How much power does a Smart Meter use ?

[WooferHound]

So . . . I was sitting here wondering what the minimum power draw of a house could be. And that made me wonder how much power does a Smart Meter pull and who pays for it.

Of course, in the end, it's all passed down to the user . . .

[Wolvenar]

I'm not an expert, but I'll ask one tomorrow if I can get around to it.

My guess though is under 1 but likely no more than 2 watts.
Likely negligible compared to what you might have in wire loss if the transformer is a fair distance from your house.
But, as we all know it all adds up.

[halfcrazy]

The ones here run 3-5 watts they run up to 3 watts of RF power depending on the area. We are remote and meters need to talk to the neighbors and so on down the road. The meter is powered from the Line side of the meter.

Ryan

[rossw]

So . . . I was sitting here wondering what the minimum power draw of a house could be. And that made me wonder how much power does a Smart Meter pull and who pays for it.

Of course, in the end, it's all passed down to the user . . .

The old mechanical "spinning disc" type ones take about 2 watts for the "voltage" coil, and up to about the same again for the current coil (although that one varies with load, obviously).

The voltage coil is generally on the "supply" side, not the "metered" side, so you don't directly pay for that. (Of course, it goes into their overhead costs, which you all pay, so you still pay it - just not "directly")

The newer "smart" meters I've seen take less than the mechanical ones, although they may have brief periods where they take more (while sending data, for example)