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Fooling the power meter "legally"

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LAN_403

Mates

Sat Apr 12 2008, 05:51PM

Registered Member #1025 Joined: Sun Sept 23 2007, 07:53PM
Location: Czech Rep.
Posts: 566

This a theoretical concept now, however is very easy to built and test. So, Iâ€™ll try it soon so we will know whether it really works.

Here is the ideaâ€¦

Classical power meters are using a metal disk (aluminum) which rotates in magnetic field. In certain range the power you consume is well integrated by the system. But, there could be way to fool this kind of power meter. The idea is simple. Take from the mains very short and very high pulses of energy (lets say 300A and more) and feed a capacitor which would provide DC current for resistive home equipment (like cookers, heatingâ€¦). This could lead to underestimating of the total energy which was consumed because the disk in power meter simply cannot accelerate so quickly because of its mass.

Here is my scheme proposal for such money saverâ€¦

Backyard Skunkworks

Sat Apr 12 2008, 06:06PM

Registered Member #1262 Joined: Fri Jan 25 2008, 05:22AM
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 451

Bout time someone came up with real Fr33 energy, too bad it's illegal... I think? I mean the power IS still running through their meter and IS still being metered, although its obvious that the intent of this is to trick the electric company.

Also I think newer meters figure out power consumption using heat dissipation across a block of something, like some DMMs. I'm pretty sure thats how the new ones work...

Nik

Sat Apr 12 2008, 08:55PM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

The meter will mostlikely not be fooled by your idea. The Al disk is VERY light and is on a VERY low friction bearing. The only thing I've ever heard to work on the disk type meters is to subject them to a massive magnetic field, that will lock up the disk but is both illegal and easy to spot.

GluD

Sat Apr 12 2008, 09:34PM

Registered Member #1221 Joined: Wed Jan 09 2008, 06:17PM
Location: Odense, Denmark
Posts: 196

I doubt its a good idea since ive heard that the companies got "secondary" meters to check if people are cheating them.
Besides the disk-type is gettin replaced by some new box with a flashin led and some other stuff, looks pretty solid-state'ish, at least thats whats happening in denmark.

Conundrum

Sun Apr 13 2008, 03:47PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4061

My own idea for this is to use a small bank of supercapacitors to store energy during "cheap rate" and then run an inverter to power high drain appliances during normal time. Catch is, the capacitors alone would be horrendously expensive.

Better off just spending the money on solar panels and a grid tied inverter, and/or convert lighting to low voltage to run directly off the battery bank.

-A

"Bother" said Pooh, as his Vista installation fell over in a heap at 96%...

quicksilver

Sun Apr 13 2008, 04:52PM

Registered Member #1408 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679

Realistically the concept of "Fooling the power meter legally" is a misnomer. No method of "fooling" the meter is legal. So in reality the concept is how to get away with it. Unfortunately a lot more motivated collection of people than would ever be thinking of how to get away with it, have been employed in how to retain the investment.

Bottom line is that theft is theft & steps are always taken to prevent theft from occurring.

Nik

Sun Apr 13 2008, 05:36PM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

The only way you can lower your power bill legally is to do power factor correction. The meters around here bill more for poor powerfactor, if you have lots of inductive loads in your house it saves you a few bucks a month to correct your own power factor because the power company doesn't have to do it for you.

Mates

Sun Apr 13 2008, 06:25PM

Registered Member #1025 Joined: Sun Sept 23 2007, 07:53PM
Location: Czech Rep.
Posts: 566

Ok, guys I see some misunderstanding here so Iâ€™ll have to explain itâ€¦

First of all, I have no need to cheat on the electric company (my electricity bills are really not so critical and Iâ€™m not a theft).

Iâ€™m only speculating about a possibility which could be used by some other people (in case I got this idea Iâ€™m sure many others could have too). The legality of this is a big question, because theoretically you can plug into your mains any device you like and itâ€™s not your problem that the electric company has not a tool to measure the consumption of this device properly. In case the fooling could be so easy with modern IGBT transistors, this thread is rather hint to the electric companies to redesign and change the power meters (actually as I can see itâ€™s already in progress). My interest in this thing is and will be purely scientific and itâ€™s also a challenge, because I heard that the power meters are un-foolableâ€¦

I would rather appreciate some ideas how to measure the consumption of real energy consumed by the device suggested in the scheme properly which I could compare to what the power meter will showâ€¦ At the moment I have only idea to boil exact amount of water by a resistive device connected straight to the mains and than through my device...Any better more accurate ideas?

HV Enthusiast

Sun Apr 13 2008, 09:52PM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

Sorry, your concept isn't going to work for several reasons. For one, given the amount of line inductance there is on the line side, the meter is going to see an average current anyways, regardless of how much you try to pulse at a time.

Also, the electric company isn't as dumb as some may think. People have been trying to come up with schemes to "cheat" these meters for i guess at least 100 years or more. I'm sure they are one-up on the latest "cheat" scheme.

Also, your proposal is way too complex.

My foolproof method involves just a $0.50 cent piece of wire. Just jumper out the meter completely!

Steve Conner

Sun Apr 13 2008, 10:41PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Well, it is a clever idea, but I doubt it would work. I don't think there is any theoretical limit to the crest factor of these meters.

There certainly isn't a mechanical limit. The multiplication process happens in the electromagnetic domain, and gives a torque on the disc proportional to real power. So it makes no difference when the disc's inertia averages things out.

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