The Smart Home Freak Show Stops here!

[red-beard]

Take a look at this article:

Smart-meter control | The Citizen

The City of Joburg and its power utility City Power have announced a smart-meter pilot project aimed at saving its customers, especially businesses and industry, from the devastating effect of load shedding.

The scheme, named Load Limiting, is aimed at households and will only be implemented when Eskom signals the need to reduce the electricity demand.

Flash alert

According to a statement, electricity users with smart meters will be sent an SMS and a message will flash on the interface of these meters when they need to reduce their electricity consumption.

Based on the average household consumption, excluding non-essential items, they will be informed of the limit on their consumption.

Since they will be able to read how much they consume, they have the opportunity to switch off devices in order to achieve the required reduction by switching off geysers, stoves and other energy-intensive appliances.

If they comply, there will be no power cuts. If they don’t the power will be cut for 30 seconds. This will be repeated five times. If the consumption is still above the required limit, the power will be cut for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the whole process will repeat itself.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I'm simply stating that the power utilities now have the access and granularity to control power down to individual customers. Load shedding can be done at that level.

And this is a good thing. Yes?

[scottmandue]

When I got into tech +20 years ago I thought I would get into the home automation thing... either that or robotics... I am still just fixing computers.
And still waiting on "the paperless office"
Actually with today's tech it would be pretty easy to build you own smart home without google.
Inexpensive computer, Home depot has generic thermostats with WIFI and bluetooth, they make smart light bulbs, smart door locks, what more do you need?

[mreid]

I believe it was in the early 1970s when the aluminum foil put on your tv antenna to improve reception was first removed and fashioned into a hat to repell reception.

This is an interesting generational difference. Let me paint with a broad brush for a second. Most baby boomers see connected technology and the Internet of things as intrusive and a compromise of their freedom and independence. Gen Z sees this as a desirable enabler of a better life. Millennial are in the middle and conflicted. Most leaders are focused and worried about the millennial as they are currently entering the workforce with their "crazy ideas". Next year, our first real crop of gen Z's graduate from college and they are full on for years after that. You might want to add an extra layer of foil to your hat.

[biosurfer1]

Because if it happens in South Africa with corrupt local municipalities with extremely questionable grid reliability, that means it will happen here next!

Power Outages Mar South Africa

https://news.vice.com/article/south-africas-power-grid-is-on-the-brink-of-collapse

South African firm suspends officials amid anger over power outages - LA Times

You think maybe, just maybe, South Africa has different drivers than the US?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

what more do you need?

A wife that will shut the lights off when she leaves an empty room...

[JD159]

Originally Posted by red-beard

A wife that will shut the lights off when she leaves an empty room...

There's an app for that

[scottmandue]

IMHO I don't think it is such a generational thing.
There is a matter of being smart with your data in this modern age. Identity theft was not a big problem twenty years ago, now it is rampant. The internet twenty years ago wasn't what it is today.
We now have smart cars that can rat you out, and that car insurance company that will lower you rate if you plug in a USB into your car, how do you think that works?

Important thing to note is you don't need a google smart thermostat, Honeywell makes smart thermostat.

Google is somewhat famous for data mining.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by mreid

I believe it was in the early 1970s when the aluminum foil put on your tv antenna to improve reception was first removed and fashioned into a hat to repell reception.

This is an interesting generational difference. Let me paint with a broad brush for a second. Most baby boomers see connected technology and the Internet of things as intrusive and a compromise of their freedom and independence. Gen Z sees this as a desirable enabler of a better life. Millennial are in the middle and conflicted. Most leaders are focused and worried about the millennial as they are currently entering the workforce with their "crazy ideas". Next year, our first real crop of gen Z's graduate from college and they are full on for years after that. You might want to add an extra layer of foil to your hat.

For the information of the concerned

Baby Boom - 1946-1964
Gen X - 1965-1980
Gen Y aka Millennials - 1980-1996 (some say 2000)
Gen X aka iGen - 1997 (some say 2000) to around the early 2010s.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

Retain control of free thermostats? Again, any source to site here or just more talking out of your ass?

My local utility offers free wifi thermostats. By accepting the thermostat you agree to allow the utility to shut off your AC compressor (but not the furnace fan) for up to two hours between 9AM and 5PM on weekdays.

