Worried about electric consumption detection

I pulled the plug. I couldn’t take the worry of my lights any longer and until i feel safe about it im gona keep off. I knew there was a reason i didn’t want to know my state laws regarding growing and possession over a couple ounces,there’s two felonies. Even though i took down my 2 600’s i couldn’t leave them in the dark so i hung 6 cfl’s and i’ll ride it out with them. The rfi thing got me thinking also. I have a cop that lives down the road and he drives by in his cruiser. If he’s got radio on will he here my lights ? I don’t know but i’m to old for prison.

6 cfls is a nightlight compared to the 600s. You’ll end up with what you have already. Your choice bro, good luck with you grow. You really have nothing to worry about with electricity. That cop probably smokes too.

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Those Ballasts would have to be right next to the radio for them to hear any distortion they are on digital now and the only thing that is still out there to pick it up is a hamm radio but doubt full and a cb radio would have to in the same room and you would need like 50 600w ballasts to really get anything minute for people to even pick up slight static. So build a feriding cage it is copper screen wrapped around 1x1 sticks and put your ballasts in there problem solved

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Salutations HogStix,

It would help more to know the exact brand & model of your electric meter.

So let me guess: your timer is set for a 12/12 cycle, isn’t it??

:neutral_face:

Years ago i read manufacturer documentation relative to data mining made possible by log meters, there are at least 2 features which i found to be overlooked as i vaguely recall:

  • The “grid” could actually detect “leaks” which included stolen electricity by analyzing neighbour meter readings, mainly for maintenance purposes.

  • Logging meters collect 3-dimensional raw information (voltage, current, phase) from which to extract data in the time-domain. Purposes could include cost modulation depending on “premium” hours or similar, but not only…

M’well, not really. It depends… For example a company might decide to continue to monitor consumption once a month but then why invest in sophisticated data loggers when electro-mechanical meters represent time-proven mature technology?..

Sorry but reading any further could worsen such situation by an order of magnitude!

Lets have a spoiler, simply to spare some of your serenity…

Here’s some old capture i kept in reserve, to be used in discussions as this:

Data%20Mining%20via%20Spy%20Meter%20-%20Fully%20Labelled%20(2012-Oct-11)%20%5B550x480%5D%20

It not only about consumption magnitude, power electrical appliances clearly display through their characteristic “voice” carried by timing transitions.

Just pull the plug unless you got your own generator, right now the 12/12 timer cycle is being broadcasted with metronome (crystal-based!) accuracy quite probably detectable also from space, while a logging meter behaves similar to a lossless antenna since it’s directly connected…

Of course there are other external factors coming to play but it only requires sufficient motivation to spot those obvious 12/12 cycles. So, if absolute privacy is desired then i’d say the garden signal needs to be disguised into something else, if that’s even an option. Lowering consumption by converting to LEDs still wouldn’t erase your 12/12 signature all by itself, though if an operator is stupid enough to focuss on the amount of consumption only then maybe a lower pedestal can be partially camouflaged into “flour noise”. A better alternative is to split the cultivation space as 2 complementary sets which always appear to be “on” while power is switched every 12 hours; synchronized power relays are even likely to mask the transition glitch considering the sampler’s resolution might fall in the range of 288 slices per day (e.g. once every 5 minutes). In addition, the natural light from a greenhouse could help with such maskerade senarios a little bit further. Yet, if you’re already under the authoritie’s suspicion then it may be too late to start a reflexion on radiation in the electromagnetic + infra-red spectrums… Which is why at that point it could make sense to disconnect in hope the eavesdroppers shall be induced to conclude the harvest already occured, which just might be the case if growing autofems for example.

Nonetheless i’d fail to see some motive for an operator to erase collected data once it’s been acquired!

Good day, have fun!! :peace_symbol:

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meter type is , i don’t know if that’s right number. And your right about they probably already have my signature. I was thinking to put one back in set at 400w instead of 600. But that ain’t gona hide the 12/12 cycle. I knew that technology had to be out there. Another factor in my decision is by coincidence the electric company hired a company to place these green covered power pack of some kind i think there replacing the old transformers still up on the poles. They just spread straw around the concrete foundation each one has that are spread out every 4-6 houses. I don’t know if there hooked up or not. But them guys been scurrying around in my back yard. Unless there under cover lol

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Hi there HogStix,

Please be careful not to show information which might happen to be user-specific… In any case we should expect to find your exact model here, or maybe it’s discontinued:

https://www.itron.com/na/solutions/product-catalog/electricity-meters-modules#f:Category=[Smart%20Residential%20Metering,Mobile%20Meter%20Reading,Standard%20Residential%20Metering,Advanced%20Residential%20Metering]

M’well, looking at my old sample illustration we may come to understand the trick would be to burry the average consumption pedestal below a houshold’s noise floor which is never below ~120 Watts in this case, though it still doesn’t sound like a suitable option.

