[gnitta]

Wasn't sure where to put this question.  I would like to know if anyone has any experience with Smart Meters.  Do they affect the sound of your audio system?  Can power conditioners filter out any interference from the meters?  Would appreciate any comments since the meters are about to be installed in my area in the next 30 days.  I can opt out but there will be fees to do so.

[FullRangeMan]

Wasn't sure where to put this question.  I would like to know if anyone has any experience with Smart Meters.  Do they affect the sound of your audio system?  Can power conditioners filter out any interference from the meters?  Would appreciate any comments since the meters are about to be installed in my area in the next 30 days.  I can opt out but there will be fees to do so.

I understand its power company AC meter, I have see some in use, not in my home, but they were used to tag or detect excess consumption on the peak hours (18:00 to 22:00) in which the (fool) consumer, committed not to spend too much electricity, that is he could not use the electric shower, electric tap, air cond etc. under the risk of having to pay a fine at the next bill end of the month, in addition to having to pay the cost of the smart meter itself, it's like dying and having to pay for your own murder weapon, and the hypothetical benefit would be a lower rate.

I was told by a German guy who lived in Germany for several years that in his german city if your house is polluting the electricity network (harmonics, wave deformation etc) they will go in your house to check the entire electric installation and what you have connected to the network and you will receive a very huge fine to pay asap, this only possible with smart meters.

So be smart and dont install smart meters.

[Photon46]

Yes, we had a smart meter installed and I noticed no degradation in sound quality. (My system is listed if interested.) I was using a Shunyata MPC-12 power conditioner at the time. I replaced the Shunyata with a PS Audio Stellar P3 for all front end components and use the amp direct into the wall, a definite further improvement.

[jtcf]

We have smart meters.The sound quality is exactly the same as before. The only anomaly was when someone showed up to check why the readings had become abnormal recently. Turns out there was a hornet nest under the cover:-)

[FullRangeMan]

They promised any benefit if you agree to pay and use a smart meter ?

[Photon46]

The "benefit" is that if you allow the utility company to install a smart meter, they won't charge you more for service. You will pay a higher monthly fee if you don't install a smart meter. Installing smart meters allows utility companies to reduce costs by eliminating employment for all the people that used to read our meters. It also allows utilities to do real time monitoring of electrical usage. If needed, they can start charging more for electricity consumed during peak demand hours to encourage energy conservation.

[gnitta]

Thanks for your replies and comments.  Still undecided as I am still researching.  Some folks are claiming that their monthly bills have increased almost two fold. I also have a friend who contacted Audioquest and they recommended opting out. 

[FullRangeMan]

In my state the power company own the power transformer from the building or condo and if the transformer still belongs to the condo the power company buys the transformer from the condo, so a few years later I found out that they wanted so much to buy the transformers to change the RTF phase adjustments of the transformer to emphasize the T phase in the transformer, which increases a lot the consumption of the custumers meters, which in legal terms this is fraud against the people economy.

[Jila]

Smart meters communicate with energy suppliers at agreed intervals using mobile network technology, that's 3G,4G, 5G or LTE depending on your location.The individual transceivers typically operate in the 902–928 MHz and 2.4-2.48 GHz bands, utilising both frequency-hopping and spread spectrum techniques which are controlled by a wireless mesh network overlay. Thus, in terms of potential interference with audio systems, they are comparable to operating mobile phones or mobile phone base stations or wireless LAN in the vicinity.

International radio frequency (RF) exposure guidelines have been developed to provide protection against established effects from RF fields by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, 2005). In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted limits that are similar to those of ICNIRP and the IEEE (FCC, 1997).



The transceivers operate at a nominal peak power of up to 1 W. However, as they transmit for very short intervals and infrequently, the average transmitted powers are very low.
However, average power is of little interest with regards to interference to audio systems. It is the short pulses that can break through. So the usual power conditioning and filtering techniques are advisable to avoid the lifting of the noise floor. Although the RF noise floor at these levels is generally not audible itself, if untreated, it can lead to loss of clarity, transparency and smearing in your system.

[richidoo]

Welcome to AudioCircle, Jila!
Nice post!

We got a smart meter about 8 yrs ago. A bed is right behind the meter, so about 5 yrs ago I put a metal mesh screen over the glass bubble to seal in the RF and the person sleeping in that bed had dramatically improved sleep on the first night and thereafter. The utility came to replace the meter 3 times thinking it was broken since they were not receiving any signal. I just kept putting the screen back on it and they finally gave up. Sadly, we do still get a bill.

I have not noticed any change in audio since the smart meter was installed. But scoping the leg that powers my system shows the typical peak clipping (3% THD) which is very audible when it is corrected by regenerator. I think that' a bigger issue from the perspective of audio performance.

[groovybassist]

Our house is a new build we moved into around 21 months ago.  Initially it had a normal meter, which was changed out to a smart meter after about 6 months.  Haven’t noticed any change whatsoever.  FWIW, my equipment is plugged straight into the wall on which the meter resides, with all stock power cords.