They also have additional incentives if you allow your electric hot water heater to be shut down the same way.

I can PM you the site if you doubt my claim.

Although I don't use my central AC, I have no interest in their offer.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Google is somewhat famous for data mining.

go to Google and log on using your google account.

Select google maps.

Select the pull down menu and select "Your Timeline"

You now have a map of everyplace you've been since you turned on location tracking

Lower left, you have a list of the place you've been AND the number of times you have gone there, including the last time you went.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

My local utility offers free wifi thermostats. By accepting the thermostat you agree to allow the utility to shut off your AC compressor (but not the furnace fan) for up to two hours between 9AM and 5PM on weekdays.

They also have additional incentives if you allow your electric hot water heater to be shut down the same way.

I can PM you the site if you doubt my claim.

Although I don't use my central AC, I have no interest in their offer.

The company Brett buys his electric power from does the exact same thing.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

My local utility offers free wifi thermostats. By accepting the thermostat you agree to allow the utility to shut off your AC compressor (but not the furnace fan) for up to two hours between 9AM and 5PM on weekdays.

They also have additional incentives if you allow your electric hot water heater to be shut down the same way.

I can PM you the site if you doubt my claim.

Although I don't use my central AC, I have no interest in their offer.

Exactly, that is a program that the customer signs up for and know exactly what they are getting into. That is not "retaining control of the thermostat" and I also know the customer is able to opt out of the event, or the whole program, at any time they want. That info isn't buried somewhere in an EULA, thats the whole purpose of the program and why you get the thermostat for free.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by Tobra

The company Brett buys his electric power from does the exact same thing.

Not quite since I live in Roseville and we have our own electric company, but yes, SMUD has a similar program (though 9am-5pm sounds like an IOU program) and no, they don't control the thermostat whenever they want...nor do they beam lasers into your head for mind control.

[Tobra]

Roseville has its own electric company? I would wager they have a similar program.

They don't shoot laser beams into my head any more I was at my son's house last night for dinner. Traffic out by Roseville is so brutal now. I remember when all there was out there was a swap meet on the weekends.

[Mark Henry]

Smart meters cost effectiveness due to lifespan questioned.

Doubts have been raised elsewhere in North America about the lifespan of smart meters. The 2014 annual report by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario said “distribution companies we consulted said the 15-year estimate (lifespan) is overly optimistic,” compared to 40 years for an analog meter.

Smart meters are failing in rural Canada, I'm one of the 36,000 because I live in a valley. They have to walk right up to my meter to get a reading.
Hydro One can't get Wi-Fi signal from 36,000 smart meters; will read manually |

Nest thermostat failure
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/fashion/nest-thermostat-glitch-battery-dies-software-freeze.html?_r=0

Smart locks could make your home less secure.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/smart-locks-could-make-your-home-less-secure-1.3057872

Google car crash
Google self-driving car hits a bus - BBC News

[Por_sha911]

Although there isn't any action happening yet as the OP suggested may come about, remember that information is the drug of business like tax money "Temporary war tax" is to politicians. They can't resist dipping into the pot for just a little taste now and then. Is anyone naive enough to think that the credit card companies don't compile info on what you personally pay for? The phone in your pocket can be tracked. Remember the NSA? The govt already does and business want to make it so that when you walk past a store a text will come up with the products they think you want to buy. Progressive wants you to attach big brother to your car so they can track where and how you drive. Information is worth more than gold or guns. Each piece of information you give away is another piece of privacy lost forever.
I don't wear a tinfoil hat but, I will resist giving away information whenever possible so as to keep the door shut to temptation.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Traffic out by Roseville is so brutal now.

It certainly can be...but then I try and drive home from work on Business 80 around 5pm and Roseville's suddenly not so bad.

[legion]

If the data is out there, it will eventually be misused. This is from a guy who does information privacy for a living. The really scary thing is that the data that is collected today might be used against you 30 years from now. Once collected, it does not go away.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by legion

When Target first applied analytics to their data a few years ago, they found out quickly that they were offending women by sending them coupons for baby formula......before they knew they pregnant.

Big data: What’s even creepier than Target guessing that you’re pregnant?