"Smart Meters" -- Harmful Radiation or Urban Myth?

8 years ago

Commonwealth Edison is installing 'smart meters' in my area. (Big hoopla how they 'help' the consumer, but seems to me they primarily help the company by allowing remote meter reading.)

A local newspaper printed a letter warning of the dangers of radiation (and fire) from these meters. Where would I go to check this out? Why...the KT, of course!

The writer cites California court records showing that a single meter emits between 10,000 and 190,000 high spike pulses of RF/microwave radiation daily. This is multiplied due to overlapping fields from multiple meters.

The writer says Com Ed has hired people with no electrical training to install these meters. She also says that the brand of meter being installed is the same brand as those that exploded during a power surge in California, and that there have been hundreds of other smart meter-related fires across the nation.

She says that the emissions are rated as Class 2B carcinogens by WHO.

Is this a real problem, or is it similar to dismissed health concerns about living near transmission towers?

Featured Answer

joyfulguy

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I've had a "smart meter" on a pole about thirty feet from my bedroom window that I can see from my bed, for about three years. It just sits there and works away.

I find the my usage is small in peak times, a little higher in mid-peak ... and substantial in low rate times, which includes nights and weekends. My charge for delivery is almost twice as much as the charge for the actual power ... and it keeps advancing as do the rates for the actual power generated, and our power rates have been going up in several steps in recent times.

But ... what would one expect, when they are charging us for something over 8 cents to about 16 - 19 cents a kilowatt, but their original deals with the folks installing wind generators was for up to 80 cents per kilowatt ... granted, for a limited time, and those rates have been going down substantially.

Haven't heard about them addling either my brain or my constitution.

ole joyful

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

Elmer J Fudd
8 years ago
I have a PG+E smart meter and I think it's just fine. Here are my thoughts:

-Saving the utility money (no more manual meter readings) saves customers money, since utility charges are based on costs incurred.

-You probably exposed yourself to more radiation typing your message than you would be exposed to over 24 hours from smart meter communications

-To call the process an "installation" is a stretch. I was home when mine was done - the house's main power switch was flipped to off, the old meter was removed by pulling on it, the new one plugged in in its place and the power main was turned back on. There may be a small wire tamper cable on it, I don't remember. That was it. It took longer to walk from the truck to the meter, than to put on the new meter. With 5 minutes of training, anyone could do it.

"Is this a real problem, or is it similar to dismissed health concerns about living near transmission towers?"

Yes, it's exactly the same in a way - for both, there is NOT compelling evidence that a risk exists. For people to carp and say this MAY be like this, this MAY be like that, isn't helpful (in my view) and should be ignored. My area is full of self appointed "community spokespersons" who will always oppose anything that any business or governmental agency wants to do. It only serves to delay progress and make initiatives more expensive.
morz8 - Washington Coast
8 years ago
Chisue, it does eliminate some jobs, technology that eliminates peoples jobs is always a little sad to me, progress with cost. Those particular jobs were well paying, and came with a good benefits package attached. But our PUD, water, and gas meters have been 'smart' for a number of years, no meter reader jobs to be had now - they are of the past. I can't remember enjoying any reduction in my household expenses with the meter installations - I did have some repairs to make to my lawn with the water meter ;-)

