My friend Stanley Fishman, author of the acclaimed cookbooks Tender Grassfed Meat and Tender Grassfed Barbecue, lives in California and, like many folks around the United States, has been dealing with the physical stress of having a smart meter installed at his home against his will.
The option to use an analog meter and have this health sucking device removed from one’s home has only recently become available in some localities. Unfortunately, the pace of getting them removed has been painfully slow in some cases.
Whether you are waiting your turn to get your smart meter removed or still fighting for the right to opt out in the first place, here are some steps you can take based on what Stanley discovered to proactively protect yourself from a smart meter’s harmful effects.
1. Q-Links. A Q-Link is a pendent that has been designed to strengthen the electromagnetic field of the body. The electromagnetic field generated by our bodies does protect against emissions. It was designed by a Stanford academic who specializes in the study of fine energies.
The Q-Link contains certain metals and a computer chip, and is powered by being worn. This sounds strange, and some may consider it to be hokum. But it really did help Stanley, who ended up wearing it almost 24/7.
There are a variety of Q-Links available. Some can be quite expensive, as they are made for decorative purposes as well, though the basic no frills model is much cheaper. All models work the same, except there is the classic version and a more modern version that is supposed to work better.
In Stanley’s opinion based on his research, the difference between the two is hard to find. In summary, the cheapest model is very helpful, and there is no need to buy the expensive decorative models. The link comes with a cord that works fine, and there is no need to get a gold or silver chain. Stanley feels the Q-Link was the most effective protection he and his wife found against the smart meter installed at their home.
2. Metal. Find out where the meter is and place a lot of metal between it and your home. This is difficult to do, as the meter is usually attached to one of your walls. The idea is to place some metal shielding between yourself and the meter. The meter emits dangerous EMFs in a fan shaped curve, so it is best to have metal for a number of feet to the sides of your wall directly opposite the meter.
Stanley’s meter was opposite the kitchen, directly opposite some kitchen cupboards. He tried foil, that did no good. Eventually, he placed a number of old aluminum pans in the cupboards opposite the meter, propping them up so they formed a shield. This did help, but not as much as the Q-Link.
3. Distance. The closer you are to the meter, the more emissions you get. Every foot makes a significant difference. Be sure that everyone sleeps as far from the meter as possible, and spend as little time in close proximity to the meter as possible. This can be quite difficult, depending on the layout of your home. It is also best to stay away from the meter when you are outdoors. Stanley ended up spending most of his time in the end of his house that was furthest from the meter. The further away you are from the meter, the better.
Ultimately, Stanley tried many other things as well, but the above three strategies were the only ones that made a difference.
None of them solved the problem completely, but using all three of them did help a great deal. There are a lot of expensive devices that are supposed to protect against smart meters and dirty electricity. After evaluating them, Stanley was not confident that they would help, so he did not try them. Other people may have found other ways that help, but this is what he found.
The best protection is, of course, to get the smart meter removed or never have it installed in the first place – to opt out. The more of your neighbors that opt out, the better for everyone, as smart meters bounce signals from house to house. At least getting the smart meter out ends the dirty electricity problems, and will usually put you a lot further from a smart meter, and ends the transmission of your power usage.
This is not true for everybody, as people who live in apartment buildings can be near too many smart meters, as often the meters for every apartment in the building are placed together, often concentrated near one or two apartments.
Thank you Stanley, for providing your wisdom to all of us. There are many people out there struggling with health issues related to their smart meter, and hopefully these strategies can help them until they are able to move or opt out of those unhealthy devices once and for all!
Note: If the health dangers of smart meters is new to you, click here for information on smart meters from a Harvard MD who has worked in the area of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and public health for over 18 years.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
Are AMR Devices Safer than Smart Meters?
Reducing Exposure to Dirty Electricity
The Health Hazards of Wireless Baby Monitors
Harvard MD Speaks Out about the Health Dangers of Smart Meters
yellow is know to block EMF..so paint the box and walls yellow….
Can you recommend some good links showing the research behind this? I’d like to look into this, they just installed ours…I was happy to move to a plan that saves some cash on power but am now disappointed to find this out!
