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UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances...

Lonemagpie

Lonemagpie

Writer
In Memoriam
Not just Nu Labour, but the Tories back the idea too.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...09/Smart-meters-could-be-spy-in-the-home.html

Ostensibly it's all about checking out where the heaviest use of electricity is with smart meters, but then there's this:

"The DECC document adds households could even have their power to some appliances turned off remotely to help the national grid if there is too much demand. It says: "In terms of potentially intrusive non-physical behaviour unrelated to data, smart metering potentially offers scope for remote intervention such as dynamic demand management, which is designed to assist management of the network and thus security of supply. This could involve direct supplier or distribution company interface with equipment, such as refrigerators, within a property, overriding the control of the householder."
Click to expand...

So, if Gormless Gordon or Dodgy Dave don't like you, they'll be able to spoil your food stock for a laugh...

We do need a revolution...
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

My water heater has been controlled by the electric company for years. I get $7/mo off my bill each month. Having an 80 gal tank I've never been without hot water.

Even so I don't want the government controlling or monitoring my electricity or heat as they are proposing here in the US.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

There's gotta be something else to this...:(
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Gertch said:
Even so I don't want the government controlling or monitoring my electricity or heat as they are proposing here in the US.
Click to expand...

It already happens in the US. It's happened in the US for years.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Lonemagpie said:
Not just Nu Labour, but the Tories back the idea too.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...09/Smart-meters-could-be-spy-in-the-home.html

Ostensibly it's all about checking out where the heaviest use of electricity is with smart meters, but then there's this:

"The DECC document adds households could even have their power to some appliances turned off remotely to help the national grid if there is too much demand. It says: "In terms of potentially intrusive non-physical behaviour unrelated to data, smart metering potentially offers scope for remote intervention such as dynamic demand management, which is designed to assist management of the network and thus security of supply. This could involve direct supplier or distribution company interface with equipment, such as refrigerators, within a property, overriding the control of the householder."
Click to expand...
So, if Gormless Gordon or Dodgy Dave don't like you, they'll be able to spoil your food stock for a laugh...

We do need a revolution...
Click to expand...

You're aware the electricity companies can already arbitrarily cut you off if the grid is struggling, yes? Also, that the paragraph you quote only says that they will now be able to do thsi by house instead of your whole substation's catchment losing power at once because some of your neighbours are overdoing it. Government aren't involved or mentioned, the paragraph you quote involves the "supplier or distribution company".
It doesn't happen at the moment because we have one of the most stable power grids there is, but there's nothing to actually stop the companies doing it. Particularly as energy input becomes harder and more expensive through increased reliance on foreign gas.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

This has been trialed in South Australia as well. There's reasonable new development called Mawson Lakes about 20Kms from the CBD. Many of the houses there are 2 and 3 storey with little or no shading (so you've got these huge glass areas). In Summer they get as hot as hell so many have two or three industrial strengh a/c units that run all the time. End result is that this one fairly small area chews a very sizable portion of the state's electrical supply (it's between 5 and 10%).

Of course while certain posters above jump up and down about the gubimint they seem to forget that in most of Australia and I'd wager much of the U.S the electricity generation and distribution would be privately owned and they'd probably be just as happy with such an approach.

But no doubt when the power goes out in the high summer because of an overload they'll blame the government anyway.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

cultcross said:
You're aware the electricity companies can already arbitrarily cut you off if the grid is struggling, yes? Also, that the paragraph you quote only says that they will now be able to do thsi by house instead of your whole substation's catchment losing power at once because some of your neighbours are overdoing it. Government aren't involved or mentioned, the paragraph you quote involves the "supplier or distribution company".
It doesn't happen at the moment because we have one of the most stable power grids there is, but there's nothing to actually stop the companies doing it. Particularly as energy input becomes harder and more expensive through increased reliance on foreign gas.
Click to expand...

If you read the whole article you see that there is discussion of (somehow!) interventioning with specific appliances.

