Additionally, most smart meters come with a serial code from your utility company used to tag and identify meters in the field. If your meter still features physical dials to measure consumption (as opposed to a digital screen), you most likely still have an analog meter. You can verify which type of utility meter you have at your property by searching for two items: meter dials and smart meter serial codes. is home to the highest concentration of smart meter installations in the country, with 97% of District customers having a smart meter.
Seven states have smart meters installed among at least 80% of their residential customers: Nevada, Maine, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, California, and Vermont. Whether or not you have a smart meter will depend on who your utility company is and how much they have invested in smart meter roll-outs to date. To date, nearly 150 million residential customers have a smart meter at their home. As of early 2017, there were more than 70 million smart meters installed in the U.S., 88% of which are located at residential properties. Utilities have begun to invest heavily in smart meter infrastructure for their customers.
According to EPRI, the radio frequency waves from smart meters “are at the same order of magnitude as emissions from… TV transmission and WiFi routers, and far lower than from cell phones or microwave ovens”. Research from the National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and countless other scientific bodies, indicate that there are no adverse health effects resulting from the low-level radio frequency emitted by smart meters. This radio transmission has caused some people to raise concerns about “radiation” in the home due to smart meter. The utility then uses that data in the calculation of your bill at the end of the month. Smart meters use low-power radiofrequency transmitters (of lower frequency than your microwave or cell phone) to exchange consumption data between the home and the utility. It then digitally transmits this data back to the utility. While the smart meter can do many things and take a variety of forms, its core function is to measure your electricity consumption in sub-hourly intervals. As we move into the digital age, metering infrastructure has evolved. A meter reader from your utility company takes a monthly meter reading at your home. The meter spinning backwards decreases the total amount of electricity you will be billed for at the end of the month. If your solar panels are producing more electricity than your house can use, it spins in the opposite direction. If you are using electricity it spins one way. It typically has a dial that spins when the electrons flow past it. Traditional analog meters take simple, cumulative measurements of how much electricity you’ve consumed. analog meters Smart meter (left) and analog meter. Just as rooftop solar is changing the way we generate and consume electricity, new technology is changing the way your electricity usage is measured. Your utility uses a meter mounted on the side of your residence to measure your electricity you use. ( Click here to learn how your bill is calculated). Your bill is made up of several charges, including a charge based upon your usage. A common thing we hear from solar homeowners is that going solar makes them more interested in the results from their monthly electric bill.