American Cancer Society has determined your cell phone emits more -

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/smart-meters
Related Discussions
Potbound Root Balls- 'The latest science'
Q
Comments (26)
There is a profound mortality rate of trees planted in the suburbs and cities in modern times, by homeowners and tree service companies, alike. The U.S. forestry department reports data that few urban trees make it past thirty years, they don't just get planted and somehow make it, anymore. That's a beautiful quote by the doctor, but not realistic, a cursory view of any major city and one can find the vast majority of trees improperly planted. Just a cursory view. In the past, I believe we lived in a much more agrarian aware culture, trees were plnated when much smaller than what they are today, and general plant, soil and tree knowledge was much wider spread among the common person and professional alike. Nobody questions that circling roots around the root flare, need to be cut. It's the rest of the root ball and it's condition, that I try to make the crux of this thread.
...See More
do any citrus'ers believe in global warming
Q
Comments (81)
Man made global warming or the manmade myth of gullible alarming? This one is too easy folks. Just watch Joe Bastardi's weekly weather summary. If you care to disagree then you probably have an agenda. If you grow citrus in the ground outside zone10, Joe is a good watch anyhow. Roger Revelle was one of the first to advance the theory of CO2 as greenhouse gas causing a coming warming. He was at Harvard and attracted the leftist liberal crowd that realized they could use this to defeat capitalism. Here in Texas we call them watermelons since they are only green on the outside and all red inside. Algore became his most vocal proponent. Revelle went to the lab and did some experiments. He predicted huge temperature rises and climate change due to really high CO2 levels. It never happened. The models they developed still have not matched real world CO2 levels. Nor has the temperature gone up like Revelle originally predicted. Revelle was not a kook. He realized he made a mistake and recanted the whole global warming myth before he died. He even apologized for "any harm he had done". Not so the rest of the warming hucksters. They parlayed this into a multi-billion dollar industry with trillions of more tax dollars planned in a global redistribution scam. Before you get all upset, here are some more facts. After Revelle came up with his half baked theory, they ignored these key items. Nobody had any data on the amount of solar radiation we receive from the sun. And the planet Mars was heating up same as earth. So called climate scientists claimed it was not the sun. They decried skeptics as "junk science" and even "flat earth people". If you have analyzed as many samples of acid gases, CO2 and others scrubbed by sea water, as I have you would also know how wacky this whole idea is.
...See More
Do you think organic and cultural practices would affect it much
Q
Comments (11)
First, when someone does a study that basically says greenspaces are bad regarding global warming effects, I think it merits discussion on internet boards frequented by people who by and large have and enjoy lawns. Global warming is one of those topics that is almost entirely "political". So, here lawn talk and politics have to go hand in hand. Each poster can join in or stay out at their election. However, staying out of the political debate in this context may very well mean your lawn gets laws and regulations passed that affect it (and maybe even outlaw it) without your voice being heard. Second, I find it a bit pompous, frankly, for you to act like you have concrete answers (in the negative) to the very question I asked if perhaps we needed additional scientific studies to tie down pro or con. The study establishes that "greenspaces" i.e. as it relates to this forum, lawns have some impact on global warming. Similarly, knowledgeable folks here would likely agree organics, as practiced by some, can and usually does have significantly lower inputs of just the kind of ingredients the study author used to determine impact of greeenspaces on global warming. Fertilizer and irrigation. You site neither study nor theory/application to support your position. In short, all you seem to be adding to the discussion is self important unsupported opinion. So, I ask again, if the author of this study had studied the soil and practices involved in organic lawn maintenance, how likely is it that the greenspace would have been determined to be bad as opposed to good for global warming? Add what seems to me to be a key factor not accounted for in the study, cooling efffect of greenspace, especially in urban environments, and I hope and would somewhat expect (just applying background info) that the results might be just the opposite of those found in the study in question. And, fwiw, I think organic practices, including cultural practices, can very much affect the net effect on the carbon cycle, air gasses and air temps. By a lot, a little? I don't know. Some real scientific review and data would be nice before govt starts telling lawn owners what they have to do, no?
...See More
Great Information about pesticides containing OILS!
Q
Comments (2)
That's great information, and just what you'd expect from Linda Chalker-Scott. It's a bit hard to read here, so worth looking at the pdf file you've linked to. I have an old container of SunSpray ultra-fine horticultural oil and I've been wondering if this type of oil will keep it's qualities in storage for a long time. I recently read that it could be used to keep citrus leaf miner moths from laying their eggs on citrus leaves so I want to try it out later in the spring when the leaf miner moths come to life. I had trouble finding this ulta-fine oil online, so I've dusted off this old container just in case. (later...I just looked on eBay and found some so I may not have to use the old stuff, unless someone can tell me it should be all right...it's probably 10 years old). Thanks for bringing up this subject, I always forget about using dormant oil on my peaches until the early ones start flowering. Now's the time to start thinking about it.
...See More
pkramer60
8 years ago
Chisue, we had our installed in February and all they asked was a clear path to the old unit. We moved the patio furniture and they installed in minutes, not even cutting off the power. The installer was a ComEd employee and not a contractor.

The next month I did see a small reduction in cost.

Is it harmful? Probably no more than a microwave. I can't see ComEd opening themselves to lawsuits.
chisue
Original Author
8 years ago
So...just as I suspected, an alarmist! (pkramer60 -- You may have seen the same letter -- from a lady in LB -- in The Leader.)

The day ComEd reduces *my* costs will be a First.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
8 years ago
We have had one for a while now. Took minutes to unplug the old one and plug in the new. After the storm they came by to check on the meters. They were fine here.
marilyn_c
8 years ago
A good thing about them...if there is a power outage, you don't have to report it....the power company knows and comes out to fix it. Mine is about 100 ft from my house because that is where our original elect pole is located, back from when we first bought the place and only had a water well here.
jemdandy
8 years ago
I suspect that if you have internet and a router (or gateway) you are getting more radiation from that than from the metering device. A gateway is on all the time; a router is on as long as you power it up and many keep theirs on most of the time. A router or gateway continuously floods your home with high frequency radio waves albeit a low levels. That's how it communicates wirelessly with all the devices connected to it.

You cell phone gives you a bigger dose when it transmits and is held against your head.

"Smart Meters" -- Harmful Radiation or Urban Myth?

joyfulguy

Comments (8)

Elmer J Fudd

morz8 - Washington Coast

Related Discussions

pkramer60

chisue
Original Author

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

marilyn_c

jemdandy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

"Smart Meters" -- Harmful Radiation or Urban Myth?

joyfulguy

Comments (8)

Elmer J Fudd

morz8 - Washington Coast

Related Discussions

pkramer60

chisueOriginal Author

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

marilyn_c

jemdandy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

chisue
Original Author