What is a Smart Meter and Why Does It Matter?

Over the last three to four years, you may have heard reports on the news about SMART meters. This may have included topics such as:

• Smart meter installation coming to your area
• Citizens opposed to SMART meters
• House fires blamed on SMART meters; all appliances fried
• Man chains electric meter to prevent utility from installing Smart Meter
• Smart meter hazards, electrician says
• Citizens can sign up for SMART meter opt out
• Smart meter moratoriums in Canada
• Smart meters save you money
• Smart meters part of SMART grid and 5G rollout
• SMART meter health damage

These are just a few of them but every one of them is actually quite important for you to know and understand, literally if you want to have good health for years to come.

Smart Meters are Connected to the Smart Grid

Let’s start with the SMART grid to understand more about smart meters.

All the way across America, you’ll see a network of transmission lines, substations, transformers and other equipment that deliver electricity from the power plant to homes and businesses. Every time you turn on any electrical device, you connected to the electric grid. This grid was built before 1900 although improvements were made on it along the way.

It’s estimated that there are >9200 electric generating units in the electric grid and over 300,000 miles of transmission lines. The utility companies, responsible for this infrastructure, included analog grids on all homes in the electric grid so that the amount of electricity used per home could be rightfully and appropriately charged. For example, if you don’t use much energy during the day, there’s no reason why you should be charged as much as someone who does.

The problem with this electric grid is that it couldn’t handle all the computerized equipment and technological needs of today’s society, say the government experts at www.smartgrid.gov.

And that’s why the industry built the Smart grid and the Smart Meter. The Smart grid allows two-way computer communication between the utility company and customers via a Smart meter. It’s not the type of communication like picking up the phone and calling the utility company and getting an answer. Instead, it’s the utility company computers interfacing your electric meter on your home.

Here's a picture of a smart meter:

The Smart meter replaces analog meters of the past.

Here's a picture of an analog meter:

An analog meter and a smart meter are mechanical devices that connect to the electric wires coming into the home or business. An analog meter represents the value of a measurement by a point on the scale whereas a smart meter displays the numerical value of the measurement.

If you need more information on the differences, check out these different videos on the difference between the different types of electrical meters (analog vs digital vs smart meter):

https://youtu.be/bM4VvlQH88E

 

Why The Industry Wants The Smart Meters and Smart Grid

The utility company can use automation, computers and controls with the electric grid to ‘respond digitally to our quickly changing electric demand’ with the Smart Grid and Smart meters.

The governmental experts boast that the Smart Grid “represents an unprecedented opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability, and efficiency that will contribute to our economic and environmental health… The benefits are:

• More efficient transmission of electricity
• Quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances
• Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers
• Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates
• Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems
• Better integration of customer-owner power generation systems, including renewable energy systems
• Improved security.”

“A smarter grid will add resiliency to our electric power system and make it better prepared to address emergencies such as severe storms, earthquake, large solar flares, and terrorist attacks. Because of its two-way interactive capacity, the Smart Grid will allow for automatic rerouting when equipment fails or outages occur… before they become large-scale blackouts.”

 

The website goes on to say that the Smart Grid with the associated Smart meters are a way to address the aging infrastructure, energy efficiency, increase national security to our energy system. A smarter grid will allow you to save money by using less power at times when electricity is the most expensive and by generating your own electricity, too.

It’s important for you to know all this upfront because after reading the rest of the information on Smart meters, you can make your own decision on whether or not the above information is true.

The government site also states that it’s the two-way communication in the Smart Grid – between the utility and its customers - that makes it smart. There was two-way communication before, as the analog meter gave the utility company the amount of electricity that was used by the user. The difference is that the analog meter of the past did not emit wireless signals 24/7, nor does it collect the data from the grid. The wireless component and the collecting data component are what makes it ‘smart’.

Yet, one UK weapons industry expert, Mark Steele, states that SMART stands for Secret Militarized Armaments in Residential Technology. And that alone should make you realize that this whole topic is definitely something you want to be knowledgeable about.

 

The Difference Between An Analog Meter and a Smart Meter

Your Smart meter is believed by the industry to be an upgrade from old analog meters. Let’s see why in this chart:

If you’re mechanically minded, you may want to watch a teardown of a smart meter to see what’s inside and responsible for some of the issues. Here’s the link:   https://youtu.be/dm-yZ1N3xmc

 

What’s the Big Smart Meter Controversy All About?

Since 2013, four million smart meter users have reported issues with the devices, according to the news site, www.dailymail.co.uk

The issues surrounding smart meters fall into eight main categories:

1. Microwave Radiofrequency Radiation of Smart Meters

“Smart” meters are “hot,” in terms of broadcast power density, and can emit microwaves at levels many times higher than those reported by medical studies to cause serious adverse health effects.

