Hard to know if it’s a smart meter or not.
Last night I spent three hours at my computer researching smart meters. I have a digital meter that the electric company installed on the side of my house in 2004. I needed to make sure that it was NOT a smart meter.
Smart meters transmit radio frequency thousands of times each day to the power company (and sometimes to surrounding meters in the network), and the high frequency fields penetrate for hundreds of feet, inside your house. I was also unhappy to read what else they do in terms of privacy intrusion. The meter can tell that you ran the bathroom fan for 10 minutes at 7:03 AM and that you used your hairdryer with its 1800 Watt heater for 7 minutes at 7:20. This information can get sold by the power company to the highest bidder so that private companies and others know what we do, how we do it, and when. Not to mention that the wireless signals can get hacked by anyone who has the appropriate reader equipment.
Smart meters monitor the electrical activity in your house, 24/7. The electric company will say that the meter transmits data for 45 seconds. From PG&E's website:
Do electric SmartMeters™ constantly emit RF? No. SmartMeters™ communicate intermittently, with each RF-signal typically lasting from 2 to 20 milliseconds. These intermittent signals total, on average, 45 seconds per day. For the other 23 hours and 59 minutes of the day, the meter is not transmitting any RF.
The math: 45 seconds divided by .002 seconds is 22,500 pulses. Every day. The high frequency radiation goes through you and your kids and your pets every four seconds. In a misstep, PG&E even admitted that the maximum number of RF pulses per day could be 190,000.
The following is taken from the EMF Safety Network and includes a few of many complaints from those living in homes equipped with smart meters.
Smart Meter Health Complaints
Utility customers have reported new or worsening health problems since the utility smart meter system has been installed on their home or in their neighborhood. Symptoms include:
Sleep problems (insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, night waking, nightmares)
Stress, agitation, anxiety, irritability
Headaches, sharp pain or pressure in the head
Ringing in the ears, ear pain, high pitched ringing
Concentration, memory or learning problems
Fatigue, muscle or physical weakness
Disorientation, dizziness, or balance problems
Eye problems, including eye pain, pressure in the eyes,
Cardiac symptoms, heart palpitations, heart arrhythmias, chest pain
Leg cramps, or neuropathy
Arthritis, body pain, sharp, stabbing pains
Nausea, flu-like symptoms
Sinus problems, nose bleeds
Respiratory problems, cough, asthma
Skin rashes, facial flushing
Urinary problems
Endocrine disorders, thyroid problems, diabetes
High blood pressure
Changes in menstrual cycle
Hyperactivity or changes in children’s behavior
Seizures
Recurrence of cancer
The following comments about how the new utility ‘Smart’ Meters have affected people’s health were sent to the EMF Safety Network, or publicly posted. ___________________________________
Sick with palpitations, chest pain, insomnia, dizziness…
I managed to have smart meter installation delayed at my house, but suddenly became sick overnight with palpitations, chest pain, insomnia, dizziness, inability to concentrate and memory loss and fainting spells. AFTER becoming sick I found out that the day I became suddenly sick was the day the smart meter roll-out was completed in my area and the smart meters were remotely turned on from base.
I can no longer drive, I can’t work (I’m a doctor), I have to go and sleep at my mother in law’s place (there are no smart meters there yet).
My life is completely ruined and the energy companies and members of Victorian Parliament completely ignore me. Two doctors have confirmed my disability is entirely due to my sensitivity to smart meters’ radio transmission and I am 100% sure of that as I can always tell accurately if I am in a smart metered area or not.
We are now planning to move to South Australia to survive. What is happening in Victoria is a complete breakdown of democracy and an affront to social justice of enormous proportions and implications.
What if this is happening to an old lady living alone? Where can she go? We are all morally obliged to speak up and do something about it, if not for ourselves, for the vulnerable amongst us that, if affected, could not do anything about it. Posted on Stop Smart Meters Australia
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I had no idea that a smart meter would pose a hazard to my health when I agreed to let them install one on my home. Shortly after the smart meter was installed my health took a terrible downturn. I began having heart palpitations, trouble sleeping, unexplained anxiety attacks, dizzy spells, nausea and fatigue. I have been battling anxiety for months and I had no idea why. I’ve never had these types of symptoms plague me like this before. Then I found out that so many others have had the same reactions to smart meters in their homes and neighborhoods. Smart meters need to be outlawed and all of them must be removed at once. There are enough toxins in our food and the environment without this happening too. I hope I am able to get mine removed, but from what I’ve read Southern California Edison isn’t cooperating. H .M. Orange CA
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Since the new Smart Meter has been installed my wife has had a ringing in her ears. The only time she has this is in our home. Outside of the house she does not have the problem. J. F. Sacramento CA
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I was not asked permission to have the Smart Meter installed. In fact, when your representative/installer came to my door informing me he would be installing the meter, I specifically told him that I did not want it installed. He told me that I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
I am plagued with various health issues because of the Smart Meters, such as insomnia, constant headaches, blurred vision and ringing in my ears, and other various aches and pains. I understand that others are suffering from various health issues throughout the state and country as well. I do not want this device on my home or in my neighborhood. I want the old analog meter re-installed. I also do not want the new digital meter installed. I specifically want the old analog back which worked just fine. I want this Smart Meter removed now! A.S. Bakersfield CA
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For the past year, I have been suffering health effects due to the installation of a Smart Meter at my home and the other homes in my neighborhood. I have experienced migraines, disrupted sleep, and electronic sensitivity so that I was unable to use a computer or my cellphone without immediate nausea and headache. I feel constant low-level anxiety when in my house which “magically” goes away every single time we have a power outage. My husband has developed migraines, disrupted sleep, and tinnitis. I am concerned for the long term health consequences on us and on my daughter who is almost 3.
I have called PG&E and they refuse to remove the Smart Meter from my house. Other electricians say that they cannot replace the meter with an analog variety because it would be illegal. This product is making me sick, and even with the money to pay for it, I am not allowed to have it removed.
I would like to see Smart Meters pulled from the market until thorough testing is done and they can be proved safe. It is the responsibility of our government to protect public health from polluting corporations. Charging for the right to “opt-out” is criminal because it subjects the poor to poisonous health effects, and also because people will still receive exposure from their neighbors’ properties, especially in urban population-dense environments.
PG&E cannot be relied upon to treat us fairly–my health just does not figure into their bottom line. Sometimes we need people with power to stand up for us.
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I have been suffering since the installation of 3 meters in my complex (of 12 units) and from larger multi-unit complexes on both sides of where I live. This means that the radiation coming off all of these meters encroach on me, even though I have opted out and do not have one….Each day I awake with my head buzzing. I now have fatigue and headaches, nausea unexplained and nosebleeds at the oddest times for no other reason. I have lost so many days of working (I work from home) and now there is no place to go. Our entire county, once a pristine, safe and desirable place to call home is now a sea of massive radiation from the thousands of smart meters now installed.
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I called Dominion three times about this issue. Each time they told me that my digital meter, a Centron CL 320 Type C1SR, is not a smart meter. They said it does operate via radio frequency, but that the driver of the Dominion van needs to be within 3 miles of my house for the meter to transmit usage data to his equipment. The next date is October 16. I will be checking to see if my RF detector sounds on that day. Right now it does not, and that is a good thing. Dominion said that the data is collected only once a month. So I consider my household lucky. They said that there are plans for NC to be completely covered with the smart meter technology. If I have to lock my current meter, I will. There are even kits you can buy to replace your smart meter with an old analog meter - the one with the dials. Here's a video by consulting engineer Rob States that goes into detail about smart meters.