Ideally the goal should be to place some power buffer inbetween a smart meter and its associated garden after it’s been divided into complementary cells, then distribute while also accounting for artificial randomization meant to emulate human activity, including factors as day-of-week and seasons…

It would help if the electricity provider side recorded boggus signatures as for a wasteful jacuzzi installation, though that’s insufficient to raise the noise floor at night. Yet if we divide an autofem culture into 3 hours time-shifts then that makes a total of 8 shifts of which half the lights are on while the other half is off, which in turn shall render broken lamps significantly less noticeable just because it’s now 1 defective unit agaist many that distribute in an array of cultivation spaces. Though too bad that’s hardly compatible with non-auto genetics during a vegetation phase - but if it’s real large then perhaps that ain’t totally impossible! Which reminds me of days when the “Gas Lantern Routine” inspired a parallel reflexion on schedules where a day doesn’t last 24 hours, for example:

Stealthy%20Timing%20%40%2012%20-%204%20%5B480x130%5D%20

:thinking:

One way or another crystal-based timers sound like the worse option imaginable under these circumstances simply because they’re switching high currents with excellent time-coherency… IMO that’s one good reason to welcome randomization items, then there’s the matter of meters than can catch transitional events, which inspired me a buffer-controller scenario ultimately.

Briefly put, independant batteries must be charged in random bursts programmed to mimick additional household activity while the accumulated energy is available to power an arrays of complementary cells at a proper steady stade. E.G. with a hidden yet obvious (masquerade) barrier breaking any link to real time-coherent cultivation activities…

Good day, have fun!!

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ya know i thought about that a little. Thanks

yes i seen it

You have nothing to worry about…
As long as your power bill doesn’t exceed 1000 bucks I wouldn’t worry about it …
And even if it does they usually dont trip as long as you pay your bill on time…
I run 2600 watts of lights and a 12000 btu ac and 600 watts worth of air pumps and fans and the list goes on and on…
Power bill usually run from 550 to 750 depending on certain things…
More then likely you have a smart meter and it knows every time you turn on a light switch…
First thing that you shouldn’t do is get paranoid and start doing things that you wouldn’t normally do… that would be a red flag…
Understand that they probably already know that your not worth there time and resources to hassle…
Turn your lights back on and get these girls finished… :grin::smiling_imp::shushing_face::zipper_mouth_face::no_mouth:
@HogStix
:v::sunglasses:

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@HogStix
Power consumption is in no way enough reason for any agency to get a warrant to enter your home. Increased power usage could be caused by any number of things. A 12/12 signature could be someone running a space heater from 8pm-8am or an air conditioner during the hottest parts of the day. As long as you keep your grow private and I mean private , keep the smell inside your grow area and don’t dispose of anything incriminating in your trash you will be fine. The authorities can’t just bust your door down for using more electricity. Turn them lights back on !

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Agreed!

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Ok turning back on in the morin. I think i had a panic attack after reading to much about this. The majority here is to turn back on and that was the kind of encouragement i was looking for. Although Egzoset has really educated me farther into the electric detection which leads me to believe that since i been running lights on a schedule for the last 6 months the history is already there, question is will it be detected. And i have thought about my trash months ago that’s why i have a trash can full of leaves. This is stressful but 4 more weeks and will be over.

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I’m just gona log this as a cloudy day for the plants,but sunny tomorrow.

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Glad to hear it! Authorities have bigger fish to fry than someone growing a handful of plants in their basement . 26 states have legalized or decriminalized it so far (shout out to all those in Hawaii :palm_tree::metal: This was a good week and a first step)
Give it time and your state could be next so you can grow in peace.

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Hi again HogStix,

Indeed, it’s much too late to have regrets and hence i’ll concur with this perspective as well, having already refered to the other factors. As for the rest my wish is that such topics may cause some people to include planning in the big picture, another wish of mine being that you’ll be done with your havest days before it actually echoes via that smart meter, just in case (e.g. almost as in gambling, for a lack of more desirable options)…

:wink:

Good day, have fun!! :peace_symbol:

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This shit should be no different than growing tomatoes :tomato:
I don’t think tomatoes have a plant limit.
Stupid special interests from over 85 years ago still infringing on our rights.
Pass one new law you have to remove 5 old ones…

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Relax, the odds that the cops, dea and any other 3 letter organization looking for you is kind of crazy. I grow out side in my front yard. Have for years (im in the country). Knowledge of your grow by others is always the weakest link.
Good luck with your grow.

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good topic :slight_smile: i wonder if paying your electricity bill before it is due would make them not even look at you.? most bills would double but still not much power compared to warehouses that leave 100 lights on all night for no reason 24/7- 365…are you not a good customer spending on their product.? i am in australia and i have never heard of power company being a narc on someone with high usage for a small house or tenants. has anyone else experienced power company issues.?

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Back up and running, thanks for talking me back off the ledge fellow growers

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Dun need to worry till you see the totally black helicopters circling n there is a computer repair van sitting a mile away from any homes…for days.
THEN…you can justify making yourself a nervous sleepless wreck…:scream:

Until then, suggest you relax, decompress and enjoy growing.

Seriously…you ain’t worth the paper work. Enjoy life. :cowboy_hat_face::vulcan_salute::v:

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