 

[RadarTech]

I'd be curious a too which meter it is....

Itron, GE OR?
I did contract IT work for Itron when they developed the meters...

 

[dmccarty]

Well, I have a smart meter at my rual property so, I have use of power when I'm there. I get charged a min. fee just to have the meter there for use when I need it ... My flat fee for non use is $ 240.00 per yr. Free money to the power co.

We wanted, and still want, to put in a gate operator. The problem is that the gate is well away from the house and would require its own meter. The power runs right under the gate and it would be very expensive for us to run a power line from the house back to the gate. A meter at the gate would have a minimum charge of $10-15 a month! No way would the gate use a $1.00 a month in power. $10-15 a month could buy a new battery every year.

We still don't have a powered gate operator. Well, when we pull up to the gate, I point my hand at the wifey, pretend to push a button while making a buzzing sound, at which point the gate operator gets out of the vehicle and opens the gate. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Sometimes this can be painful...

Later,
Dan

 

[RadarTech]

We wanted, and still want, to put in a gate operator. The problem is that the gate is well away from the house and would require its own meter. The power runs right under the gate and it would be very expensive for us to run a power line from the house back to the gate. A meter at the gate would have a minimum charge of $10-15 a month! No way would the gate use a $1.00 a month in power. $10-15 a month could buy a new battery every year.

We still don't have a powered gate operator. Well, when we pull up to the gate, I point my hand at the wifey, pretend to push a button while making a buzzing sound, at which point the gate operator gets out of the vehicle and opens the gate. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Sometimes this can be painful...

Later,
Dan

Get a battery with a solar charger.....

 

[dmccarty]

Get a battery with a solar charger.....

That is the plan...

One day...

The Wifey Powered Gate Operator has been working pretty good. Not perfect I admit. The operator is slow, pretty slow in fact, and often is cranky with issues, especially if it is cold and/or raining. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Sometimes, I have to push the button and buzz at the gate operator multiple times to get it too work. But she is a good ol' girl and I don't want to replace her, I mean the gate operator.

Later,
Dan

 

[RadarTech]

That is the plan...

One day...

The Wifey Powered Gate Operator has been working pretty good. Not perfect I admit. The operator is slow, pretty slow in fact, and often is cranky with issues, especially if it is cold and/or raining. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Sometimes, I have to push the button and buzz at the gate operator multiple times to get it too work. But she is a good ol' girl and I don't want to replace her, I mean the gate operator.

Later,
Dan

I just hope she has a good sense of humor.......

 

[Travelover]

The operator is slow, pretty slow in fact, and often is cranky with issues, especially if it is cold and/or raining. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

Try honking the horn.