The humble electricity meter as many of us are aware has now become the not so humble smart meter which is essentially a radio frequency transmitting hub connecting and sending data up and down the old and current cell phone networks. We are sold that its main function is to monitor power consumption through wireless means just because it is convenient, efficient and data is more readily available. However the perpetual rollout of all things connected through the airwaves that contributes to the euphemistically named ‘Smart’ grid is in reality all about data, automation and to make the controllable aspects of society easier to control. The wireless emissions of radio frequency to facilitate all this add to the many new and other existing layers of pulse modulated, unnatural and unnecessary electro magnetic energies which are damaging to health and all living things.
In many social circles, certainly in the EMF world, it is often thought that you need to cover the meter to protect yourself. To cut to the chase on this subject, in the first instance the answer to this is a big fat no, DO NOT cover your smart electricity meter. The reasons for this we will get into but the vast majority of smart meters on homes are not an issue at this time and should be left well alone.
Covering a smart meter with a custom made cover is a very bad idea. In short, without understanding the EMF situation you are trying to mitigate or considering the layout and materials of the home, location of the meter or switchboard, covering a meter is fraught with complications and without understating it too much, the big red flag waving in your face is one of safety. I say this as someone who has a long history and experience in the EMF world of dealing with the issue of smart meter transmissions, measuring and mitigation.
Being smart about smart meters
The main topic of concern that circulates on the internet is that of the pulsing radio frequency that comes from the unit. First of all, here in NZ, ignore everything you see on youtube from the USA or the UK. Here in NZ, it’s a different set up.
First of all if you are unsure if you have a smart transmitting meter go to this link and check out what is supplied to monitor your properties electricity supply. https://www.ea.govt.nz/your-power/your-meter/address/
The main concern for most people is that a meter broadcasts a signal of radio frequency. When a meter sends out an RF signal, according to the Electricity Authority (in NZ) this is done around every half hour for a very brief moment and pushes it out on to the cell phone network. In reality during our surveys, meters send out signals less often than this. When this signal does broadcast it can sometimes be measured in different parts of a house but decreases in strength quickly within a short distance. Affected of course by the layout of the home, construction materials, number of walls etc.
Depending on where you are in the country, how built up the area is, all dictates how strong a signal is emitted. If you live in high urban areas that are well serviced by the cell phone network it is likely that your meter signal strength is quite low as it will easily be picked up by the local assigned carrier. In more rural areas, some meters can be set to have stronger signals that can transmit more often, certainly from our measurements we find this to be the case. In both cases, the signal strength from a single and brief transmission is likely to be similar to standing 10m or so from a typical domestic WiFi router.
So are these bursts of RF an issue?
In my experience, for many people this is not an issue at this stage. Due to the distance from the meter, the property layout, the appliances within the home, the strength and regularity of the signal. For a select few that are in the opposite boat who sleep or spend time close to a meter, have a property layout that increases exposure to the meter and switchboard and those with higher electric fields in their bedrooms, this piece of your EMF puzzle should be added on to the issues list to remediate.
The other lesser know issue about smart meters comes from this RF broadcast that also jumps on to your electric circuits and travels around the homes wiring as a distortion on your electricity waveform. This as a frequency distortion we call dirty electricity.
Another issue as with other technology in a home like smart TVs, computers, heat pumps and many others, smart meters use a type of switch mode power supply. The electronics in these devices use DC power. The act of switching from 240v AC down to low voltage DC causes voltage transients, harmonics, line noise, and power quality issues. Any time we try to control the proportions of voltage and current noise is created on the line. In the EMF world we call this Dirty Electricity.
Switch mode power supplies like those used in smart meters emit noise on a homes electric wiring in the form of high frequency voltage spikes between 4,000 Hertz and 60,000 Hz (4kHz and 60kHz). The actual frequency of the spike is influenced by the devices that are plugged into the homes power circuits. This means that some homes are much worse than others.
The level of dirty electricity is noticeable on the electric circuits from a smart meter constantly and then spikes when it does transmit. At this stage we find that the constant noise created by the SMPS and the additional pulse adds to the already elevated levels of dirty electricity that are present already. Given the exposure to electric fields and therefore also the dirty electric field in a home It is more appropriate to mitigate dirty electricity as a priority.
Are all smart meters configured the same?
