smart meters

[1971]

since i have one, i'm curious if running lights for say 6 hours, shutting most of the lights off for a few minutes, and then finishing up the rest of the 12 hour light period might throw the electrical utility off?

thoughts? anybody know how utilities track, if at all?

 

[Seamaiden]

I think they use an algorithm that will detect the fact that you're likely using a timer. But really, as long as your bill is paid they're not going to do much of anything about it. If you're stealing the power...

 

[joeca1i]

I doubt it. thank obama,and his control freak bosses for that..Just another piece of their nwo scheme..

 

[joeca1i]

[YOUTUBE]dZsKqehqGcI[/YOUTUBE] whats so fuckin funny [YOUTUBE]sVonk_OqEUU[/YOUTUBE] dudes a joke & 1/2 for US,a winner for them...

 

[1971]

no, i'd never steal power. but inside info on their detection methods would be nice. not sure how paying ones bill is going to not tip them off

 

[1971]

you know, i'm not sure if i'm upset at all by this policy. honestly, it is cool to see those big grow rooms, but i wouldn't shed a tear if the feds, or even local cops, went after them. my feeling is keep it local and small so the little guy can make some money versus pricks with money making more money.

 

[vaporedout]

i think what seamaiden is saying is, smud is not the police, they arent gonna come after you because your bill is higher than most people not growing. they are gonna send you a statement every month and laugh as they roll to the bank with your check, now if you dont pay them then they might say, well you dont wanna pay, then were telling. but probably not. the electric company is after money, and money alone. i would worry about people seeing them like in the backyard when smud comes to read the meter, thats when they would most likely tell on you. either way get your script, your in nor cal.......

 

[Seamaiden]

If you're served by SMUD, you're served by one of the best utility districts in the state. If you're served by PG&E, you're being served by the Devil.

If police want to subpoena power records there are two issues to be concerned with; the most significant being that the police have a reason to subpoena those records. The least significant being the the utility will comply.

 

[click80]

one way

I dont know about cali, but if you are really using some juice up, say over 10k, get a business license, I have one for a tshirt business and get a second meter. Now this is not as easy as it sounds, but also not too too difficult. I also pay my bill in person and talk about how much electricity the tshirt dryers etc use. A friend of mine has a license for a machine shop and actually got a zoning exception approval for having a commercial business in a residentially zones area, not too uncommon an occurance.

I also have my "tshirt meter" on an off peak electricity usage program. During the day the regular rate is .104 cents kwh 24/7...on the off peak from 10am to 10pm it is .15cents kwh but from 10pm to 10am it is .04 which took my bill from over 320 some months to 150 bucks a month and lower sometimes.

Again, this is for Colorado and you need an electrician to add a panel and seperate your shit out plus rough and stub out for the new meter, and I am (well I used to a licensed master electrician before work accident) an electrician so real easy for me to say to do this as I did work myself which you are allowed to do without a masters license if its for your own dwelling and you follow code. I would think that if the electric company sees the address has a separate meter under a commercial account wouldn't that keep their eyebrows a little bit down out there?

Just a thought and how I handle that worry. But I am only using 2kw an hour for floros and 4.5kw an hour for hid, that is enough for me to keep my clone business going for caretakers, and 3 flood tables going for my patients. I have 8 tubers for my moms which I have switched to 18/6 and I vary it from just using 4 tubes part of the on time with using all 8 tubes. I have not heard of anyone here in CO getting popped from electricity. Is it very common for that to happen in Cali, to small grows? I am with the other person who stated if someone is in a residential section and pulling a load of say 25kw, shame on em...

 

[1971]

Interestingly someone who i believe has SMUD was arrested for growing in their garage. now mind you the idiot was racking up a 1k a month bill or something crazy like that. i guess the police were notified by the utility. but i'd say that is an extreme situation

 

[Jsän]

you think they had SMUD? you think they were notified by the utility company..
no offense meant bro, but that is a lot of heresay and conjecture.
not saying it didnt or couldnt happen. but at this point it is a rumor.

