smart meters

[Cuzz]

From KDRV:

Meter Readers may soon be a thing of the past. Pacific Power plans to install smart meters to homes in our area over the next 18 months.

"Pacific Power will install the smart meters for it's customers for free, but if you opt out it will cost you. Customers that don't use the smart meter will be charged a one-time $137 meter exchange fee, and a $36 monthly meter reading fee.

For one year, that's $432 just to have a person read the meter. If you change your mind within six months Pacific Power will install a smart meter, and it will refund the $137.

"All it is, is to make sure that we're passing on the cost associated with that extra personnel for someone opting out onto the customer directly instead of having other rate payers subsidize it," says Christina Kruger, Regional Business Manager of Pacific Power.  "

http://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Pacific...57583.html

I would have considered opting out if it was a flat $137 fee, but no way I'd pay a monthly fee. Bring on the smart meter and I will just sleep with an extra layer of tin foil over my head.  

I can't believe an intelligent guy like you would consider opting out. All the talk about this meter gathering info about what you do is total bullshit.

I don't care about the data gathering, but I do question the long term effects of RF exposure that inundates our bodies these days, which is exactly the reason I turn off our router every night. To err on the side of caution I don't see any harm in limiting exposure. Having said that ( ) if you live in a neighborhood and opt out, you are still going to get exposure from your neighbors meters which in all likelihood may even be closer in proximity to your main living or bedroom space then your own meter. 
If I lived rural and if it was just a flat fee I would  consider opting out, yes, but for practical reasons listed above, Nope, I will have a smart meter like everyone else.

 Because I was an electrician I remember when people first started talking about the alleged harm form EMF of RF.
 I also remember a study about the health of electrical workers at generation plants who were around massive amounts of EMF.
It was determined that not only did they not suffer from cancer or any other ailments than the general population.
They were healthier.
At the same time there were people crying about schools being close to high voltage power lines. And they studies showed they had no more health problems than any other kid.



the amount of RF radiation that someone would be exposed to from a smart meter is probably much lower than the amount that they would be exposed to from other sources.

It would be nearly impossible to conduct a study to prove or disprove a link between living in a house with smart meters and cancer because people have so many sources of exposure to RF and the level of exposure from this source is so small. Because, the amount of RF radiation you could be exposed to from a smart meter is much less than what you could be exposed to from a cell phone, it is very unlikely that living in a house with a smart meter increases risk of cancer.

Because the low levels of energy from RF radiation have not been clearly shown to cause problems even at close range, it isn’t clear that lowering exposure to RF radiation has health benefits.


https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-cau...eters.html

I don't disagree that's why I'm not losing sleep over it. However, the fact remains it is still considered possibly carcinogenic. I see no harm in limiting exposure, such as turning off a router while you're sleeping. If that lowers my life expectancy cancer risk by 1%, I'll take it.

Nothing wrong with that. If you're more comfortable doing that then good!

I would point out that there's radiation and then there's radiation. Frequency, power and proximity all play a large part in exposure affects. Most people seem to equate all exposures the same.

[Scrapper]

Our smart meter was installed yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

[Cuzz]

Our smart meter was installed yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Have you asked it anything yet??  

[Scrapper]

Our smart meter was installed yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Have you asked it anything yet??  

Nope... haven't even taken a peek at it.  My power went off for about 2-3 minutes... and I found a note on my door.  They didn't even bother to knock or ring the bell to warn me.  One minute I'm in the bathroom blow drying my hair... the next minute I'm just standing in the dark!  Kinda rude, if you ask me.

[GPnative]

Our smart meter was installed yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Have you asked it anything yet??  

Nope... haven't even taken a peek at it.  My power went off for about 2-3 minutes... and I found a note on my door.  They didn't even bother to knock or ring the bell to warn me.  One minute I'm in the bathroom blow drying my hair... the next minute I'm just standing in the dark!  Kinda rude, if you ask me.

