Blog Post: Smart Meters: Friend or Foe?

Most of the electric utility companies across the United States are replacing their old analog electric meters with new digital electric meters, commonly called “Smart Meters.”

The old meter, or "analog meter," is the glass meter thing on your electric panel that has the little wheel that goes round and round as you use electrical power. If you look closer, you will see three or four little “clock” looking dials that have numbers around the perimeter, just like a clock. As power is used, the “clock” dials turn to the next highest number. 

Each month, an electrical utility company employee physically comes to your property and reads the positions of the little “clock” dials. This indicates the amount of electrical power that was used since the last reading.

The new meters do not have the wheel or the little “clock” like dials. Instead the meter tracks the usage digitally and reports the usage information back to the utility company once every 15 minutes or so. This information is transmitted through the utilities own power lines back to their monitoring facility.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of the smart meters? 

Advantages: There is no need for a utility company employee to visit your home each month to read the meter which saves the utility company money and allows you more privacy. In most cases, you will be able to access your usage patterns on-line which will help you see when you are using the most power, and hopefully aid in changing your usage habits.

Disadvantages: Some people are arguing that allowing the utility company to monitor their electrical usage in real time is an invasion of privacy. Others are afraid that the radio frequency energy used to transmit the data is harmful to the human body.

According to Edison, smart meters transmit data just a few minutes of each hour at a very low level of signal strength, compared to other home devices such as cordless phones and baby monitors.  Also, the signal strength is diminished by distance. The energy emission three feet away from the meter is 0.267%, and the Federal Communications Commission exposure limit is 3 percent.

So I say, embrace the new technology since it will help you see and modify your energy usage and the utility company will not have to pay an employee to enter your property. Both of these concepts will save you money in the long run.