{"id":416,"date":"2020-03-28T13:06:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T13:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emfportal.com\/?p=416"},"modified":"2021-08-13T13:36:09","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T13:36:09","slug":"privacy-concerns-with-smart-meters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emfportal.com\/privacy-concerns-with-smart-meters\/","title":{"rendered":"Privacy Concerns With Smart Meters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Privacy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Privacy Concerns With Smart Meters. I have spent many hours of research to give you the best answer in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You may remember a man coming to your house every month to take utility readings. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His sole job was to check the meter installed at your house, write down the updated numbers and then do it for all houses in the neighborhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your utility company would then use his recorded data to calculate what you owe and send a bill accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with the boom in technology and ready availability of network-connected meters, the companies just decided to replace human labor with a smart meter that was equipped with the ability to update your meter readings to the company over the internet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These special meters came to be known as smart meters. You may have noticed those nifty gadgets with digital displays that are connected to the mains. Those are them. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

They provide an essential service since they are essentially the bridge between your home and the utility company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These smart meters are assets for the companies because it allows them to have more robust and immediate control over people\u2019s house connections and don\u2019t cost the company any extra money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, not everything is as rosy as they seem to be. In this article, we will take a look at these smart meters, how they connect to the utility companies and what threats they possess. Read on.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why are smart meters important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We live in a world that is getting more and more interconnected with every passing second. Back in the early 1900s when industrialization hit America, the only reason we outperformed every other country in the world was because of our investment in infrastructure<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We quickly understood that there was going to be a new world order and wanted us to lead the way. It seems we are at a similar juncture again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world is racing towards digitization and therefore it only makes sense to invest in infrastructure that aids in that objective and increases our productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Smart meters are an innovative and essential tech because it not only saves countless man-hours trying to digitize updated readings and then calculating the bill but also saves money for the company in increased ease of productivity. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Smart meters are special meters that can connect to the internet through a Wi-Fi connection. Most houses now have Wi-Fi and therefore, smart meters are growing to be quite common<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meters are programmed to send in a bunch of data to the company servers including the readings, data about usage trends and diagnostic data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These meters can also notify the company if there was a voltage surge in the mainline and needed the company\u2019s attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How smart meters connect<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Smart meters typically use an HTTPS secure server connection over the internet to store data over at the company servers. The data is sent in a preprogrammed format which is then tabulated and stored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These \u2018data dumps\u2019 are usually scheduled for a specific time of the day (mostly 00:00 AM) and do not need any human intervention in their working. However, in some models, the data dump happens weekly. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, these smart meters are also often equipped with a small memory stick so that they can store the day\u2019s reading on it if there was a problem connecting to the servers. In that case, the data gets updated cumulatively the next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the newer models also come with the facility for you to send a message to the company. The meter has an in-built mic mounted to the rear and can record your voice message<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be a boon for the times there is a load shedding in your neighborhood or your power gets cut without any apparent reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This voice messaging system allows the company to be informed of the problem immediately so that they can start working on a fix at the earliest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, these meters have several negative aspects to it which may be concerning for you, especially if you are a private person. In the next section, we take a look at some of the common concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The negative effects of smart meters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Smart meters can be of huge benefit in times of need but the negative impacts of it are equally dire. It is an electronic device and therefore emits EMF radiation.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially concerning since this is needless radiation that we are getting exposed to and if we don\u2019t keep our radiation exposure limits in check, it can get compounded and affect our health inversely. That apart, there are privacy concerns. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These little gadgets are equipped with hardware that can connect to the internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means, it can be actively used to spy on the homeowners without their knowledge if the people in control of it chose to turn on the mic and transmit the recordings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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