Reference

What would a smart - ER - meter say ?

We can think of smart-meters as idiotic Twitter users who send out status updates whenever they get on a bus, arrive at school etc, 
i.e. all the time and to anyone who will listen

 Tweet :  Sat, 14th March 2014 12:30 @gas_meter consumed 20.4 kWh
Tweet :  Sat, 14th March 2014 13:00 @gas_meter consumed 18.4 kWh
Tweet :  Sat, 14th March 2014 13:30 @gas_meter consumed 44.6 kWh
Tweet :  Sat, 14th March 2014 14:00 @gas_meter consumed 20.9 kWh
and so on for ever and ever - ad nauseam,
-    Honestly it's not that smart and it looks more like data than information

 So data that updates in real time - "How cool is that" ?

 Have you ever tried watching a clock ? (<--------------Hint: sarcasm)

 -    to be fair it might be marginally more interesting than watching paint dry (for a few minutes), but it is is hardly more informative. 


Lets remember that hoping a smart meter will save you energy by observing its very existence is like thinking you will lose weight if you stand on a pair of bathroom scales for long enough ! 



"but won't make you lose weight !"
 So maybe smart meters should even call us to gain our attention at certain times, 
More of what you expect is less of what informs
 -    the maelstrom cacophony would overwhelm us in delivering;

WHAT MOST SMART-METER USERS EXPERIENCE ! 
"An irritating, continual source of noise"
Now imagine if they had lots of smart meters to listen to ! 



So,
 while the answer remains in our power to define - and while we can simply strikeout all but the most foolish of objections:




Very Silly - Objections !

Perhaps what we should first be asking is:
"If we let a smart meter talk - how much should it say ? - when to speak, and when to be silent, what to say, why, how often and to whom ?"
The answers should obviously depend on who is listening, (and that they have a right to) on how much time they have and most importantly why they might care and whether they can do anything useful in response anyway !

"Otherwise it will be ignored."
Simply put, if a smart-meter is set up to be ignored it may as well sit in the "Dunce's Corner" right next to the Climate Change Denial Theorist...

The Climate Change Denying Dunce
So if we were to: 
  1. list smart meter capabilities against a list of legitimate audiences,
  2. gag them ruthlessly when they are not interesting or not welcome,  
  3. apply expertise where needed,  
  4. inform those who have a need to know and who have an ability to act,
  5. in a language they understand
  6. when they want to hear it !
- then just perhaps,
we would start to find sense from the "sea of data" that is supposedly there to help but that threatens to overwhelm us.
and wouldn't that be nice ! 
Update : Follow up post - A smart meter smart enough to listen

Related articles - Warning, some are rather silly  !

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