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Im worried about smart metres in UK

G

green michine

Member
I tried asking about smart metres in the smart metres sticky thread but no ones got round to replying. Im new to this smart metre thing. So my question is do smart metres affect people in the uk? I was reading the smart metre sticky thread but i couldnt quite follow it. Im planning on using a 400w, do you think this will be ok. Im planning on 3 plants , for personal use. Im sick of getting ripped off by the black market.

Thanks in advance.
 
944s2

944s2

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
As long as you pay for your electric then they are not going to care plus one 400w lamp is not a lot in a household these days when you factor in tumble dryers,,printers,big tvs,etc,,etc,,,
Smart meters are going to be fitted everywhere i havent seen anybody expressing anxities about this,,,,less visits from the leccy man i imagine,,,
all the best,,,s2
 
amanda88

amanda88

Well-known member
420giveaway
Smart meters record your electricity use as all meters do

but these units record the time and the amount used

its supposed to make things easier for the user ...???? citation needed ..lol

should big brother care he may well inform the fuzz as to your unusual and high

consumption that at best can bee seen as sus!

a 400w is no biggy, but should you be flipping it off and on in what would be seen as

'cannabis factory times' have a previous canna record, and or other weed sus activity

then you can well expect a visit

most in the UK have switched to COB/LED to avoid this tracking, using the bulk of their

electricity in high consumer times 6pm-10pm

along with the Gas Light timing method (which I have forgotten,..lol)

400w is easily concealed just as guys who maybe weld in their garage, guys who use

power tools, play trains sets, or any high power use hobby

cheers/
 
Bush Dr

Bush Dr

Painting the picture of Dorian Gray
Veteran
You are under no legal obligation to have a smart meter fitted ... just refuse
 
VerdantGreen

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
i wouldnt worry about 400W, and if you pay your bills then i wouldnt worry too much full stop.
a household fan heater or electric storage heater is 1000-2000W
big telly about 500W

by far the most common way of getting into grow trouble through the electric companies is by stealing the electricity so avoid that!

VG
 
944s2

944s2

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
VerdantGreen said:
i wouldnt worry about 400W, and if you pay your bills then i wouldnt worry too much full stop.
a household fan heater or electric storage heater is 1000-2000W
big telly about 500W

by far the most common way of getting into grow trouble through the electric companies is by stealing the electricity so avoid that!

VG
Click to expand...
Right on Verdant,,,,
people get into more legal trouble through stealing electric and dodgy wiring etc then the plants they got raided for!,,,,,
Electric companys are all about the ££££,,,,,,s2
 
R

Rox

amanda88 said:
Smart meters record your electricity use as all meters do

but these units record the time and the amount used

its supposed to make things easier for the user ...???? citation needed ..lol

should big brother care he may well inform the fuzz as to your unusual and high

consumption that at best can bee seen as sus!

a 400w is no biggy, but should you be flipping it off and on in what would be seen as

'cannabis factory times' have a previous canna record, and or other weed sus activity

then you can well expect a visit

most in the UK have switched to COB/LED to avoid this tracking, using the bulk of their

electricity in high consumer times 6pm-10pm

along with the Gas Light timing method (which I have forgotten,..lol)

400w is easily concealed just as guys who maybe weld in their garage, guys who use

power tools, play trains sets, or any high power use hobby

cheers/
Click to expand...

This is a very informative post, thank you. I do recall somebody mentioned that digital ballasts show up as a digital ballast on the smart Meters but this could be a Chinese whisper of some sort
 
G

green michine

Member
Thanks people for you help and advice. I would never steal electric, that seems way too risky. Im looking forward to a small grow now, but i will also try and play it safe whenever i can. :)

Cheers!
 
Jaqen H'gar

Jaqen H'gar

Member
Im on a msart meter and had a letter from British gas last year asking if i wanted them to keep taking hourly readings, or change to daily or monthly readings.

I didn't respond, so i am still on hourly readings, which will probably show and obvious increase during the hours i run my light. I haven't been busted yet.
 
L

littlegrow

Active member
in my eyes running a 600w between the hours of 12pm and 12am no one batts an eye lid, heaters are putting out 2k, tvs and such

but they won't pick up on a 600w hps light on for 12 hours, if your stealing it then they are coming though your door
 
GMT

GMT

The Tri Guy
Veteran
400w in UK here. Smart Meter fitted years ago, but I do run a magnetic rather than digi ballast and plug it into a surge protected multi plug rather than the wall.
 
S

St. Phatty

Active member
In other words,
just go for a wild shopping spree at your favorite home electronics retailer,
set all the stuff up in your living room,
near the front door.

Then if someone you don't want there shows up
You got a reason for the electric use.


Same thinking as has been used for masking larger grows
although there's no need to discuss the details.


If I was super concerned I'd pay $10K for a battery storage unit, or maybe some solar, with inverter etc.

So then you are in complete control of the signature your grow gear leaves on the power line.


One way to add some noise to the meter reading is to get some

BIG ELECTRIC MOTORS

and attach them to your AC line.

Then just flip them on and off. It generates big spikes and lots of noise.

Then if someone you don't want there stops by,

you can just tell them you have a rock band like Stomp

except you guys use electric motors to make music. :woohoo:
 
Jaqen H'gar

Jaqen H'gar

Member
St. Phatty said:
In other words,
just go for a wild shopping spree at your favorite home electronics retailer,
set all the stuff up in your living room,
near the front door.

Then if someone you don't want there shows up
You got a reason for the electric use.
:woohoo:
Click to expand...

If someone shows up at your door asking about your electric use, tell them to fuck off!

If its the plod they will have a warrant and at that point its too late.
 
I

iloveweed123

Member
Rox said:
This is a very informative post, thank you. I do recall somebody mentioned that digital ballasts show up as a digital ballast on the smart Meters but this could be a Chinese whisper of some sort
Click to expand...

A smart meter doesnt know what you're plugging into the board be it a digi ballast or a fridge, it does at what time tho
 
GMT

GMT

The Tri Guy
Veteran
Actually it does know what's plugged in. The guy fitting mine told me to turn my laptop off from downstairs. Laptop wasn't on but was plugged in and the battery was drawing enough power to charge the battery. He had me unplug it.
 
D

DarkKaya

New member
Grow on!

Grow on!

Get a 600w heater / air con if you can afford, set it to sync on with you light off time, if the meters are that smart they can tell the appliance. Place a 600w sercurity light to sync on at your off times, run through same outlet.

Sync you dryer to come on 10 mins before lights off, boil the kettle a few times around off times to create noise.

tbf, if you are uk and you pay the bills, if they come knocking I can't see it Being anything to do with 600w leccy.

If you run a sercurity light two to three hours post lights off time through the Sam outlet then it's less likely, as the queries will probably be 12/12 ans 18/6, you'll only be paying for false sense of safety tho. If you break a KW for a set frequency then I may be worried. To my mind weeds pretty much like it was back in the mid 1980s in Holland, not many furs given unless you kick up a stink, I'd invest time and money in Odour control.

Happy gardening :tiphat:
 
I

iloveweed123

Member
GMT said:
Actually it does know what's plugged in. The guy fitting mine told me to turn my laptop off from downstairs. Laptop wasn't on but was plugged in and the battery was drawing enough power to charge the battery. He had me unplug it.
Click to expand...

Since when did fridges kettles etc become capable of carrying/transmitting data through there power cables ????
 
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