Power Company keeps sending me comparisons of my usage compared to my neighbors

[babelfish]

It doesn't work with smart meters. They can detect the shutdown of the 1st lamp and startup surge of the 2nd in the split second it takes to flip.
Also, flat energy usage is unusual in itself. Usually there is a little surge in the morning when people have showers and breakfast, set the washing machine. then drops off through the day, and has another surge, in the evening, with little peaks at various points, and drops off again through the night when you are asleep


Unhelpful....Really? Thank you sir, may I have another. The info is right there in the smart meter thread Mr anon neg nozzle.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=241499
^- you talking about this? because, there's no proof of anything in there. Perhaps you have forgotten there is a measurement interval involved? so things done in between measurements are invisible?

time - kwh/h
time - kwh/h
^-- these are how it records - rate of power usage over time (seconds, minutes, hours, etc)

so, yeah. it should beat them. current measurement interval is ~5min in socal.


NOW - do you want to BEAT them? because you can. solar installs typically dump to a battery backup array. This array stores the power then dumps it into the house. you might be familiar with the term UPS (uninterruptable power supply.) So, put your grow on a big ass UPS. power UPS from wall. this smooths out the spikes. thus giving you the breathing room needed.


no. its not cheap. the bigger the grow the more the expense.
Yes. its another part that can go wrong/bad.

but in the end, it CAN be done, and rather easily. look at what datacenters use for UPSs to get an idea of what we're suggesting here - the equivalent of dozens of batteries.

http://www.emersonnetworkpower.com/en-US/Products/ACPower/LargeFacilityUPS/Pages/default.aspx

 

[AlterEgo860]

I know that in parts of the country people are standing up against the smart meters.. so if u petition it.. u can get out of using one period.

 

[RoadRash]

NOW - do you want to BEAT them? because you can. solar installs typically dump to a battery backup array. This array stores the power then dumps it into the house. you might be familiar with the term UPS (uninterruptable power supply.) So, put your grow on a big ass UPS. power UPS from wall. this smooths out the spikes. thus giving you the breathing room needed.

no. its not cheap. the bigger the grow the more the expense.
Yes. its another part that can go wrong/bad.

but in the end, it CAN be done, and rather easily. look at what datacenters use for UPSs to get an idea of what we're suggesting here - the equivalent of dozens of batteries.

http://www.emersonnetworkpower.com/en-US/Products/ACPower/LargeFacilityUPS/Pages/default.aspx

that's what i was thinking about.

solar arrays often use golf-cart batteries, bigger heavy 6 volt batteries. last time i priced one new, they were about $200 for one that stored about 4 1/2 kilowatt hours.

you can also buy functional used batteries from an auto salvage yard. if you go in there with a voltmeter and it measures something like '12.68 volts' for a car battery, it's probably good. (it's better to do this with a store that has an operational return policy.)

anyway, 4 of those golf cart batteries (2 in parallel, 2 of those in series to make 12+ volts) will make a system that can then power an inverter.

i have a Tripplite 1250-something (1250 KFC ?) - enough to drive a 1KW HID light. it cost $260.


it works out to about a $1000. the problem is, you then spend a lot of time charging batteries and discharging them, until you learn to automate it.

that might be a good product for the grow industry - something to re-map the power consumption of a grow install. so it looks more soccer mom-ish to a smart meter.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=241499
^- you talking about this? because, there's no proof of anything in there. Perhaps you have forgotten there is a measurement interval involved? so things done in between measurements are invisible?

time - kwh/h
time - kwh/h
^-- these are how it records - rate of power usage over time (seconds, minutes, hours, etc)

so, yeah. it should beat them. current measurement interval is ~5min in socal.

Fair enough mate. There were numerous discussions about smart meters over the years, and I thought the conclusion was as I described above, but if that isn't the case, happy days.

 

[babelfish]

well to be fair let's not call it just yet. I'll ask a source what's currently up. if you guys can get make/models (not serials) perhaps we can find even more information - spec sheets and such. there is no system that cannot be beaten. including the system beating the system =]

 

[babelfish]

ok i was able to validate that in california the devices they have rolled out for RESIDENTIAL are measuring in 'ticks' per 15min. there are meters capable of 'seeing' a toaster or whatever (think measurement resolutions would be sub second), but currently they have not implemented devices capable of this. why?

1. they COST much more
2. they don't want their workers to be targets.

LITERALLY. organizations have asked and they refused. this could be different in other jurisdictions, but if i had a few model numbers to work with we could get a very good picture of what they are capable of in your area.

they are not connected to the network all the time, and are triggered remotely. these guys just want to charge you, and frankly would be happy to upgrade your transformer. sure, don't use 20kw in a 1 bedroom house, but in general they really don't give a shit as long as you're not stealing the power. _in socal_. again, ymmv.

now, in general one should expect in a _residential_ situation they will NOT see the flip flop. they will see a count of ticks over time. i.e. counter is at x. now counter is at y. they then see that over the interval you used __ power. if you feel sketchy about using power in a 12/12 cycle then work out a way to use it 24-7. and, i found out some other interesting stuff. most of the extra features the more expensive meters have have to do with power line quality and such. so, PAY YOUR MOTHINGFUCKING GODDAMN BILL. YOU USED IT, SO PAY IT. AND DON'T BE LATE. he even mentioned something about 'o geez i put in 3 of these super huge super freezers for my food, i needz me more power' as being FULLY legit. notice its an item that uses power 24-7?

so my advice of a UPS that's big enough to power any devices you want to hide from monitoring? yeah. totally good to go. again validated with someone involved in the rollout.

best piece of advice?
1. be as legal as you can in your area
2. pay your bills
3. don't be an asshole to your neighbors