norton ash wrote:Could they tell a vibrator from a nose-hair trimmer or an electric toothbrush?
I can't take a position on this whole issue because I just don't know enough about it yet (while assuming They will take advantage of any associated means to spy on "consumers") but I think various appliances' motors etc.
modulate the 60Hz line signal (50Hz in Europe etc.).
I remember back during the '70s CB radio craze listening to the neighborhood AC line noise picked up by by the CB receiver.
Having our coffee in the morning with the CB on a quiet channel, we'd hear distinct motor sounds come on & off at various intervals. I think these noises picked up by radio receivers are called "spurious emissions"; CB radios themselves were notorious for them, interfering with peoples' TVs and stereos and so on.
We made it a game to identify the sources: I remember thinking that one grinding whine, coming on for a few seconds, sounded like the "signature" (if you will) of a juicer motor; another buzzing, starting up and going for a minute or so, sounded like an electric razor; a certain high-pitched whine we definitely decided was a hair dryer.
We were amused by hearing these broadcasts of our neighbors' sundry morning appliances.
(I assume that battery-powered motors would also produce spurious emissions that could be picked up by radio, if the signal was powerful enough.)
So, I think motors and other devices can generate a "signature" signal, but what this means for the smart-meter question I'm not sure. Maybe my experience above will connect with others' information to help figure it out.