How does my smart meter communicate?

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Here's the smart meter they just installed:



I'm curious what technology this thing uses to communicate with the power company? Built in cell phone? Radio? I searched the inter web, no definitive answer.

Anyone know? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Sideways. And it could be either, though technically cell phone is radio.

The older type uses a one-way radio with a range of several hundred feet. The electric company drives a car or truck around at least once a month to collect readings. Cell phone technology is used in newer ones. Those of course are readable without a local visit.

Googling "Silver Spring Networks" and that FCC ID number should tell you quite a bit.
 
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Radio read for the most part. Some utilities have a cell tower system that can collect a bunch of the radio read signals and send them to a central location over cellular, and others just drive around with vehicle (s) that collect the individual meter radio signals.
 
is putting a metal screen over these legal? I know of a product that just clips on the front and blocks comms. Some claim new meters are causing cancer.
 
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
is putting a metal screen over these legal? I know of a product that just clips on the front and blocks comms. Some claim new meters are causing cancer.


Yeah, I've been reading that too.. One more thing to worry about. Seems to be less and less caring about people health with these new ideas
 
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
is putting a metal screen over these legal? I know of a product that just clips on the front and blocks comms. Some claim new meters are causing cancer.


Ask your power company ... by bet is the answer is no. These can't cause any more cancer than all the other things around us that send out signals, like cell phones. Besides, they are located outside the house. They all have to be FCC complaint.
 
Most likely each smart meter is a repeater. They form a chain back to a base station to collect readings. Lots of wireless comms are working that way nowadays. Defeating it will just make the power company come and fix it and fine you for messing with it.

No more of a cancer hazard than you home wifi.
 
A metal screen is OK if it doesn't impede the readings. The radio transmitter is a lot more powerful than it needs to be for most situations, so if the meter is close to the road it should be OK.

You would know if they start having trouble getting readings because your bill would say estimated rather than actual.
 
I called electric company in DE to question bill as two bills were identical to the penny which I think is odd. They read it while I was on the phone.

In NY a truck drives in a reads the meter.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Surprised they dont whisper down the power lines.
With a soup can attached with a string?
 
True. You could even go so far as to say that 'they' DO know what it does, and keep it under wraps for the sake of 'their' business profitability.

Elster 900MHz band around here at disconcertingly high power level of quarter Watt- that's 0.25W transmit power for every single meter- which adds up, effectively leaving us swimming in an inescapable field. Many health effects are associated with clusters of these meters such as in multi-dwelling homes.

900MHz RF travels well.
https://www.electricsense.com/1225/900mh...our-cell-phone/
 
Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
True. You could even go so far as to say that 'they' DO know what it does, and keep it under wraps for the sake of 'their' business profitability.

Elster 900MHz band around here at disconcertingly high power level of quarter Watt- that's 0.25W transmit power for every single meter- which adds up, effectively leaving us swimming in an inescapable field. Many health effects are associated with clusters of these meters such as in multi-dwelling homes.

900MHz RF travels well.
https://www.electricsense.com/1225/900mh...our-cell-phone/


So I read this and clicked around a bit...

Seems like I need a tin foil hat.
 
I don't think 'tin foil' will help you very much (tip: good luck finding foil made of tin). What might serve you more usefully is probably a fundamental grasp of electromagnetic radiation, the characteristics of different bands and a general concept of each band's interaction with biological systems. There is plenty of educational material for you to peruse through, after becoming basically familiar with RF.
 
Mesh network, but the type depends on the particular utility. My utility (Pacific Gas & Electric) uses Silver Spring Networks equipment with either General Electric or Landis+Gyr meters.

https://www.silverspringnet.com/customer/pacific-gas-and-electric-company/
https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/sa...smartmeter.page

sm-ge.jpg
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I know in the city of Santa Clara they have a mesh network that operates on public WiFi frequencies. It's really different too since they have free public WiFi that uses the primary transmitters from the meter system.

Quote:
http://www.santaclarafreewifi.com

Santa Clara Free Wi-Fi provides outdoor access to the Internet in the City of Santa Clara. The free Wi-Fi is made possible through the new advanced metering system put in place by Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the City's municipal electric utility. Called SVP MeterConnect℠, it refers to the advanced meters and the wireless technology powering SVP's upgrade to modern and secure wireless metering for its electricity customers.

When the highly encrypted and protected electric meter data system was built by SVP, a separate unencrypted channel was also installed to support public Wi-Fi. Santa Clara is the first city in the country to provide citywide outdoor Wi-Fi access for a community as part of its advanced meter upgrade program. Santa Clara Free Wi-Fi replaces an old Wi-Fi system that existed in parts of the city, called MetroFi. When that system's operator went out of business, SVP negotiated a low purchase price for the MetroFi wireless infrastructure to use as a starting point for citywide applications.

It's important to note that the free public Wi-Fi access channel, similar to Wi-Fi access points in coffee shops and retail stores, is not encrypted, and private information such as credit card, bank or personal information should not be transmitted over Santa Clara Free Wi-Fi. Natural or constructed obstacles may also block Wi-Fi signals in some locations. See the Santa Clara Free Wi-Fi frequently asked questions page for more information.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Surprised they dont whisper down the power lines.
With a soup can attached with a string?


No soup can or string required. The thing is rather obviously already connected.

There used to be wired ethernet that used the domestic ring-main as cabling. Probably still is. Don't know/can't remember if there was a WAN equivalent but I can't see any real reason why not.
 
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Originally Posted By: Ducked
There used to be wired ethernet that used the domestic ring-main as cabling. Probably still is. Don't know/can't remember if there was a WAN equivalent but I can't see any real reason why not.

Data signals will not pass through the step-down transformer on the pole to the main line. So, communication is limited to within the same house or between neighbors that are connected to the same transformer.

There is a proposal for "broadband over power line" but it would use power lines only for final delivery to the house. Wide-area distribution would be by fiber optic run alongside the main power lines, with a fiber to power line converter at each transformer.
 
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