That is rude....given the opportunity I would unplug some of my electronics, etc. My important ones are on a UPS, but still, I'm cautious like that, I have lost equipment to power outages/brown outs in the past. So I'd unplug if they'd give me advance notice.

[chuck white]

I think I'll wrap my smart meter with Aluminum Foil.

[tvguy]

Our smart meter was installed yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Have you asked it anything yet??  

Nope... haven't even taken a peek at it.  My power went off for about 2-3 minutes... and I found a note on my door.  They didn't even bother to knock or ring the bell to warn me.  One minute I'm in the bathroom blow drying my hair... the next minute I'm just standing in the dark!  Kinda rude, if you ask me.

That is rude....given the opportunity I would unplug some of my electronics, etc. My important ones are on a UPS, but still, I'm cautious like that, I have lost equipment to power outages/brown outs in the past. So I'd unplug if they'd give me advance notice.

It is rude. And I think it could even be dangerous for some people. Like some old fart in a suddenly dark room who doesn't have life alert. Or a person could lose whatever they were working on with their PC
 I wonder if they sent out a message that this could happen with the power bill? That's IF you get a bill. We get emails.
On the other hand I bet if they were to tray and ask each person at each home it would take them forever to contact anyone and get  the job done.

I've never lost any electrical items because my power went off or was turned off. Maybe you had a power surge or low voltage(brown out) ,Just having the power go off shouldn't hurt anything.
.
PP&L will rarely admit that happens LOL. But it does. The company I used to work for did lots of work for PP&L and that included replacing surge protectors.

[Valuesize]

Well if I had hair or a blow dryer and was using it when somebody knocked or rang the Bell I'm pretty sure I'd never hear anything.

[tvguy]

Well if I had hair or a blow dryer and was using it when somebody knocked or rang the Bell I'm pretty sure I'd never hear anything.

Right and they would then have to come back. Now multiply that by hundreds of people.

I don't have to worry about not hearing anything. My dogs bark even when there is nothing to hear.

[Scrapper]

Well if I had hair or a blow dryer and was using it when somebody knocked or rang the Bell I'm pretty sure I'd never hear anything.

We have the Ring Doorbell... I looked back at it... no one came to my door or near my front yard all day (other than the elementary students that catch the bus near the corner of our yard... we live on a corner).

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

[tvguy]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

[chuck white]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

[tvguy]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

Thanks but assuming that works is also assuming my attic gets heated up a lot and that heat transfers in to my house.
I have a LOT of attic insulation 16" to maybe 24". Also I have an electric exhaust fan. Plus I have half of my roof covered in white shingles and the other half with metal roofing. And neither absorbs heat very much.

I think my best option is to try and get the most efficient AC unit possible... maybe. Right now I have two window ac units and when I look for high efficiency all I see are central AC units

[GPnative]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

Thanks but assuming that works is also assuming my attic gets heated up a lot and that heat transfers in to my house.
I have a LOT of attic insulation 16" to maybe 24". Also I have an electric exhaust fan. Plus I have half of my roof covered in white shingles and the other half with metal roofing. And neither absorbs heat very much.

I think my best option is to try and get the most efficient AC unit possible... maybe. Right now I have two window ac units and when I look for high efficiency all I see are central AC units

what about a swamp cooler?

[tvguy]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

Thanks but assuming that works is also assuming my attic gets heated up a lot and that heat transfers in to my house.
I have a LOT of attic insulation 16" to maybe 24". Also I have an electric exhaust fan. Plus I have half of my roof covered in white shingles and the other half with metal roofing. And neither absorbs heat very much.

I think my best option is to try and get the most efficient AC unit possible... maybe. Right now I have two window ac units and when I look for high efficiency all I see are central AC units

what about a swamp cooler?

