Will a Faraday Cage effectively prevent a “Smart Meter” from gathering detailed hourly data about the power consumption of the occupants of a house?
Any ideas? I ask because I know a lot of people who are distrustful of smart meter technology and want to protect themselves. If you put copper mesh around your smart meter, would that prevent the transmission of data, while still allowing the meter to be read in the old fashioned manner?
It strikes me as a bit silly to be worried about such things, but theoretically, isn’t there a right to prevent constant monitoring?
And is there a right not to be a customer of a power company? Some say the answer is no.
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7 responses to “Quick question”
Theoretically, anyway. You would have to wrap it very carefully and seal the seams to be sure. Now, what happens when they come to read the meter? Seeing no signal they check it out, and find your faraday shield. Want to bet it becomes illegal to interfere with the meter?
The way to fool one is to have a large UPS supply running your house. You could profile your consumption any way you want, such as charging the battery at night when the rates are low.
I agree with Man Mountain Molehill
I don’t think it would stop the collection of data, only the transmission of it to an outside collector.
After all, the meter knows how many watts it’s transmitting at any given time.
And it would depend on the collection method. Does it for example transmit the data out on the source power line?
TO: Eric, et al.
RE: Spoofing the ‘Smart Meter’
Will a Faraday Cage effectively prevent a “Smart Meter” from gathering detailed hourly data about the power consumption of the occupants of a house? — Eric
Probably not.
The Smart Meters are attached directly to the ‘property’. A faraday cage only stops electro-magnetic signals which pass through the air.
The Smart Meters are directly connected. Therefore their signals, which can be passed through the copper wires cannot be thwarted. Signals can be buried in the general electricity being transferred.
The only way that a faraday cage would work is if the power companies are using electro-magnetic signals. If they are….blocking them would highlight the property for immediate cut-off of power. And I’m confident that they could do that at their whim.
By the way, for Man Mountain Molehill, electro-magnetic transmissions are ‘line of sight’. They flow in direct lines. A ‘perfect seal’ is not necessary if one can identify the receiver’s location….a power pole with some ‘interesting’ transceiver on it that can read the signal from the ‘Smart Meter’.
Then again….cut off the signal and get your power cut off.
The BEST ‘defense’ is to generate more power for the property than you use, making the ‘Smart Meter’ to run backwards and the power company pays YOU!
Either that or go back to early 19th Century, i.e., pre-electricity, living standards.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?]
I know of two types of “smart” meters. One type uses carrier-frequency transmission to send signals over the power lines to a router at the local transformer. A faraday cage would have no effect on this meter.
The other kind uses (essentially) wi-fi to transmit data to the meter reader’s handheld logger. He generally doesn’t even have to leave the truck. A faraday cage would theoretically block this signal, but that would register as a meter failure and trigger replacement. So, a faraday cage would have no practical effect on this meter, either.
If you really don’t want a smart meter logging your energy use, the only cure is to install a transfer panel and go off-grid.
TO: Neil, et al.
RE: The WiFi Meter Reader
We had those in our area. A guy would walk down the alley with a hand-held device, pointing it at the meters.
When the power company replaced the meters, we no longer saw that guy. Nor do we see any power company trucks prowling about.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[Sign on an electrician’s truck: Let Us Remove Your Shorts]
my meteer (like everyone else) was put in without my knowledge. i don’t even think he killed the powr to the house (how could he, the box is inside the hosue). the dog started barking and by the time i got out to my patio to see what was going on, the power “flicked” and he had hopped over the fence (i am cocmpletely enclosed and there are 4-6 6″ fences between me and the “outside.” okay, seems now, i receive no notice that i am late or anything else. in face, they automatically turned it off on the DUE date (while i was walking out to pay it at the corner store!). they had no excuse, TOUGH LUCK. i have purcheased an analog meter. i have also wrapped it in foil (it is due tomorrow and i am afraid it will wake up w/o power. i also have developed cancer — the meter is 5 feet from the head of my bed on the outside. cooincidence? i don’t think so. question. will the foil keep them from being able to transmit the cut off? and, if they do cut it off, if i install my analog, will it come back on? i plan on returning the “smart” one with a letter that i ahve replace it due to cancer. i am in texas and on centerpoint’s website, they talk about there being a “law,” but then when you read it — it is twisted and basically there is NO law to have to keep this meter. i do not want to steal. but, now i am sick and is the late notices seem to be a think of the past. it goes off on the due date — not the day after.
so, will the foil keep the transmission blocked? and if i put my analog in, will the power come back on . . . and i will send a check and there damned meter back. are there any class actions suits for those of us that have actually have health problems?? there must be others. it scared me . . . it actually shakes the handles on my bedside table when it transmits!!! help!