The Melon Farmers website has gone an even crazier route by suggesting it might be used to shut of TVs in childrens' bedroom after the watershed...
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

There's certainly a possibility of abuse regarding the data these meters can send. The UK doesn't have a great track record concerning databases not ending up where they don't belong. Besides, companies are even sloppier concerning privacy. So, if I were an UK citizen I'd be quite wary. It's best to lobby now for as much data protection as possible, before the law is written.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Well there needs to be certain safeguards in place before I'd be happy that they're collecting data beyond how much power is being used, and why should that data be available beyond anonymised power usage to anyone but the power company?

If we're in an uproar about this, how about the "naked" scans in airports? "No one will see, except 1 operator and they will be destroyed right away..."
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Gertch said:
My water heater has been controlled by the electric company for years. I get $7/mo off my bill each month. Having an 80 gal tank I've never been without hot water.

Even so I don't want the government controlling or monitoring my electricity or heat as they are proposing here in the US.
Click to expand...
I'm going with a Noritz tankless gas water heater. More reliable than Bosch and nowhere near as overpriced as a Rinnai.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Gertch said:
Screamy said:
Gertch said:
Even so I don't want the government controlling or monitoring my electricity or heat as they are proposing here in the US.
Click to expand...

It already happens in the US. It's happened in the US for years.
Click to expand...

What has? Link?
Click to expand...
Any municipal utility. I grew up under the gentle electric hand of Murfreesboro Electric. Any time a meter reader came and "read our meter" and reported it back to the company, the city of Murfreesboro knew about it.

Also, if your electricity usage suddenly jumps...it's a sign of (among other things) of marijuana growing, as it requires a lot of wattage.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Screamy said:
Gertch said:
Screamy said:
It already happens in the US. It's happened in the US for years.
Click to expand...

What has? Link?
Click to expand...
Any municipal utility. I grew up under the gentle electric hand of Murfreesboro Electric. Any time a meter reader came and "read our meter" and reported it back to the company, the city of Murfreesboro knew about it.

Also, if your electricity usage suddenly jumps...it's a sign of (among other things) of marijuana growing, as it requires a lot of wattage.
Click to expand...
And that's how they found your growhouse eh?
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

Screamy said:
Lonemagpie said:
We do need a revolution...
Click to expand...
If memory serves...you guys had one. It didn't work out. ;)
Click to expand...

After a lot of fighting, splitting up the country, lots of death, etc etc. we realised we quite liked having a king after all and Cromwell was a bit of a knob, so we undid it and pretended it didn't happen in the first place.
Wit ha name change or two, I think that will pretty much sum up next year's election.

Lonemagpie said:
If you read the whole article you see that there is discussion of (somehow!) interventioning with specific appliances.

The Melon Farmers website has gone an even crazier route by suggesting it might be used to shut of TVs in childrens' bedroom after the watershed...
Click to expand...

Nonsense, we don't have that kind of technology or the right setup in domestic electricity; go look in your fuse box, we can't even control by individual socket. The best they could manage is shutting it down by ring main.
 
Re: UK Government plans to install remote control for your appliances.

I've no problem with these smart meter devices provided they're purely a function of the contract between energy provider and customer, with the individual data being available only to those two parties. Who knows, it might actually be nice to have that info.

I don't mind anonymised aggregated data being used by the national grid or even government, but I can't see any reason why the individual data should be seen by any body other than the provider & the customer (barring a specific court order, obviously). That I would very unhappy about being released, and it would surely breach the Data Protection Act.

Shutting off my power outside of a genuinely imminent grid emergency/blackout; I would shop around for a provider that didn't have this function written into my contract. Hopefully one will emerge if the big players all tried to do it.

What I'd really like is for someone to invent a TV standby mode that doesn't suck up electricity. It surely can't be beyond human inventiveness to create a TV remote that allows me to turn a device on without it consuming a third or more of standard power when at rest. I've never been able to figure out why it sucks up so much power when you're not running the screen/tube. Hell, even a little remote battery-powered mechanical device to push the bloody on-button would surely use less power... :wtf:
 
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