Jack, I have been keeping an annotated bibliography of sorts on smart meter research and resources on my blog site. I have also been updating it as I learn of new resources and research. You may find it helpful. Here is the link: http://www.non-toxicnurse.com/the-dangers-of-smart-meters-hit-home/ . Resources are linked throughout the article and in list form at the end of the article. Yes, the power companies always try to convince consumers that the smart meter will help them save money. However, if you really think about it, you cannot control your usage in order to save money without real-time usage data. Your power company is likely not giving you the real-time data they are gathering via your smart meter. They are likely going to give you some graphs and charts of your daily, weekly, or monthly usage, well after-the-fact, based on the more useful, real-time data THEY see now that you have a smart meter. However, this does not really tell you anything about what you had plugged in at any given time that was pulling a lot of current. Furthermore, you do not need a smart meter to see the real-time data for yourself. To do that you could simply buy an analyzer that plugs into your breaker box and analyzes draw as someone in your home turns this or that appliance on or off. You certainly do not need a smart meter to save money, but the power companies are hoping we won’t realize that part. You and I both know that if we want to save 60 watts of draw that we could turn off a 60 watt bulb. Appliances are somewhat less straightforward, and there is of course the issue of phantom draw when devices are turned off yet still drawing. However, the power company wants us to think that saving energy is more complex so they can inflict a system upon us that only benefits them (i.e., the smart grid) without us protesting too much. It is easy to be duped by them. When I first heard of the idea of a “smart grid” I was duped. In reality, smart meters will allow power companies to charge higher rates for power used during “peak times” and will also allow them to eventually (once all appliances contain ZigBee Chips) turn off individual devices (such as your refrigerator or washing machine) during periods of high usage. Given their high level of honesty to date (sarcasm intended), what will stop them from turning off citizens’ refrigerators or air conditioners in order to turn around and sell that electricity to the highest bidder during peak demand times in a heat wave? Please spread the word about power company dishonesty and the dangers of smart meters to human health.
As a Californian, we have an opt out with our utility company—–I called and supposedly we will be changed back to an analog system. They said two weeks and a ten dollar a month charge for removing. So far so good.
Jean
Hi Sarah –
I’m trying to send you an email via your contact form and it won’t send for some reason. Not sure if there’s an issue with the form, but wanted to let you know.
Would you please drop me an email?
Many thanks…
Logan, what is your opinion on the electronic waves that are being delivered from it? Are they dangerous?
has anyone heard about using tachyons for this?? planet tachyon has little discs that you can place around the meter that are supposed to counter the energy.. they use a tachyon charge or something.. i know someone who uses these and says he noticed a difference but they are a little pricey.. did he feel the difference because they actually work or because he paid up for them?? maybe its in his head.. either way, has anyone body heard of this??
-jason and lisa-
My community has received notice of the installation of Smart MEters to begin this summer.
I have aluminum siding on my home and just wondering, maybe the aluminum siding is protective
in this instance?
Yes, best to opt-out though!
Neurological symptoms (including vertigo), heart arrhythmia, headache, sleep disturbance, lethargy, immune suppression, and malignancy are among the many conditions I have encountered in my research as being reported after radiofrequency radiation exposure from smart meters and other sources. While it is true that these reports are anecdotal in many cases, it must be remembered that radiofrequency radiation has been used by militaries as a weapon, so to say that there is no chance it is creating such symptoms would be ridiculous. Various illnesses were noted among American Embassy workers during the years that the Soviets were bombarding the American Embassy, in Moscow, with microwaves [see . The bottom line is that radiofrequency radiation has known harmful effects on the structure and function of the human body. Thus, whether the individual can discern the damage (through this or that symptom) or not, is less the issue. The issue is that we have studies showing that there are harmful effects to the immune system and human DNA with low level exposure to radiofrequency radiation, yet our government is so deeply in the pocket of the telecommunications industry that it will do nothing to protect us! That is why we must take measures to protect ourselves and our children. The preceding said, it seems that those who do have symptoms will be at an advantage in that they may take measures to stop the exposure before the damage is great. Patricia, I think that your vertigo is your sign to move your bed to another room until you can look into barrier paint or such. I do not think you should put your bed back in the room until you have verified, via an RFR meter that your mitigation measures have worked to shield your bedroom. Your health is far too important to risk. If your meter sticks out farther than others in your neighborhood, it may be a collector smart meter (see my blog for more info on collector meters vs. regular smart meters).
