More on smart meters
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Re: recent emails about smart meters
Fell free to distribute!
As we know, in some parts of Canada smart meters have been installed, never mind whether customers objected.
Permission was given to me from my medical doctor and EMF/EMR expert Dr. Karl Braun-von-Gladiss (Privat-Institut für ganzheitliche Medizin, www.gladiss.de in Deutsch Evern/Lueneburg/Germany) to share the content of one of his earlier newsletters about subject issue (the German version of his newsletter I attach in this email at the very bottom).
Dr. Braun-von Gladiss was asking the electricity provider whether wireless smart meters are going to be installed by all and every customers, and if so, whether customers still would have the choice for the conventional /manual reading instead of the wireless smart meter reading.
Answer of the provider: any provider must offer each customer the digital/wireless smart meters, however the customers may decide to stay with the previous/conventional meters and phone in or email to the providers their own meter readings.
I personally find this a very good solution!
In 2008 our electrity company FORTIS BC applied for wireless smart meters.
As an intervener I addressed the EMF/EMR concern in that hearing (anybody interested, see attachments).
The regulatory agency, BC Utilities Commission, basically ignored the EMF/EMR issue.
However, and to my surprise the Commission denied the application “…at this time…” and in the reasoning “….the Commission is of the view that the Application and the Amended Application are incomplete and premature”. Source: http://www.bcuc.com/Documents/Proceedings/2008/DOC_20449_G-168-08_with-Reasons-for-Decision.pdf
My experience in several hearings I so far was involved with, I assume when the application for wireless smart meters will sooner or later reopen, that the Commission will decide for those wireless meters, and individual customers will not have the choice to stay with the with the manual-reading of the conventional/previous meters!
Another additional EMR shower in every home!
Hans Karow.
*****************************************
German version of the Email:
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Betreff: Stromablesetechnik-Auskunft des Lieferanten |
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Von: Privatinstitut für ganzheitliche Medizin <inst...@gladiss.de> |
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Datum: Wed, 13 May 2009 13:34:03 -0800 |
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An: hka...@telus.net |
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Privat-Institut für Ganzheitliche Medizin und Gesundheitsförderung |
für Karow Hans |
Antwort des Stromversorgers zur neuen
Stromablesetechnik
Dr. Braun-von
Gladiß
10.5.09
Im Newsletter vom 6.4.09 kritisierte ich die Einführung einer neuen Mobilfunk-gesteuerten Stromverbrauchs-Ablesetechnik und die in manchen Kreisen angesichts dessen aufkochende Katastrophenmentalität.
In der Folge erreichten mich viele überwiegend positive und Dank enthaltende Rückmeldungen von LeserInnen dazu, aber auch die immer wieder gestellte Frage: Wie kann man sich vor dieser Technik schützen?
Da mein Privat-und Praxishaus von diesem Thema ja auch betroffen sein könnte, habe ich meinen Stromversorger angeschrieben und Gleiches jedem Menschen, der besorgt ist, ebenso. Ich denke, dass auch Mieter ihre Vermieter im Vorwege sinngemäß ähnlich kontaktieren sollten.
Meine Anfrage und die Antwort des Stromversorgers gebe ich den NewsletterabonnentInnen nachstehend zur Kenntnis wieder.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Dr. med. Karl Braun-von Gladiß
Mein Schreiben lautete folgendermaßen:
„Naturstromliefervertrag R ...; Laufzeit ab 1.3.08.
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Ich bitte Sie um Antwort auf nachfolgende Fragen, meinen Vertrag mit
Ihnen
betreffend:
Plant Ihre Firma eine Umstellung der Stromablesetechnik auf die moderne
digitale Form?
- Falls ja, ab wann?
- Falls ja, welche Technik planen Sie konkret zu installieren?
- Falls ja, wie lange wird die Informations-Vorlaufphase für mich als Kunden sein, bevor so etwas im Haus installiert wird?
- Kann ich stattdessen davon ausgehen, daß Ihre Firma an der bisherigen manuellen Stromablesung festhält oder mir als Kundin diese Option statt der digitalen Version anbietet?