Smart meters emit bursts of radio frequency (microwave radiation) an average of 9600 times per day and up to 190,000 daily transmissions. This means your body is receiving smart meter radiation. Their peak level emission is 2.5 times higher than the required safety level.

Smart meters could be located on any walls on your home, and one of the most unfortunate places is on the wall of your office or bedroom. If you work at home and are exposed to the radio frequency that emits from the smart meter, you could be getting “zapped” with 8 microwatts/cm2. Building biologists report that symptoms start at 0.05 microwatts/cm2.

A single smart meter radiation measurement has been registered as high as 7.93 microwatts/cm2.

 

At the level of 0.05, children suffer from headaches, behavioral problems, autism exacerbations, brain fog, and can’t concentrate at this level of microwave transmission. At higher levels, a broad spectrum of symptoms can be felt by those of all different ages.

There have been incidents where people receive smart meter radiation negative effects up to 19.8 microwatts/cm2 of whole body radiation exposure.

For example, if someone lives in an apartment complex, the wall of their apartment may be connected to the same wall with several smart meters for the whole apartment complex. This smart meter ‘bank’ could be 12 meters on the wall, each meter broadcasting radiofrequency pulses into the apartment, 380 times higher than at the level that causes headaches in children.

 

2. Symptoms are Varied and Hit Every Different Organ System

The RF radiation disrupts the weak van der waal bonds in the cells, preventing their reproduction.

The list of smart meter symptoms experienced from exposure includes the following, yet traditional medical doctors often miss seeing the pattern of symptoms:

• Depression, anxiety, dizziness, suicidal thoughts, irritability with no cause
• Nausea, no energy, and severe fatigue.
• Muscle aches, cold or flu-like symptoms, aches/pains in muscles and joints, chronic fatigue, muscle spasms, and muscle stiffness.
• Widespread pain, pains in teeth and jaw, skin sensitivity, swelling without cause, burning sensation in face, and tingling/prickling sensation in face or other parts of body.
• Heart rate irregularities, chest pain, heart palpitations, heart failure
• Eye irritation, vision problems, and migraines.
• Memory loss, brain fog, confusion, difficulty concentrating
• Insomnia, getting up at night to go to the bathroom
• Leukemia, lymphoma or cancerous tumors

 

Symptoms from smart meters can occur on the job, at home, and while sleeping. However, because smart meters connect to wireless frequency, the use of any wireless devices can also trigger symptoms.

Check out the story of this Australian man who developed electrohypersensitivity at his job.

EMF Sufferer in Australia https://youtu.be/sLO25nyauDg

 

3. Symptoms Ramped Up to the Level of Causing Disability

Growing numbers of people who have smart meters have developed electrohypersensitivity. This means that they cannot be around smart meters and other electrical devices without feeling sick. They are often extremely sick and sometimes sick enough to be admitted to the emergency room.

 

One Swedish study showed that 3% of the population is severely sensitive to this type of radiation and would have to move out of the area after being exposed to RF radiation. Thirty-five percent of the population will experience moderate symptoms, and a total of 80% of the population experiencing any of the symptoms from the radiation.

Electrohypersensitivity may appear as nosebleeds, debilitating headaches, heart palpitations and left ventricular failure, and even bleeding from the skin pores. Not surprisingly, experts have recorded fertility decreases at 1.0 microwatt/cm2, chest pain and difficulty breathing at the same 1.0 dosage; altered calcium metabolism in heart cells at 2.5, changes in learning and memory at 4.0, and DNA damage in cells at 6.0.

Here’s a video news report on health issues from the smart meters:

https://youtu.be/KfUSDqrChPQ

And a report of some patients with this type of sensitivity:

https://youtu.be/us65AgabxJc

Emergency Room Physician Discusses Electrohypersensitivity https://youtu.be/gisvfVeRpr0

Smart meters directly affect the functioning of the heart. Watch this video as a man plans an experiment suggested by a top EMF expert, Dr. Samuel Milham, to see what happens when he is under the influence of a smart meter.

A doctor on the scene, Dr. Gilberto Leon, warns about the effects of the smart meter in this next short EMF video.

“The frequencies from the smart meter are making our heart work too hard and there’s a massive change in the pattern of the EKG. If someone is compromised with a pacemaker or stents, it’s not a good thing because it is silently making our heart work too hard and you will have heart fatigue over time, and a decline in heart function. It’s an unnatural sequence of events that we are not able to adapt to,” said Dr. Gilberto Leon in the interview. Pretty revealing! It gives us new insight into whether or not there are health effects from smart meters.

https://youtu.be/p-aNRQNRtaI

 

4. Electric Bills are Much Higher

The meters do not lower people’s bills for electricity as promised. Bills increase anywhere from $80 to $300; bills for $1000+ are not uncommon.

