Smart meters, privacy... and grow rooms.

[Jesco]

Hi All, We're in Tasmania and Aurora Energy are trying to install smart meters in our area. We have a small grow room. Obviously we are concerned about smart meters due to the data they provide, makes it obvious that we have a grow room due to usage/consumption patterns. I see via google searches that some Aus companies HAVE provided data to the police. I'm seeking opinions on this issue, any experiences (good or bad) with smart meters? Any constructive comments most appreciated.

 

[GMT]

I was worried when they fitted one here. I stalled for as long as possible but then figured that I was starting to look suspicious.
Slightly altering your on off times will help to not get flagged, as they will be relying on a computer program to identify patterns. And that will require them to program the patterns. Just don't use a timer is my solution. Each day they go on and off at slightly different times.
But since (here at least) once you switch suppliers, all they can get from the meter is usage rates rather than all the other data, that's what a lot do. Have the meter installed and switch suppliers.

 

[Bobby Boucher]

If you are really paranoid about it, you could always leave your lights on 24/7, and manually drag plants in and out every 12 hours.

When my smart meter was installed, I put my cooltube on trolleys with unistrut and moved it between tents every 12 hours.

If you are running less than 1000w, I wouldn't be worried about all that and just leave it on a timer. I'd think even up to 2-3k, no ones going to say shit.

I personally didn't want 1200w coming on and off so predictably.. but, I'm probably just paranoid off that chronic. There's no way to tell, so.. better safe than sorry, I figure.

GL. Be safe.

 

[pop_rocks]

i had the same fears when they installed the smart meters here in so.cal
/i was also worried about all the data/ patterns of usage they could gather
in my experience i was worried about nothing and i dont think they really care
if anything, i was going to tell them i took up raising reptiles who needed strong indoor lighting on a strict schedule
/in addition to the kiln and all the tv and xbox machines i was playing 24/7
as long as i paid my bill on time they never questioned me about my electrical use

 

[aussiegrower420]

dont worry if your running small setup under 1k worry if your using more than that

 

[pahut]

Is it absolutely required that you switch to one? In NZ it's opt in if you have an old meter and all new houses get smart meters I believe. Over here it's smart to move to one as it keeps the meter man away and unless you're pulling 5 or 10kw in a lil state house, should be sweet. Just pay on time.

 

[moses wellfleet]

What about a couple off grid solar panels then they won’t have clue what you up to?

I heard solar is big in Aus, Western Australia at least.

 

[OakyJoe]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=217895

 

[rindindoo]

oh, thanks everyone, your answers helped calm down

 

[f-e]

It's not in the electric companies interest to give you up. I doubt the police can approach them demanding they do their jobs for them, and look at everyone's usage either. Fish like 10-12 hours a day, and you would choose 12 if you wanted to keep fish to actually look at them. So the closet grower might want to light up till 11pm, when people tend to go to bed. Keeping both a 12/12 area and a 24/7 area going 365 days a year, so there is no pattern at all.

Moving up the scale a bit, two flower areas on a flip/flop timer. So one is always lit. There is a sample rate, it's not continuous monitoring. So you would be using power 24/7 with the rare sample saying otherwise. No pattern though as all clocks slip a bit.

Once everyone has a meter, they can see the accumulative usage in an area, then what the substation supplied, and any electricity theft becomes easier to spot. If that theft is 12/12 then the power company are interested in police support. If they feel it's too great a loss. Remember, we all pay a bit more, to cover thefts. So they don't have to expend resources finding them.

Know what a UPS is? No? Picture a car battery, and a battery charger. You can decide when the charger is on. The battery can supply an invertor. One of them things that caravans and lorries use to make mains AC power from batteries. All of this comes packaged under the name UPS or Uninteruptable Power Supply. I use one on my extractor fan. If the power goes off, I get almost an hour of extraction from a box I paid about $100 for. It's an 8ah battery iirc. A hand full, not a car sized battery. I could power all or part of a grow with leds that switch to battery power while the main power goes off for a bit. Or I could charge a few hours of battery light before mains lights on. I could run lower power during parts of the day, and more at others, to total up my daily consumption. All of this, and more to come, when it starts to matter.

 

[pahut]

UPS was going to be my other suggestion but then I thought about cost of a decent battery bank and thought otherwise. If you're going battery bank route, may as well go solar.


Brilliant post by [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OakyJoe[/FONT]

 

[pop_rocks]

solar is the way to go especially if you are running a lot of watts
f-e also raises another good point, what is the typical usage for your area?
we live in a neighborhood of large houses so their electrical use is higher
they are looking for the outliers in use something way beyond the norm
its just me and the mrs living here now, so we use considerably less power compared to our neighbors even with the lights going from time to time

glad you are feeling better about your fears and i hope your crop is growing out great jesco

 

[AgentPothead]

That's a great thread thanks for the link OakyJoe.

 

[Technique]

Lol..fuck solar and batteries..
for something small.. who gives a fuck.. pay your bill on time and no worries.

 

[f-e]

UPS was going to be my other suggestion but then I thought about cost of a decent battery bank and thought otherwise. If you're going battery bank route, may as well go solar.


Brilliant post by [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OakyJoe[/FONT]

If you have room to generate your own power, that's a very good way for nobody to know what you are using.

Some people are lighting 8x4 tents with a pair of 315s. A typical 100ah leisure battery will last over half an hour. So they could start the day on battery, then have 3 breaks from consuming mains power during the day. 15 minutes, half an hour, then another 15 minutes. What would a judge think to that?


It's going to require a judges permission to check someone's power as it's a privacy issue. So until an act of gubberment changes that, we are alright

 

[Mcnuggets420]

Had a smart meter here when I moved in.. Just went full into it and 3 years down the track no issues.. Pulling 3k