Vorab teile ich Ihnen mit, daß ich mit einer Umrüstung auf digitale Ablesetechnik nicht einverstanden sein würde.“
Die wenige Tage danach eintreffende Antwort des Stromversorgers lautet: „… können wir Ihnen folgende Informationen geben: Sachstand ist der, daß Versorger ab 2010 für Neubauten und ab 2011 für alle Gebäude digitale (,,intelligente") ZähIer anbieten müssen. Wir sind zur Zeit auf der Suche nach Kooperationspartnern um dieser Auflage nachkommen zu können und diese energieeffiziente Technik anbieten zu können.
Ihnen als Kunde steht es völlig frei, sich dafür oder dagegen zu entscheiden. Sie haben übrigens die Möglichkeit uns Ihre selbst abgelesenen Zählerstände telefonisch oder über unsere Homepage (Rubrik Kundenservice) mitzuteilen.“
Privat-Institut
für Ganzheitliche
Medizin
Auf dem Vievacker 16
D – 21407 Deutsch Evern
Impressum des Newsletter www.gladiss.de:
Die Aussagen in allen Ausgaben des Newsletter wurden sorgfältig
recherchiert
und nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen präsentiert. Eine Gewähr für
wissenschaftliche Richtigkeit wird nicht übernommen. Die Aussagen haben
allgemeinen Charakter und stellen keine individuelle Beratung dar. Es
wird
ausdrücklich darauf hingewiesen, daß keine Aussage des Newsletter eine
medizinische
Beratung und Behandlung im Einzelfall ersetzt. Jeder ratsuchende Mensch
und
hilfesuchende Patient muss für sein persönliches Gesundheitsproblem
einen Arzt
konsultieren.
Der gesamte Text des Newsletter www.gladiss.de
ist, soweit
keine Literaturverweise genannt werden, Eigentum des Privatinstitutes
für
ganzheitliche Medizin und Gesundheitsförderung in Deutsch Evern. Der
Inhalt ist
urheberrechtlich geschützt und darf ohne Zustimmung des
Privatinstitutes für
ganzheitliche Medizin und Gesundheitsförderung mit keiner Technik
gewerblich,
institutionell oder öffentlich reproduziert oder publiziert werden.
Private
Weitergabe ist zulässig, aber nur in unveränderter Form und nur mit dem
Zitatmodus „Dieser Text ist dem Newsletter www.gladiss.de des
Privatinstitutes für ganzheitliche Medizin und Gesundheitsförderung in
Deutsch
Evern/Lüneburg entnommen“.
Das Privatinstitut für Ganzheitliche Medizin und Gesundheitsförderung
ist seit
dem 1.4.2003 unter der Bezeichnung „Privatinstitut für Ganzheitliche
Medizin“
bei der Industrie-u.Handelskammer Lüneburg eingetragen. Inhaber dieser
Personengesellschaft ist Anselm von Gladiß, Auf dem Vievacker 16, 21407
Deutsch
Evern. Die Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer lautet DE 226708885. Der
Kontakt
ist über „KONTAKT“ auf der
Hauptseite www.gladiss.de
herstellbar.
omega_news
install the smart meter in an external plastic box with a metal
screening sheet against the house wall. That will allow remote reading
with very small amounts of RF entering the house. It would be a large
improvement on having the smart meter inside the house.
However, most SMART meters that I have now seen over here in the UK
also have a WiFi (or z-wave or Zigbee etc) link (i) to a remote
readout for the consumer to see the amount of electricity they are
using, its price per unit and the cost per minute, per hour, per day,
per week and since the last bill was paid and (ii) to allow future
control of heavy use appliances (like washing machines) to run them
automatically when the electricity is cheapest. None of the Smart
Meters that I have seen details of currently seem to be allowing a
hard-wired remote unit. I suspect enough RF will come in on the mains
cable that the remote readout will work if mounted close to the
consumer (fuse) box.
