To the Editor,
Re: Conservation investments pay off, Letters, Jan. 3.
How can smart meters be so wonderfully energy-saving in B.C. when they’ve failed in every other jurisdiction unlucky enough to be stuck with them?
If you don’t know that turning on an electrical device uses electricity, then really, you deserve the higher bill.
If, like me and the other folks mentioned, you: turn off your incandescent, heat-producing bulbs whenever you’re not actually using them; take short showers; have your water heater on a timer; keep your thermostat at 10 C at night, 15 C day; unplug anything not being used; and have insulated every crack and crevice, your Hydro usage should decrease and so should your bill.
But my bill has increased since Hydro installed a digital meter on my suite.
I expected a $30/month bill; instead it’s closer to $50/month – $10 is Hydro’s account fee; the other $10 is most likely harmonic interference (aka dirty electricity or DE) caused by the electronic meter itself.
Instead of a nice smooth sine wave, DE causes a shark-tooth pattern along the sine wave and I pay for every jig-jag.
Hydro knows this: all electronics – including fluorescent bulbs – cause DE. The more electronic gadgets and CFLs you have, the higher your apparent usage. (I’m waiting to see how much DE LED lights cause, and how many heavy metals are used in their production.)
Dirty electricity comes with its own list of health effects, on top of those caused by microwave radiation from two smart meter antennas (outer to the grid; inner to your home area network of smart appliances).
How much will we pay in increased health care costs for the privilege of selling our cheap, abundant, water-based electricity south and importing their more expensive coal or nuclear electricity?
Don’t just count your kilowatt hours. Count your taxes and your health too.
Christel Martin
Nanaimo