I am worried about my meter as well (just installed) so i went looking.

Supposedly, a RIU (im not a member, was just link hunting) Member from Sacramento received a letter from SMUD saying that, quote " Last month you used %300 more electricity than your neighbor"
Which at first glance sounds menacing. there were no threats, or admonishments.
just you use more `tricity than your neighbors.
then low and behold a 'self claimed' SMUD employee chimes in stating that, "those notices are sent out monthly as a GUIDE to conserve electricity." and that he had received 3-4 of himself.

neither has seen or heard from investigators.
so in your case, i wouldnt worry about it.
until you are using, as stated above, Commercial Amounts of electricity.

(yes i am aware of the irony¥ of my point. :)

 

[1971]

well, our mutual friend said it was the utility that notified the cops. i guess they are more vigilant these days after there were all these pot houses found in elk grove that were gutted and growing large amounts of plants.

i'm not too worried as there are large houses around me with multiple a/c's, etc. but of course i don't want to ask my neighbors what their bills are like either.

really, i was just wondering if someone had insider information on this subject.

 

[bongorilla]

well, our mutual friend said it was the utility that notified the cops.

^^^sounds like a violation of CA civ code 1985.3

people have a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy as a consumer of a public utility.

my lawyer would have been all over that like a cheap suit lol.

I've been growing using a smart meter for years.. no problems at all. I did recently run flip box so pull will be solid 24 hours. I did not do this to hide my electrical signature, I did it to add more lights lol.:icon_animal26:

I would not worry about it seriously. Worrying about stuff like that can drive you nuts. I pay the bill on time every month, been doing it for years.

the people who should live in fear are the ones who are bypassing smart meters. Little do some people know, smart meters also record voltage drops. If there is a big pull on the incoming line before the meter, the volts going in the meter will drop slightly.

 

[1971]

no, i wasn't sweating it, just wondering.

stealing electricity isn't a smart thing for one to do, and i won't do that

 

[click80]

I talked with my cousin who used to be a prosecutor. He never had to present any affidavits of support for search warrants with an electricity bill being the basis alone for a warrant. (this is in virginia) He said IHO he does not know of any judge or magistrate who would issue a search warrant, with just an electricity bill as the Probable Cause of the Affadavit of Support. SO, keeping to your Ps and Qs is essential, IMO, to keep the police from building up to a search warrant from the electric company giving them a heads up about a bill. I do not know this for fact, but have often suspected that there is no way police would be able to obtain a search warrant on just the advisory of a high electric bill from a utility company. I wont go into it, but every cop knows that his "four corners", his affidavit of support has to be complete because no judge or magistrate wants to issue a faulty search warrant as in some cases if the deficiencies are so obvious that one could argue that they were not operating their authority in good faith, they can be sued separate from the state in a civil action against the police and/or the judge or magistrate. I am sure i could be wrong, but if i am i would be very surprised. I mean c'mon, cops are not that stupid and neither are judges. So if someone says that they know of someone who got searched from just an electic bill, i want proof of caselaw.

So even though you might run a high bill, that alone is not going to get you popped, stupidity or just plain bad luck will.

 

[Jsän]

well, our mutual friend said it was the utility that notified the cops. i guess they are more vigilant these days after there were all these pot houses found in elk grove that were gutted and growing large amounts of plants.

i'm not too worried as there are large houses around me with multiple a/c's, etc. but of course i don't want to ask my neighbors what their bills are like either.

really, i was just wondering if someone had insider information on this subject.

log into your smud account, and do the online usage report.
it should show you average usage for your area,.
..still on the hunt for technical data.
to many claims without not enough backing it up.

can anyone find ACTUAL PROOF that the meters can discern what types of electronics are being used??
i know it is possible via patent http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20100287489

but i cant find if the tech is used in the smart meters or not.
still on the hunt.

until then the easiest method of explaining all of our concern has already been mentioned.