It is a great shame (and a disaster for some people) that the industry
are not designing these with hard-wired readouts.
For the link back to the main electricity network control centre,
certainly in the UK, this is now most likely to be using the standard
GSM or UMTS phone network - probably UMTS as the GSM system will be
phased out in the next ten years or so and the meters are expected to
last nearer to 30 years. The RF transmit power will be the same as a
normal cellphone and will automatically adjust to the minimum needed
to talk to the nearest basestation. So the Fortis table of RF power
densities are much high than they will be in normal practice. They
will only be at those (whatever they are) levels during the short time
your meter is talking to the phone network.
Fortis correctly state that some systems continuously transmit data.
They do, but I see no chance of this happening for domestic meters -
there is no way millions of meters talking continuously could be
affordably carried by the existing telecomms infrastructure and there
is no need for anything like continuous data. My best guess (with my
ear to the ground / grapevine) of likely periodicity will be a upload
of 'units consumed' once every 24 hours.
Incoming data transfer will be when the total electricity demand and
availability changes significantly. For example they are talking about
very expensive units from about 17:30 to 19:00 hrs UK time, as that is
a time of peak demand and they wish to encourage people to minimise
their use of electricity at such times by using a variable tariff.
This avoids having extra peak-load power stations on standby
(expensive and unecological) and the building of more long-distance
high-power powerlines.
Smart meters will come and come soon. We need to try to get them more
ES people-friendly.
We do need to keep the RF out of our houses. However, in towns and
cities I believe that Smart Meters will make very little difference to
the pulsing microwave soup that we are already exposed to. In central
London average street levels have risen from around 0.1 V/m ten years
ago to 2 to 4 V/m in 2009 (I often walk around carrying a meter - used
to be a Gigahertz Solutions HFE35 but now I prefer the Acoustimeter
that I designed [fyi: http://www.emfields.org/equipment/acoustimeter.asp
] to see the pulsed and average levels). That is an average power
density increase of about 500-fold. A once-per-day upload of data for
a second or two will make virtually no difference to the average level
which are primarily dominated by the excessive use of mobile phones by
the general population and the base stations that support their use.
Alasdair Philips
omega_news
1.5 acres of land - I came here to escape the dense electrosmog (cell
antennae, Wi-Fi, DECT) in my apartment and neighbourhood that was 10
minutes from downtown Vancouver.
Shortly after my move, I noticed that the electric meter on the house
was digital, but didn't give it a second thought. After receiving a
link to a picture of one of the latest "Wi-Max" meters in a recent
email, and noticing the similarity in appearance, I began to wonder if
the meter on my house was a smart meter (although my meter did not say
"Wi-Max" on it).
Link to the photo:
I contacted the person at BC Hydro who could give me information on
the upcoming rollout of smart meters. She said that the rollout has
not started yet but there was a pilot project in the past year or so
and a handful of houses have been outfitted with smart meters - she
speculated that maybe my house was participating in the pilot project.
I explained to her that I am electrosensitive and that having a smart
meter near my bedroom and my childrens bedrooms was of great concern
to me - that like many others with ES, my life has been seriously
impacted by exposure to EMFs.
She called me back yesterday and informed me that I definitely do NOT
have a smart meter (much to my relief) and that what I have is a
mechanical meter with a digital readout.
What I found quite surprising was that she said that BC Hydro would
accommodate those sensitive to EMF's by locating the smart meters on a
different part of the client's property away from the house, and would
even shield the back the meter with a metal plate to block the waves.
It's quite clear that placing simple metal shielding on the back of a
smart meter won't effectively mitigate the microwaves. I have
experimented with an electrosmog detector, a Wi-Fi router and a large
piece of tin foil and found that the only thing that completely
blocked the Wi-Fi was wrapping the electrosmog meter inside the tin
foil.
On a positive note, I found this person to be quite empathetic and
aware of electrosensitivity as a health issue. That said, it doesn't
look like that awareness is going to stop the rollout of smart meters
in BC in the coming years.
Carl
Informant: Martin Weatherall