The utility companies have told their customers that their old analog meters were not as effective as the new smart meters and that if their bill was higher, it was because the new meters are more accurate.

New bills make the customer look like they are using significantly more electric power, when there has been no change in the usage.

Smart meters not properly installed can cause the large bill increase, stated one source. And in the U.K., costs incurred by the utility companies are blamed for this. There, an investigative reporter discovered that huge sums of money were going to be required to buy the meters and install them.

Here's a list of a few short videos on it:

Smart Meter Customers Report Higher Bills

https://youtu.be/Onf8nRcb10k

CBS 5 Investigates Smart Meter Complaints

https://youtu.be/csvmw2frBws

Free Gas and Electricity Smart Meters Not Actually Free

https://youtu.be/gLHyesMHeEo

 

5. Smart Meter Fires – Burning Meters Cause Burning Questions

The smart meters are often found to be dangerous, causing house fires. Smart meter fires are not uncommon, yet they are quickly dismissed by the utility companies as the cause of a fire.

 

How these fires occur was explained by an electrician at the 21 to 23 minute timeframe of this video: https://youtu.be/dm-yZ1N3xmc

It’s not difficult to conclude that fires can be directly related to the cause when the actual smart meter is what is burning or has been burnt severely at a home and not much else is touched by fire.

You’ll find some interesting tidbits of information about smart meter fires on these news reports:

1. One Vancouver home didn’t have one, but had two different smart meter fires: https://youtu.be/R0WiCDtk8Dw
2. Smart Meter Teardown   https://youtu.be/AvjEk_LDwys
3. Fire Hazard of Smart Meters https://youtu.be/luOx0YEZn8o
4. 48% Increase in Fires From Smart Meters: https://youtu.be/szj9pmwawwE

Lawsuits Claim Faulty PG&E Smart Meters Started House Fires

In Fresno, CA news reporters explained a story of a fire where the firemen reported PG&E rushed out to remove the smart meter that was burning up, thus removing the evidence of the fire.

Check the story yourself and make your own decision after hearing about the active arcing that frequently occurs at the level of the smart meter on the house:

https://youtu.be/PnoMEGYilDc

The Smart Meter Education Network explains why it’s not necessarily a bad installation that causes the fires; it’s the simple act of replacing the meters that can be responsible. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/EKS5z5niKd4

 

6. Lack of Testing for Safety

Some consumers are adamant about not accepting the smart meters and the radio frequency they put out. They cite that there is no safety being done.

Check out how this man used chains on his meter to keep his analog meter. Here’s what happened: https://youtu.be/cMnjRHe-9UA The man wasn’t an ordinary tree hugger with no education; he was a mechanical engineer.

 

7. Pushy Utility Companies Not Allowing Personal Choice in Acceptance of Smart Meters

Many people observing how smart meters were rolled out into society state that smart meters were forced upon us by the utility companies. The utility companies may or may not allow customers to keep their old analog meters.

Sometimes, the city police are enforcing the residents to take the smart meters, as what happened in Naperville, IL. The good news is that if someone pushes back and doesn’t just take this type of treatment, they may receive a monetary award by the courts. Check out these short videos if you are having problems with the utility company:

Naperville Police Assist Smart Meter Installers

https://youtu.be/DEi-AofJ2l8

Consumers Not Happy with Electric Smart Meters https://youtu.be/W0bshUnX2YA

Smart Meter Technology Clashes with Health, Privacy Concerns

https://youtu.be/0DYhD06tE1U

Consumers may have to take their case to court to keep their analog meter: https://youtu.be/qY2ruhr4t9M

 

 

8. Privacy Invaded

Trying to avoid the estimated meter reads so that people will know exactly what they are using still ‘smells’ like an invasion of privacy:  https://youtu.be/04N_TYpnAvc

Worse yet, breaking and entering, vandalizing property to get in to take the analog meter and replacing it with the smart meter.

Privacy Issues of SMART Meters:

Video: Smart Meters https://youtu.be/8JNFr_j6kdI

All these issues can be put into a comprehensive understanding of smart meters by watching the documentary by Josh del Sol called Take Back Your Power 2017. It’s highly recommended that you watch this documentary in full, even a few times.  It's well worth the time investment.

Here’s the free link: https://youtu.be/B5y4Nhn6J5M

And if you’re looking for a more academic presentation, check out the presentation to the San Francisco Tesla Society by Rob States, mentioned previously. He holds three master’s degrees yet explains it simply. He’ll tell you what the utility companies seem to leave out of their website data and awareness campaigns: https://youtu.be/FLeCTaSG2-U

 

Solutions for Smart Meters

After reviewing all this info, you may be wondering what really can be done about it. You may feel as if you want to take no risks that are associated with having a smart meter on your house, and do not want your family to be harmed by them. 