 Not sure it would cool enough and they add a ton of humidity. It's a thought and I just read a lot about them.
It seems like something must be wrong with them since hardly anyone I know has one.
But the best place to use them is hot, dry arid climates exactly like we have here.
I have one in my shop. A big one. I use it in the summer if there's some project I need to do out there. It works great but you have to actually be in the airflow to be cool.
But that's still pretty good for a metal insulated two story building

[Juniper]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

Thanks but assuming that works is also assuming my attic gets heated up a lot and that heat transfers in to my house.
I have a LOT of attic insulation 16" to maybe 24". Also I have an electric exhaust fan. Plus I have half of my roof covered in white shingles and the other half with metal roofing. And neither absorbs heat very much.

I think my best option is to try and get the most efficient AC unit possible... maybe. Right now I have two window ac units and when I look for high efficiency all I see are central AC units

what about a swamp cooler?

 Not sure it would cool enough and they add a ton of humidity. It's a thought and I just read a lot about them.
It seems like something must be wrong with them since hardly anyone I know has one.
But the best place to use them is hot, dry arid climates exactly like we have here.
I have one in my shop. A big one. I use it in the summer if there's some project I need to do out there. It works great but you have to actually be in the airflow to be cool.
But that's still pretty good for a metal insulated two story building

When I lived in AZ the swamp cooler worked grand. I had one here for about 10 years and it was so-so, but I think it could be about house layout as well...because of the way swamp coolers work. And they make new fangled ones that aren't as good as the old ones.

[GPnative]

I wish I could figure out some alternative method of air conditioning my house. You can see by the graph that's where I use the most power. DEC and Jan I was doing a lot in my shop and I left an electric heater running in a travel trailer 24 hours a day so the pipes wouldn't freeze.. and forgot about it

Water sprinkler on the roof.
Evaporating water takes a lot of BTU's

Thanks but assuming that works is also assuming my attic gets heated up a lot and that heat transfers in to my house.
I have a LOT of attic insulation 16" to maybe 24". Also I have an electric exhaust fan. Plus I have half of my roof covered in white shingles and the other half with metal roofing. And neither absorbs heat very much.

I think my best option is to try and get the most efficient AC unit possible... maybe. Right now I have two window ac units and when I look for high efficiency all I see are central AC units

what about a swamp cooler?

 Not sure it would cool enough and they add a ton of humidity. It's a thought and I just read a lot about them.
It seems like something must be wrong with them since hardly anyone I know has one.
But the best place to use them is hot, dry arid climates exactly like we have here.
I have one in my shop. A big one. I use it in the summer if there's some project I need to do out there. It works great but you have to actually be in the airflow to be cool.
But that's still pretty good for a metal insulated two story building

I just remember having one in a place i lived when I was a kid, from what I recall it worked pretty darn good. But kid memory and reality can be a wide chasm. 

[chuck white]

I have a swamp cooler as well.
Where is the heat getting in? If not from the roof.
Indoor cooking can be a killer. I try to barbecue during the hot spells.

[Valuesize]

I have a swamp cooler as well.
Where is the heat getting in? If not from the roof.
Indoor cooking can be a killer. I try to barbecue during the hot spells.

The heat is getting in because it's 100 + outside.

[tvguy]

I have a swamp cooler as well.
Where is the heat getting in? If not from the roof.
Indoor cooking can be a killer. I try to barbecue during the hot spells.

I built my house with 2x4 walls. That's not even allowed now because you can't insulate well enough. Plus I wanted my kitchen to have a ton of natural light so it has an  8 ft sliding glass door and a window above the counter that's 8 by 3 1/2.
The only part that is well insulated is my attic.

Indoor cooking can be a killer. I try to barbecue during the hot spells.

We do. But the truth of the matter is when it's hot my two AC units both run continuously all day anyway. So if my wife does fire up the oven We still use about the same amount of power. But the house wouldn't be as cool for a while.


One side of my house still has some of the original walls. They are made with 2x4's laying flat. That has poor insulation value. I have two new double pane windows to install in that wall and when I do I will redo the entire wall with 2X6's.
I've already done this with one room.I have a ton of projects