The answered to that is no, some are configured differently. In many cases, additional external antennas and intellihubs have been installed. A cover over a meter in these cases will not affect the outgoing broadcast signal.
There are five main issues to summarise here:
The broadcast RF pulse passing through the air in the home
The broadcast RF pulse travelling around the electric circuits
Dirty electricity pulses from the switch mode power supply
Strong magnetic and electric fields in close proximity
External antennas fitted to smart meter boxes have a separate solution.
What happens if a meter is covered?
Covers available on the market are close fitting covers which fit directly over and make contact with a smart meter. They fit the meter up to the fixture board. If a meter is covered over directly from the front, there are a number of EMF related issues here immediately that need to be understood.
Safety. Adding a conductive cover over a meter is dangerous. If the switchboard is part of the same board the risk increases. Any number of factors here could cause serious harm. Electrical safety is the first priority.
It will affect automated meter reading. The purpose of the smart meter is to transmit data. If the cover stops this transmission, you can expect a visit from the meter reading services who will no doubt be unhappy. This may also be construed as tampering and liable to investigation.
Altered EMFs. Any conductive covering over a large electromagnetic field source like this will alter the strength and direction of both the magnetic field and the electric field. In most cases doing this will increase the broadcasting magnetic field which is continually present.
Reflection and interference. Adding a conductive cover (non absorbing) over a smart meter will reflect the radio frequency into other parts of a home and through interference alter the frequency of the transmission.
Electronics. A smart meter is a piece of electronic equipment that consumes power as as such requires airflow for natural cooling. Any electronic device that overheats can fail. A cover reduces this airflow and can damage the equipment.
External antennas broadcasting RF data transmissions will be unaffected.
It is for these reasons we recommend not to cover your smart meter with a close fitting cover.
Options
To mitigate the different EMF issues from a smart meter, there are a few other options open to us that we should consider. First of all these are EMF issues from the prospective of independent scientists who research the changing environment and EMF mitigators like myself. There are not considered health issues by national electrical, international engineering or government standards.
In the first instance, seek to have your transmitting smart meter removed and replaced with a non transmitting legacy meter. If this is not possible request the transmitting chip be removed.
If you can’t have the meter replaced then dealing with radio frequency transmissions we have to think smart. You still want your meter to transmit so it is all about reflecting the RF away in the direction you want. This is achieved by using RF shielding material fashioned in the correct way as to ‘guide’ the RF away from sleeping and living areas. This may require a phone call to discuss. https://www.emfshop.co.nz/product-page/radio-frequency-shielding-material
With a smart meter you also need to deal with the dirty electricity. This is done by first measuring with a DE meter and filtering with plug in filters. https://www.emfshop.co.nz/product-page/dirty-electricity-meter & https://www.emfshop.co.nz/product-page/satic-pure-power-plug-in-dirty-electricity-filter, Again, this will need a discussion about how to do this.
The physical location of the meter is important. if it is on a bedroom wall and you sleep near it then you need to create distance from the unit in the first instance by either moving the bed or moving into another bedroom. Here we are concerned with magnetic fields so paying attention to how the meter is supplied from the street and how this feeds into your switchboard. Work out were the cabling for these two runs are and make sure you don’t sleep near these lines. Smart meters can be moved to another part of the house, many people opt for this option and requires a suitably qualified electrician. Over the years we have many stories from people who have been badly effected when sleeping next to smart meters and the services line coming into and through the house to the switchboard. On testing these homes it has been the strong broadcast magnetic field that has been the issue. A smart meter on a bedroom wall that has a meter cover over it will SIGNIFICANTLY increase the EMF issues in the room.
Any smart meter installations that have external antennas, here at EarthWaves and EMFShop we have a number of bespoke solutions for shielding and reflecting RF in the right direction. Please get in touch for this info.
Recognise that also as the smart meter, cell phone network, Internet of Things, WiFi, Satellites etc continue to expand uncontrollably and without concern for living health or environment. The layers of modulated radio frequencies will also exponentially expand. For these reasons and others I have written about in other blogs and websites we must continue to be vigilant and continue to adapt where we can to this invasive electro pollution.
If you are wanting to know more about this process, what your EMF load looks like, and how your EMF footprint impacts your sleeping and living areas in your home, please get in touch for a survey.
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