REEFING!!!

(big lighted fish tanks for blooming underwater flowers.
the community is HUGE and Legit.
all you need is a "show tank" in the entry way and never let them see the blooming room because it is in dark cycle. Uses water pumps, ballasts, and all the other shit that needs `splainin.)

 

[click80]

log into your smud account, and do the online usage report.
it should show you average usage for your area,.
..still on the hunt for technical data.
to many claims without not enough backing it up.

can anyone find ACTUAL PROOF that the meters can discern what types of electronics are being used??
i know it is possible via patent http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20100287489

but i cant find if the tech is used in the smart meters or not.
still on the hunt.

until then the easiest method of explaining all of our concern has already been mentioned.

REEFING!!!

(big lighted fish tanks for blooming underwater flowers.
the community is HUGE and Legit.
all you need is a "show tank" in the entry way and never let them see the blooming room because it is in dark cycle. Uses water pumps, ballasts, and all the other shit that needs `splainin.)

Yeah the reefing one is what i am going to incorporate in with my t-shirt story except i actually am going to do the reefing

I read the link you provided and from what i see the device is basically making smart guesses as to what type of appliances are used. It states that a washing machine utilizes pump motors, solenoids etc...and i would thing it searches these parameters against a data set to state to the person what is using electricity at what time and how much it costs to use it.

Again, i say that even if such a meter could guess that hid lights were being used, the police could not get a search warrant on the basis of this evidence alone. They could, and very easily from what i have seen other growers throw in their trash, the police could get a warrant based on the electric bill and finding certain items in your trash...maybe...MAYBE

I am more than certain that if you keep your empties in separate garbage disposed of at the seven eleven etc..NO SMELL, do not have too much human traffic, do not BRAG or tell ANYONE, then you can sleep at night. Growing in residential areas is not cool if your neighbors are closer than 75 yards. Renting or buying in rural areas in cheaper anyway in colorado....I dont know about Cali. To be a serious grower, and I think i am, I would gladly relocate in order to keep doing what i love doing...and that is not being a guerrilla grower, but i love this plant...

 

[Seamaiden]

If you're actually going to set up a reef system, let me know, I have some reading suggestions, websites, etcetera.
<--- "Former" reef geek. Still a fish geek, but ain't got no fish.

If wishes were fishes our tanks would be full. <--- Who said that?

To clarify, I'm not saying there's a meter that can sort what types of equipment is making the draw, but as I understand it there *is* an algorithm that can be used, that would detect usage spikes and their periodicity.

 

[Jsän]

To clarify, I'm not saying there's a meter that can sort what types of equipment is making the draw, but as I understand it there *is* an algorithm that can be used, that would detect usage spikes and their periodicity.

The Usage Statistics you are referring to are definitely a reality, and may be accurate enough to be considered "unlawful surveillance." But it is that, unlawful and not admissible in court. Until turning on a light becomes illegal that is. (2025ish? :))
They will also be able to 'cycle down' smart appliances during peak usage times. To even the load to a given area. Which may be a whole new headache for growers.

But honestly, my real worry after looking into these things is National Security.
it was already shown by one researcher that many of the earlier models used buggy/exploitable software on OTC parts. He even setup a worm that could infect the grid. Turning it into an effectual 'botnet'. (no verification on software updates?!?!:sign0065:)

Knocking out a countries power is priority during an invasion.
And we just keep making it easier.

 

[Seamaiden]

Sooner than 2025, IMO. I mean, if a person can't grow vegetables in their own yard, what's next and right down the road?

That power thing is one of the reasons why we're getting 12kw of solar installed next week. The work's starting Monday. Back-up power (since we're not going 100% off-grid w/batteries, etcetera) is an 8kw propane generator. Can you say 'stimulus?' :)