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MSEE, PE -
Looks like Joe wants to be banned.Originally posted by joejackson
MSEE, PEComment
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Sean. If I wanted to ban you I would have done it hours ago.
What I do not understand is why you are pushing back a Moderator when I am only trying to make sure the general populace that come to this forum do not do something that is beyond their abilities or can be dangerous to them or others.
If you have information that you want to share then please post it.
If you just want to be obstinate and opposed everything I post I will kindly ask you to stop.
I am very much in favor of solar and having it installed and used in a safe manor. Anyone that thinks everything they do is acceptable but may hurt someone if they do it is just hurting this technology.Comment
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If I could, I would have nuked you 5 minutes after you posted and no one would ever know who you are or even existed. I moderate Mike Holt Forum, a Professional Electrical Forum, this thread would have never seen the light of day, as 15 professional Moderators would have raced to be first to nuke the thread and anyone challenging their authority. Well no DIY would ever be allowed to join Mike Holt, for professionals only. Not to say pros do not make mistakes, if they do is caught in seconds with over 300,000 professional members watching. MH forum has scientist, engineers, technicians, electricians, and even students seeking guidance. They go there to get the right information from the pros. If any answer is not correct, it gets corrected immediately no ifs ands butts, or DIY ignorance.allowed.
MSEE, PEComment
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My old meter with the spinning disk I could see movements of 0.5kwh (and less)
So I think it'd be possible to tell with a 250W panel and no consumption if it was that way for most of a nice sunny day.
I agree - very good reasons to not do an unpermitted install (especially using equipment that isn't meant for use in the US - I'm assuming the OP is in the US although I didn't see that explicitly stated.)Being in a rural Co-Op district you may in fact not have to putt permits with any AHJ, but that does not exempt you from any home-owner insurance policy requirements. If any part the the installation cause damages and you file a claim, the Insurance company will launch an investigation into the root cause of the fire. If they found out you installed it yourself without written permission and contract with the Co-Op, and notifying the insurance of changes you made without consent, they will not pay a dime.
I definitely wouldn't hook up that inverter to my house - and I would advise against anybody doing that.
My (newish) smart meter shows a dashed line that moves forward (or backward) and is "moving" with pretty low power amounts - so would be possible to see it's "spinning disk" .
I think that'd be more difficult to be sure that it was actually decrementing the kwh counter since it's not a nice analog dial.
I don't think anyone has said it's OK. I didn't see that even from the OP.
Maybe you should also consider at least a warning for those who are abusive, argumentative, insulting, and goading people (at least it looks to me like they're just trolling - trying to get a reaction rather than being helpful).I have given crender2000 a week vacation to think about what he posts.Comment
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Perhaps, but even old Mechanical Disk Meters were updated 30 years ago to prevent customers from stealing electricity which was extremely easy to do by turning the meter upside down making them run backwards. The fix was a simple ratchet gear. If you rmeter did that was a really poor Co-Op that did not have a lot of theft to counter act. Once that happened thieves discovered magnets to stop the meter from turning. Smart meters are much harder to Hack.
Last edited by Sunking; 05-21-2017, 09:15 PM.MSEE, PEComment
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Only some were changed.
Mine wasn't - I watched it spin backwards and the counters decrement when I tested out my install before they replaced the meter.
For many people like me the "fix" for someone doing that is a use-once "lock" with a serial number on it.
Use a wirecutters to cut off the lock and you're presumed to have been stealing electricity.
Had to do some searching to figure out what it's called.
Looks these are called "plastic wire padlock"
Not really tamper-resistant - but good at being tamper-evident.
My guess is my POCO looked at "How much will it cost to replace the meters? How much electricity will we lose to thiefs and not recover? Ok, we won't replace meters already in service since that isn't cost effective."
I would guess my meter was from about 1975 when the house was built. And was replaced about 2 years ago after I did my solar install.Comment
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Meter seals are easy to obtain. You just need to match color codes. Each color has a meaning. Black is used for Divergence meaning theft which tells the Meter Reader to inspect everytime the Meter is read. They will check the serial number each time that is engraved on the seal.
MSEE, PEComment
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They're easy to obtain BUT difficult to open without it being evident.
Even if you replace it with an identical color/shape one (which is what I think you're alluding to) the serial number on it is still different and will be noticed. (maybe not immediately - but probably as soon as the usage is unusually low - or possibly they do a check once a year or when the utility bill changes to a new owner.)
Those seals are the main preventative of electricity theft in my area. They prevent both plugging in the meter upside down and accessing the wires before the meter (so you could bypass the meter) - or pull the meter and put copper bars in it's place)
It's not perfect - but my guess is it's effective enough that the more effective (but more expensive) avenues weren't worthwhile.Comment
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