Possible power meter interference

If you think you have a problem with the power meter, have you tried switching to a different communications channel on the Legacy handheld and Base?  The meter probably can't interfere with all the available channels.

Dale

  Thanks for the reminder to try a channel change.  It has been changed from 5 to 7.  Given the sporadic nature of the issue, it will most likely be some time before it proves effective.   I will be more accurately tracking the dates and time should the interference arise again. Perhaps the power company can tell me what time these meters talk and leapfrog with each other or if there is an indication on the meter when it does transmit.

 Thanks for your many informative post on this forum.  

Chris Cook

Well, you could always get yourself some lead foil and wrap it around the meter. That should fix it.

Sorry, I could not help it.

In PA the local utility company has been installing these for about a year. Seems it is a new state or perhaps a federal law. What has been happening is that some of these meters have been catching on fire and several houses have been damaged. At this point the utility has replaced a number of them.

It seems that the existing connector board where the meters fit into have some issues with corrosion on the contacts inside the board. The meters don't make good contact and overheat.

My brother in law who works for the utility company said that in many cases the boards need to be replaced but at the expense of the homeowner.

Also, he said that the utility company has born the brunt of the cost of these meters to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One down side to the meters is the utility company can shut off your electric in high usage periods. Not too good if its hot out and your AC does not come on.

I'm in SE-PA where they're installing the meters.  It's news to me and I'll bet PECO that the homeowner is responsible if the meter burns up.  No way I'm paying for a defective meter, the old one has worked for years.  I'll bet the PUC would be all over them if they tried to charge homeowners for their defective products!

What the real issue with the new meters is that there is corrosion inside the base contacts and the guys the power companies hire are there just to replace the meter and move on. They get paid by the meter, almost like a truck driver-he gets paid by the mile.

So no-body cleans the corrosion and that is why it overheats at the contact area.

The new meters should not cause any interferance with other electronics.

Maybe you have a ham radio operater in your neigborhood, that would be more logical to me.

Lee F.

Funny that the corrosion didn't burn up the old meter in 23 years here, I suspect there's a bit more than that to the story.

Just to play Devil's advocate here. Regardless of who owns the base, Who insist on the right to install the meter? Who installs and checks the seal? Around here it is the electric utility that does these things. If that is the case than it should be the electric utility that has responsibility. If the base is not in good and acceptable repair the utility has the responsibility not to install a meter until it is repaired. It is not unusual to expect your meter to be changed only to be notified that you need to repair the base first and no they will not reinstall the old meter.

Al

The utility company owns the meters not the base. The base is the responsibility of the homeowner. So, any costs associated with replacing the base is on the homeowner.

It's my understanding that the reason that these smart meters are being installed is by law. The utility company is only installing them because they have to and not because they want to.

At least here in California, the reasons for installing the meters are to save the labor of the meter reader person and to eventually allow billing based upon when and how you use your electricity.  You and I are paying for these meters through our rates.  We pay for everything the utility companies do.

Most ham radio operators don't operate anywhere near 2.4 GHz.  The popular ham bands top out at 440 MHz.

PECO in SE-PA has had remote reading meters for years, these are something else that also allow actual control of the power.