Do you still have a stranger jump your fence each month to check your electricity usage? This can be a pain for the average homeowner because there is no way to determine when the meter reader will be visiting your property. The consumer can only hope that their dog will not interfere with each monthly meter reading.
Well folks, here is the solution. The old-school electricity meters scattered throughout rural and urban communities throughout the country are being replaced with smart meters, an electronic metering device that provides advanced two-way communication between the meter at your home or business and your utility company.
What Exactly is a Smart Meter?
Smart meters are secure metering devices that provide real-time data collection wirelessly transmitted via radiofrequency signals. They usually have a digital display that is similar to most of regular meters that is on the market today. Smart meters are more reliable, automatically reporting power outages so repair crews can be sent out quickly. This improves the overall time it takes the utility company to respond to the customers problems.
Do you have a solar panel installed on your property? Well smart meters have the capability of recording the energy that is collected from other generated sources such as solar panels or wind turbine farms. This helps the
consumer track all of the energy they have generated ultimately making it easier to calculate their energy credits and savings.
Instead of measuring the amount of electricity used per month, as traditional meters do when the meters are manually read once a month, smart meters allow customers to check online for their daily power usage. Smart meters send a signal to the utility company every 15 minutes. Since smart meters can be read remotely, utility companies don’t need to send out employees to read meters, a move that essentially saves the company money in the long run.
Smart Meter Growth
In 2009 utility companies across the country were awarded $3.5 billion in federal stimulus funds to invest in smart grid technology by replacing old-fashioned meters with smart meters. Some states started the technology upgrade years earlier, while many are lagging behind.
Texas lawmakers adopted legislation related to smart meters in 2005. As of late 2012, Texas utility companies had already installed six million smart meters, an 87 percent penetration rate to reach the state’s target by 2016.
While more than 30 million smart meters have been installed since 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has reported that the nationwide market penetration rate for smart meters is only at about 23 percent. Twenty-eight states have less than one-quarter of their traditional meters converted to smart meters.
Smart Meter Benefits
There are plenty of benefits with converting over to a smart meter, here are a few:
- Energy usage accessibility
- Restoring power in a timely fashion
- Pollution reduction
Consumers will be able to access their monthly bill online whenever they choose. This will make analyzing their usage easier so that they can determine if they will need to conserve energy earlier in the month reducing their electricity costs for the current month.
Whenever a huge storm passes, many homeowners experience power outages. These smart meters can notify the utility companies about these power outages so that power can be restored in these areas faster than before.
Pollution is always a concern these days as global warming affects our planet. Smart meters reduce pollution by limiting the amount of vehicles that are needed to check each meter monthly. Electricity usage is transferred immediately each month only requiring a utility person to visit for a major problem.
Smart Meter Concerns
But adoption of smart metering technology has had its share of bumps in the road.
Some residents are resisting smart meter technology and want to opt out of the mandated program for a variety of concerns, including:
- Fears about radio frequency and health problems
- The technology could be used to illegally gather information
- Worries about privacy if smart meter is hacked
Smart meter supporters argue that the signals transmitted by smart meters pose as much of a health threat to people as baby monitors and cell phones. They view the benefits as far outweighing any risks as the country adopts smart grid technology.
Some homeowners are worried about their information being obtained illegally through their smart meter. However, like any piece of technology that is connected to a network, the illegal transfer of private information will and always be a huge issue.
Hacking is always an issue as we continue to improve our lives through technology. Consumers are constantly worried that hackers will be able to hack into their smart meter ignoring all the privacy laws that are in place. Since this technology is fairly new, only time will tell when all of these minor details will be sorted out.
Still, many lawmakers are debating whether or not to allow opt-out options for homeowners who don’t want smart meter technology installed at their homes. Some states, including California, Maine, Nevada, and Vermont, allow their residents to opt-out of smart meter programs.
Smart Meters in the Future
Although most of us might not have a smart meter available to us right now, expect that to drastically change in the next few years. You will continue to see the wide spread availability of these smart meters offered from all the utility companies across the country.
In the near future, smart meters will allow homeowners to remotely control many smart home appliances, including your thermostat, directly through your internet connection on your cell phone or laptop. This will definitely increase the appeal of the smart meter across the country.
