"Smart Meter" EMF Danger- Is It Real???

[HugoStiglitz]

My employer E-mailed me a link to a site that was discussing the high levels of low-freq radiation these things give off several times a minute. It seems that these things communicate to a even more powerful unit on one lucky person's meter that sends this data to a central point. One source claimed that new electrical devices are mandated to have circuitry that allows the meter to communicate with the device. The health hazzards from EMF exposure are well documented. My call to the utility company was rather chilling, as they feel there is no health risk involved. One source claimed that these devices could be "Weaponised" to give off even higher levels of EMFs to incapacitate occupants.

Is this "Tin Foil Hat" stuff, or is there a sinister agenda at work??? I seem to recall reading shortly after the '08 election that the Feds were heralding the idea of conserving energy with devices that would automatically control your thermostat setting and other such (what seemed like) nonsense at the time. Seems like that day is here. My meter was changed out 2 months ago (unkown to me), and there is no opting out of the program.

 

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

Re: "Smart Meter" EMF Danger- Is It Real???

Radiation levels unsafe?

I can tell you that in the community 10 miles South of here they gave the residents the choice to op out for this reason.

The evidence is all around you and you are free to believe whatever you want.

When the naked body scanners came out, they were said to be perfectly safe, they aren't; however they are calling for more widespread use of them, and Mike Chertoff is laughing all the way to the bank.

They say the meters aren't to control use, but if you look at the vulnerability of the nation's grid, and the manner in which Enron manipulated both price and quantity (just like refiners do with gasoline stocks).....well, again the evidence is all around you and you are free to believe whatever you want to.


As for not having a choice - really? What if 10,000 rate payers came together on a petition and said - remove this now? What if you took affirmative steps to convert to solar / batts and nat gas within - say three years, and then just called them up and said 'pull it'?

You only 'think' you don't have a choice.



Good luck

 

[E. Bryant]

Re: "Smart Meter" EMF Danger- Is It Real???

I'm no expert in this field, but I am an electrical engineer who worked on a smart water meter project at a previous employer. Here's what I recall:

1) The transmit power of these things is fairly low (well under 1 watt), the transmit duration is very short (a few milliseconds per burst), and the duty cycle is very low (one burst per every few minutes, at most). The meter we were working on used a small non-rechargeable battery pack to power it for its entire <span style="font-style: italic">10 year</span> lifetime, if that gives anyone a clue as to how much power it used.

2) In this particular case, there was absolutely no ability to command the meter to perform any sort of actions. It was simply for the purpose of reporting usage data. Future smart meters may indeed have some sort of actuation capability, but not presently.

3) The electronics in these things are completely incapable of providing sufficient power to "weaponize" in any remote sense of that word. The power required to create fields harmful to human health, even in a "near field" environment, takes a rack of amplifiers that would make the members of Spinal Tap giddy with joy.

4) At the frequencies utilized by such devices, the only real mechanism for harming one's health is through localized heating of the tissue. If you hold a cell phone to your head for several hours, this can be a problem. If the meter is mounted several feet away on the outside wall of your house, then the risk is so small as to be inconsequential.

The electric meter at my house is mounted directly outside my son's bedroom. From the standpoint of his health, I would have absolutely no concerns if there was a smart meter sitting in that same location.

What might justify some anxiety is the potential for abusing these devices in the name of surveillance. Given the tendency for law enforcement to use utility records (particularly those related to electricity consumption) as probable cause for carrying out searches, there are reasonable 4th Amendment concerns.

 

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

Re: "Smart Meter" EMF Danger- Is It Real???

Eric in all candor - you worked on a water meter that ultimately requires a physical (ball) valve to restrict flow to an individual end user. From the standpoint of being able to manipulate quantity (and therefore price) to individual end user, wouldn't you agree it is substantially easier to do this with electrical consumption rather than water?

Although I could never envision anyone wanting to manipulate power prices….


Good luck