Don't give up. There are a few things you can do. It all starts with taking matters into your own hands. But this means someone should do something ‘correctly’, that is, not in a way to go against any laws, or incorrectly.

Here are some examples, where you’ll understand the difference:

1. Take off the smart meter and replace it with an analog meter.

This option seems plausible but it won’t work because smart meters are tamper-resistant and can send messages back to the utility company that they are being tampered with. You could end up with a major confrontation when they show up on your property. The grid sees all!

Also, since smart meters are connected to the grid, you could endanger your life if zapped by a power surge.

Chaining up your smart meter, walling it off or doing something to make it nearly impossible for utility company workers to access it is also not a smart move. Utility staff has been known to ‘break in’ to get access to their meter.

 

2. Smart Meter Opt-Out Policies

Opt-out policies are another alternative for dealing with smart meters. With this option, the customer contacts the utility company and asks for the opt-out form to sign. An extra charge is usually passed along to the customer since the utility company will have to send out a meter reader monthly to your home.

Remember that one of the purposes of the utility company was to eliminate the need for meter readers.

In the last few years, experts in the anti-smart meter movement have upgraded their ideas about opt-out policies. At a 2019 5G Online Conference, several experts discussed the idea that you should not have to pay for your own protection of your health! “It’s extortion,” they report.

 

3. Reducing Dirty Electricity from Smart Meters

Terry Stotyn, dirty electricity expert, has been an electrical and tradesman for 40 years. He’s one of the few experts that has solved complicated problems with dirty electricity caused by Smart Meters and other devices. As President of Cratus, he has found that even analog meters cause problems with dirty electricity.

Dirty electricity consists of line voltage transients that impede the flow of the normal sine wave flow. Sine wave is an energy voltage. It’s a spike that is made or induced from anything that switches such as a light switch or motor starting and stopping. The starting and stopping is what causes the spikes. These spikes can be very small or very large, up to thousands of volts or amps. The higher the transients are, the greater the association to health problems.

 

The switched mode power supplies in smart meters switch often. They constantly turn on and off. The smart meter uses all the wiring in your home to send these transients to and acts as an antenna. The antenna effect radiates six to eight feet from the wire.

What this all means is that it’s not only the 900 megahertz microwave frequency of Smart Meters that is the problem. There are other frequencies that are also transmitted by the Smart Meter.

Stotyn and his staff have created a SineTamer device that can eliminate the whole range of frequencies that cause symptoms that are emitted by the smart meter and eliminate all the transients that are responsible for causing the fires. The SineTamer is mounted on your electric panel. And by reducing the transients, it’s possible to get a reduction of 50% on your bill.

 

The difference between a regular dirty electricity filter you plug into the outlets and the SineTamer is the level of transients that are reduced, and the additional frequencies that are eliminated from the Smart Meter with the device. Find out more at http://www.poweremt.com or http://www.cratuscanada.com

 

4. Smart Meter Guards

You can cover or shield your smart meter to reduce the microwave radiation. There are various types of smart meter guards on the market. Guards can be expected to cut out about 90% of the microwave radiation that are given out.

Here’s a Smart meter Guard Product Review: https://youtu.be/aK4sAZlzvPY

The only problem with this method is that it doesn’t address the dirty electricity put out by the Smart Meter.

And there’s another potential issue – is the smart meter transmitting energy from the part of it that is not covered? You’ll want to check the radiation on the other side of the wall, as the signal may go into the home from the end that is not covered.

One Sacramento CA EMF Radiation expert, Eric Windheim, WindheimSolutions.com, puts insulation material that looks like bubble wrap and aluminum foil (called Heat Shield III 4’ x 125’ folds) on the wall that the Smart Meter is on in the home for his clients. He does this in addition to other strategies taken by building biologists.

If you don’t want to purchase a shield already made, you can do a do-it-yourself project by creating an inexpensive Faraday cage around the meter. Essentially you are simply making your own smart meter guard.

What you’ll need is aluminum window screening and a 6-1/2 inch post clamp. Cut a 13x13 inch sq and fold it in half to see where the center of it is compared to your meter. Center the screen over the meter and put the clamp over the screening material, covering the entire meter. Tighten the screw on the clamp. It’s that easy. Check out the link: https://youtu.be/aiJmx93MpPE

There are solutions. Don’t give up. Just get busy.

 

 

Sources:

Mercola, Dr. Joseph. Smart meter controversy takes an astonishing new turn. Published Sept. 11, 2017. https://www.spiritofchange.org/green-living-environment/Smart-Meter-Controversy-Takes-An-Astonishing-New-Turn/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7404861/One-three-problems-controversial-smart-meters.html

Del Sol, Josh. Take Back Your Power documentary on smart meters. https://youtu.be/2uMfx-FsJiE