To all who made fun of people paranoid of Smart Meters...

**loveisnoise** · 08-16-2012, 06:37 PM

Guess there were some legitimate concerns after all...
New "Smart Meters" Can Overheat, Cause Fires | NBC 10 Philadelphia

**concourse** · 08-16-2012, 06:42 PM

When you say smart meters will give you cancer and cause the government to spy on you and then it just burns down your house it doesn't make you any more right.

An initial investigation of the first six cases investigated showed a problem occurred when the new smart meter was hooked up to a house that preexisting conditions at the home like bad wiring, PECO spokeswoman Cathy Engel Mendendez said.

**loveisnoise** · 08-16-2012, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by concourse

When you say smart meters will give you cancer and cause the government to spy on you and then it just burns down your house it doesn't make you any more right.

Ummmm... the fire problem was a concern brought up in the threads. And of course PECO will blame the problem on wiring. That doesn't even make any sense.

**mixiboi** · 08-16-2012, 06:45 PM

Not really...lol.

**raider.adam** · 08-16-2012, 10:08 PM

It's the equivalent of saying we shouldn't have cars because they are unsafe based on the Pinto.

**whatever** · 09-10-2012, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by raider.adam

It's the equivalent of saying we shouldn't have cars because they are unsafe based on the Pinto.

Adam, that kind of superficial thinking is what inspired self serving chemical companies to vilify and call crazy the research of Rachel Carson who told us that chemicals and pesticides cause cancer and illness.

From a scientist dealing with security in military - investigates and develops technology to save lives.

"Smart meters are not Underwriter Laboratory approved. Not only do smart meters pose a cyber security threat on a scale never before seen, add additional"dirty" RF energy causing health problems, but they are a fire hazard as well. Your insurance company will not cover the damage from the fire since it is not UL approved. The emerging Broad Band Over Power Line assault on our society, worse I suspect even than the Smart Meter problem."

**Moonraker** · 09-11-2012, 07:02 AM

1) Has installation been postponed or cancelled by PECO, I have a Friday morning appointment?
2) I heard it said that the issue was with hardware produced in Mexico, and/or by a single manufacturer? T/F

**Moonraker** · 09-11-2012, 03:17 PM

I can answer my own question; PECO called to cancel the installation due to limited resources.
In other words, I think their supply of good meters is depleted.

**Dayman** · 09-11-2012, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by loveisnoise

Ummmm... the fire problem was a concern brought up in the threads. And of course PECO will blame the problem on wiring. That doesn't even make any sense.

A concern. The primary one was stealing your precious bodily fluids.

**Volanova** · 09-11-2012, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by loveisnoise

Guess there were some legitimate concerns after all...
New "Smart Meters" Can Overheat, Cause Fires | NBC 10 Philadelphia

I have no issue with people who are concerned due to a potential fire risk. This is, of course, assuming it can be shown that they are significantly more at risk of overheating and catching fire, and said fires can't be reasonably explained as just due to a wiring issue.

It's the people that buy into the idea that they're either part of a government conspiracy or they give off dangerous radiation that causes cancer that I take issue with.

**Dayman** · 09-11-2012, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by whatever

Adam, that kind of superficial thinking is what inspired self serving chemical companies to vilify and call crazy the research of Rachel Carson who told us that chemicals and pesticides cause cancer and illness.

From a scientist dealing with security in military - investigates and develops technology to save lives.

"Smart meters are not Underwriter Laboratory approved. Not only do smart meters pose a cyber security threat on a scale never before seen, add additional"dirty" RF energy causing health problems, but they are a fire hazard as well. Your insurance company will not cover the damage from the fire since it is not UL approved. The emerging Broad Band Over Power Line assault on our society, worse I suspect even than the Smart Meter problem."

Dirty RF energy? Do you even understand what the hell your saying?

ALL RADIO WAVES ARE HARMLESS

The part of the spectrum that are radio frequency can't do sh!t to you unless it's something that interferes with a pacemaker.

**Volanova** · 09-11-2012, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Dayman

Dirty RF energy? Do you even understand what the hell your saying?

ALL RADIO WAVES ARE HARMLESS

The part of the spectrum that are radio frequency can't do sh!t to you unless it's something that interferes with a pacemaker.

Radio waves in some extremes can be harmful, but that's not what we're talking about here. It's not good for you to stand in front of the emitter of a microwave transmission tower, or if you somehow managed to bypass the interlocks on a microwave oven door so that it would operate while open.

In the vast majority of cases encountered on a day to day basis, such as smart meters, like you said though, they are perfectly harmless.

**redpinstripes** · 09-11-2012, 05:53 PM

I am a little confused. The article says that PECO stopped installing new meters. It is dated 8/17, but my meter was replaced last Thurs - 9/7. Anyone know the explanation?

**Volanova** · 09-11-2012, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by redpinstripes

I am a little confused. The article says that PECO stopped installing new meters. It is dated 8/17, but my meter was replaced last Thurs - 9/7. Anyone know the explanation?

Probably got in a new shipment of meters sometime after the article was published.

**Dayman** · 09-11-2012, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by Volanova

Radio waves in some extremes can be harmful, but that's not what we're talking about here. It's not good for you to stand in front of the emitter of a microwave transmission tower, or if you somehow managed to bypass the interlocks on a microwave oven door so that it would operate while open.

In the vast majority of cases encountered on a day to day basis, such as smart meters, like you said though, they are perfectly harmless.

Microwave transmissions are microwaves however. Not radio waves.

**PatrickR** · 09-11-2012, 09:19 PM

Wow. The NBC10 article is a lot more hair raising, then the article I read on Philly.com. The article I read made it seem like PECO was shutting things down to give them time to study the meters. The article in this thread makes it sound like I should immediately move to a cave in Australia.

In any case here is a more recent article:
Pennsylvania PUC expands review of Peco's overheating smart meters

They are still looking into things. But, they are also updating the software in the meters to automatically shut down when they start to overheat. This seems like a reasonable precaution. It sounds like the installers either need more training, or they need to pay attention to their training a lot more.