# Thoughts on reading your meters?



## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

Both my water and electric meters are remote read so the utilities don't have to see the meter itself. The electric meters apparently are read from an office somewhere. The water company drives by once a month and reads theirs by radio receiver in a truck.

I'd like to be able to read those myself somehow and collect data onto a PC without having to look at the meter and type the numbers on a keyboard. Neither company offers consumers a way to do it, but I know some can be read with available devices. What I don't know is how. This is not about trying to hack or alter anything, just to read them electronically.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

The electric meter signal is encrypted so even if you could tune into the frequency, you couldn't decypher the signal.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

I moved from Va beach to Rich Square NC, in Va Bach I had a dial type meter for 20 years that Dominion had to read manually, since it was in the back yard if you didn't want a meter reading for some reason all ya had to do was leave the dogs out the people in that city are scared to deat of anything that isn't outside the norm.
Here in Rich square we still have dominion, I guess moving 100 miles away didn't do the trick BUT its dominion NC not dominion VA, AND the people here seem to be smarter to read the dial meter the truck on the highway doesn't even slow down


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## AVB (Nov 28, 2014)

Here they are going one step further than just riding by reading those meters. They going be install systems so they read them off cell phone towers from the home office so will be using digital cell phone technology. Don't how they hoping to do that here as I can't even get a decent signal for the use cell phone here. Make two steps the wrong way across the yard and lose the carrier.

The guy sent to double checking that I am a residence than a commercial business as I refused the business level deposit required. He said it is TVA requirement that is forced on them. I think it is just that they want to get rid of the expense of the meter readers myself.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

I requested a remote rf meter years ago due to a fenced yard for my dogs.....if the meter reader didn't latch the gate my dogs would get out. ~year ago some guy came around and said he needed to install a remote meter.....I told him I had one. He said I needed a new one.....I said OK and shut down the computer and tripped the main breaker as he requested. Came up from the basement to watch him drive away.....:angry: The guy didn't even have to disturb me......he could have tested the signal from his truck before he got out.....:banghead:


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Sounds like you may be looking for a "Data Logger": https://www.microdaq.com/data-loggers/voltage-current.php


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## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

AVB said:


> Here they are going one step further than just riding by reading those meters. They (are) going be install(ing) systems so they read them off cell phone towers from the home office so will be using digital cell phone technology.


Our electric meters are read through some kind of powerline system. There are boosters mounted on poles, but I have no idea how it all works.



SpywareDr said:


> Sounds like you may be looking for a "Data Logger":


Not if I can't read the signals.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

? They come with their own software. You connect them directly to your service and start recording. They're not cheap though.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

My utility lets us view daily KwH readings, though they are typically 2 days behind. It even does down to 30 minute chunks.


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## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

SpywareDr said:


> ? They come with their own software. You connect them directly to your service and start recording. They're not cheap though.


How is plugging a data logger in going to read my water meter?



ebackhus said:


> My utility lets us view daily KwH readings, though they are typically 2 days behind. It even does down to 30 minute chunks.


I can view a reading on my utility's website, but they don't guarantee it to be current or fully accurate on a daily basis. That's one reason I read it as often as I do .. to compare with their graphs. Theirs isn't always right. Apparently they don't read at the same time every day, so part of one day's readings can be shown as part of the day before of after.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Confounded Also said:


> How is plugging a data logger in going to read my water meter?


https://www.google.com/#newwindow=1&q=water+meter+data+logger


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