Not so smart?

[MikeNovack]

Not sure where this should go except amusing, so putting here.

The last few days have been receiving emails from the electric company explaining that existing electric meters will be replaced with "smart meters" to be installed over the next three years in this state but that they are starting in our area so for us will be soon.

Now many years ago, used to be meters some bloke would have to go house to house to read/record. Then they switched to ones with transponders so could be read by a truck driving down the road. These new "smart meters" are supposed to connect directly to their network.

That is the amusing part. HOW do they expect them to connect? .Maybe by starting out here in the rural western end of the state they will learn not to make assumptions. I seriously doubt they were planning by connection via the (expensive) satellite network (like sat phones use). Probably counting on using the same sort of network as cell phones use, lease space on cell towers. UH, that means being able to connect to a cell tower. Out here, coverage is spotty at best. Right now I am connected to the internet but that's by CABLE (wired connection to the wireless modem router). Guests at our house can use their cell phones (if their phone accounts and phones support this) by connecting to our LAN. Are they expecting their devices to use that, and even if so, who says the electric meter is close enough (the one on the side of the house, yes, the one on the barn/garage ???)

[Stinsy]

Not sure where this should go except amusing, so putting here.

The last few days have been receiving emails from the electric company explaining that existing electric meters will be replaced with "smart meters" to be installed over the next three years in this state but that they are starting in our area so for us will be soon.

Now many years ago, used to be meters some bloke would have to go house to house to read/record. Then they switched to ones with transponders so could be read by a truck driving down the road. These new "smart meters" are supposed to connect directly to their network.

That is the amusing part. HOW do they expect them to connect? .Maybe by starting out here in the rural western end of the state they will learn not to make assumptions. I seriously doubt they were planning by connection via the (expensive) satellite network (like sat phones use). Probably counting on using the same sort of network as cell phones use, lease space on cell towers. UH, that means being able to connect to a cell tower. Out here, coverage is spotty at best. Right now I am connected to the internet but that's by CABLE (wired connection to the wireless modem router). Guests at our house can use their cell phones (if their phone accounts and phones support this) by connecting to our LAN. Are they expecting their devices to use that, and even if so, who says the electric meter is close enough (the one on the side of the house, yes, the one on the barn/garage ???)

In the UK there are two systems.

In most of England there is a communications mesh where your meter needs to be in line-of-sight with another meter to work. In Northern England and Scotland a long-range radio network is in place. Neither system is 100% effective and it’d have been nice if a backup system could’ve been implemented whereby the meter transfers data via Bluetooth to an app in a smartphone and the data is uploaded when the smartphone connects to WiFi or LTE.

However all of that fantastical too-good-to-be-true tariffs we talk about on here have been enabled by smartmeters. Eg negative pricing, or period of free electricity, or being paid to use less than normal, etc.

[dan_b]

There has been a lot of negative press around Smart Meters, but they are an overall net good.

As Stinsy says in the UK there are two systems - the mesh network between groups of meters described ultimately connects to the cellar mobile phone network, and this is where imperfect cell coverage causes problems.

In the UK also, the electricity is measured/metered in half-hour time blocks. However, a growing number of European countries either have, or are in the process of, moving to 15min metering, as the shorter time periods should allow better balancing of supply vs demand and enable more renewables on the grid.

[MikeNovack]

As Stinsy says in the UK there are two systems - the mesh network between groups of meters described ultimately connects to the cellar mobile phone network, and this is where imperfect cell coverage causes problems.

I wasn't meaning to be negative about the concept of smart meters.

Just the assumption that HERE (my immediate location) direct access to the cell phone network would be available. We haven't done this, but Penny and I COULD use cell phones as long as both the phones AND our cell phone accounts supported "use internet connection if stronger than cell phone connection" (at our house, the latter would be zero)

Back when internet cable arrived on our road, the techie hooking us up ran into the problem. As the final step activating each connection he had to connect his device via the cell system to give the connect command. I had to show him a place on the shortcut over the hill, about a km from here, where if in an area about the size of a basketball court, he could connect. Must have been frustrating for him. Hook up a house, drive to this "sweet spot"", order the connection, then return to the house to test. Repeat for the next house. SOME people out here don't even have cable available but use satellite internet or even as we used to, "dial up" << and take a machine to the library for anything requiring bandwidth >>. I