We have a large bird nest that was formed directly above the meter. So far, I haven’t seen anything different going on in my yard, so if the birds/bees don’t mind, then maybe it’s not that hazzardous.
may be causing long term damage or perhaps second and third generation damage that cant be documented yet.. there is a problem in this country with improper testing of a product yet flooding the market with it anyway.. its not until 20 years down the road that we realize the error.. we have a birds nest in our roof also but it hasnt stopped us from looking in to several different options including printing flyers and going door to door getting names on a petition..our power company made the switch and we dont have the option of going back.. would spend a little money printing everything but im sure the local healthfood stores would allow you to put them there.. the word would spread pretty quick.. enough informed people could turn this around.. i dont think they would reverse it all the way but maybe they would allow an opt out.. i would actually pay a little extra each month to not have the smart meter..
-jason and lisa-
As an aside, analog meters aren’t even available anymore and are no longer being manufactured for sale in the U.S., so even if you were able to get your utility to go backwards and install an “analog” meter, you would still be getting an “electronic” meter, they just wouldn’t be utilizing that aspect of the meter, and you will most likely be paying a fee to compensate for the hourly cost of someone driving to your home to read the meter.
Logan, all of the meters you describe qualify as “smart meters” because they emit RFR (as far as I have read and according the the electrical engineer with whom I have consulted). No one I have encountered has a problem with a non-RFR emitting meter that has a digital readout, beyond the fact that power companies are trying to tell folks that their ZigBee-Chip-containing and RFR-emitting meters are simply analog meters with a digital display. There are two places I have found so far to buy “analog meters,” with no radiotransmitter in them, online. My power company tried to tell me they were not available just as you have stated. The country of manufacture would make no difference as long as the meter has the ability to measure kilowatt hours for billing purposes. But this is yet another “issue” (read: lie) my power company presented to me as a reason I could not go back to an analog meter. As for the meter reading fee, my family’s health is priceless. Furthermore, for years, in many areas, folks have read their own meters and phoned in the reading to the power company. In my opinion, the meter reading issue and fee are yet another power company tactic to punish those who will not go gently. You didn’t happen to mention that even those who opt out of smart meters are, in most cases, paying a rate surcharge to cover the cost of implementing the very “smart grid” they are opting out of.
Nicole,
When the power company removed my smart meter, they replaced it with an analog meter with dials, no digital readout, no “fcc”, no indication of any transmitting chip. In other words, it looked almost identical to the analog meter they first removed. Now if my huge power company is installing true analog meters like this one, then they are available.
What is amusing is that at first the power company claimed no one was making analog meters, and they could not get them. But when they decided to use them for opt outs, they had no trouble finding them.
Nicole, what analog meter are you using right now? I’ve been reading this info all day and trying to figure out what to do. We are moving to a newly built home and it will have a smart meter on it. How do I approach the utility company and get a genuine analog (no radio transmitting) unit? Then you have to worry about all the other adjacent homes (15 feet from yours on either side) bouncing into your home regardless 🙁
Cara, I wish I had an analog meter. I do not. After reading Sarah’s prior article on smart meters, I went out and checked my meter and found that it was a smart meter. To date, I have had no luck getting Duke Energy to change it back to an analog meter. I have not given up.
I also have the same issue as you will have regarding neighbors with meters. The meter on our home is on the far side of our 2-car garage, which is as far from our living quarters as it could be. However, our one neighbor’s meter is roughly 30 feet from our master bedroom wall. Luckily, my daughter’s room is far interior in our home. Ask your utility company for an analog meter. It should have old-fashioned looking dials (that look like little clocks) and/or an old-fashioned looking black and white counter made up of a bunch of rotating discs (like the odometer in an older car). It should NOT have an “FCC” notation on it. The FCC notation means that it has the capability to emit radiofrequency radiation and is a smart meter of some description. On a meter with an FCC notation, even if they have that portion of the meter disabled when they install it, if there is a ZigBee Chip in it they can turn on the radio transmitter portion later, with the stroke of a keyboard at the power company, without telling you. (They can also shut off your power with the stroke of a keyboard, but that is a whole other issue.) You are lucky in that you live in California. There was no opt out for folks around here. Most people around here do not even know what a smart meter is. I didn’t until I saw it here on Sarah’s blog. There are tons of resources linked to on my blog that you could share with your new neighbors. Smart meters are not healthy for anyone . . . regardless of whether or not they are lucky enough to have symptoms to serve as a warning of the damage being done. If your neighbors do not want to opt out of having a smart meter, you could look into buying some EMF shielding paint. It is not a particular color of paint. Rather, it is a special paint that contains metal and is manufactured for the purpose of blocking waves. They also sell fabric that you can make curtains out of. That is my plan for mitigating the exposure from my neighbor’s meter if my bedroom tests high with a RF meter. Hope this helps:-)