What an astonishing showing.

My customers, a wonderful couple from New Jersey, are escaping urban sprawl for their lives.

Maria is EMF (electromagnetic frequency) sensitive. She can tell when a house has a smart meter.

Green Mountain Power (GMP) offered hand held smart meters some years ago to monitor your power usage. It was a great promotion, an expensive meter offered at a major discount and I went for it. Within the first month it became clear the merits were dubious and I returned it to GMP.

Smart meter technology has evolved and power companies all over the world are converting the main analog power box meters on the outside of houses to digital. Here's what they look like: analog left, digital right.

Maria can tell from her body when the analog meter has been replaced by a digital one. Her heart palpitates, headaches come on and she gets tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Extended exposure makes her feel weak, sick and insomnia begins.

She has EHS (Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity), an environmentally induced functional impairment which experts estimate affects three to 15% of the population, expected to rise with chronic exposure.

They're seeking refuge in Vermont.

Once she realized the cause of her physical ailments they had the digital meter on their NJ home removed. Before they could blink an eye the power company replaced their neighbors analog meters with digital, just 20 or so feet away on each side of Maria's house, and the symptoms kicked in again.

Nowhere to run to.

Her husband calls Maria the canary in the coal mine.

The Moretown home was not yet equipped with a smart meter but these two had my attention.

She has purchased EMF protective clothing for defense which might strike some as over the top. Certainly enough to spike my interest and spur a little research.

Vermont residents are keyed into health with strong penchants for organic foods and safety. Lead, radon and water testing have long been staples of property inspections.

Green Mountain Power has a web page dedicated to smart power related health including that "We can't imagine doing anything that would jeopardize anyone's safety."

Their graphic illustrates relative Smart Meter RF Exposure:

Green Mountain Power EMF Exposure Comparison

Depending on how worried you are about cell phone radiation, many would dismiss their health concerns based solely on this comparison. It's all small stuff, right? This pro smart meter video dismisses the hype satirically:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nij-_gAMj-4

The benefits for the utilities are clear. Matching consumption with generation, they avoid excessive energy stockpiling, eliminate monthly employee visits to read the analog meters, and dramatically improve their bottom line. Opponents shout corporate collusion and exploitation, even surveillance society big brother accusations.

Power companies in the UK and beyond have announced plans to have smart meters on or in all homes.

Beware the dark side.

Josh de Sol directed the 2013 film "Take Back Your Power".

Alleged "Dirty electricity" and SMPS (switching-mode power supply) health effects from the smart meters and the pulsed emission radio frequency radiation are outlined at www.emfsafetynetwork.org:

• Sleep problems (insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, night waking, nightmares)
• Stress, agitation, anxiety, irritability
• Headaches, sharp pain or pressure in the head
• Ringing in the ears, ear pain, high pitched ringing
• Concentration, memory or learning problems
• Fatigue, muscle or physical weakness
• Disorientation, dizziness, or balance problems
• Eye problems, including eye pain, pressure in the eyes,
• Cardiac symptoms, heart palpitations, heart arrhythmias, chest pain
• Leg cramps, or neuropathy
• Arthritis, body pain, sharp, stabbing pains
• Nausea, flu-like symptoms
• Sinus problems, nose bleeds
• Respiratory problems, cough, asthma
• Skin rashes, facial flushing
• Urinary problems
• Endocrine disorders, thyroid problems, diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Changes in menstrual cycle
• Hyperactivity or changes in children's behavior
• Seizures
• Cancer recurrence

Other potential biological effects: leukemia, tumor growth, skin growths, abnormal cell activity, circadian rhythm disturbance, neurological and memory impairment, genetic defects, endocrine and hormone deficiencies, mental and behavioral problems, immune system issues, genetic damage, miscarriages and birth defects.

Here's an excerpt from the de Sol documentary showing EMF affects on blood cells:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4JDEspdx58

Harvard trained physician Dr. David Carpenter in an interview outlines EMF health risks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7L21XOC2wA

Smart meters in some states have caught fire from excessive heat, lighting the houses they adorned on fire.

2011 saw the Vermont Public Service Board make a decision to move forward with the smart meter roll out, which led to street demonstrations and protests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTgAiHKePBU

There are radio frequency measurement devices you can buy to measure the EMF levels. Amazon sells the Ghost Meter EMF sensor for just $24.95 including free shipping.

Sitting at home, my son's recurring bloody noses came to mind and suddenly it hit me.  Our own house? I walked out into the sub-zero late winter cold snap, and couldn't believe my eyes. GMP had installed a smart meter on our house without permission or consent.

Fortunately Vermont has smart meter Opt-Out legislation (S. 214)  and Vermont's legislature eliminated the opt-out fee in 2012.

I called GMP this morning. They cited a mailing to homeowners which somehow I'd missed (though I confess I tend to throw out bulk mailings and anything but bills from the utility companies. They installed the smart meter in July of 2012. The GMP representative was very understanding and supportive, emailing me the opt-out within minutes, promising removal and analog meter replacement within a couple of days of receipt of the opt-out form.

People looking to opt-out in some states have placed dozens of calls without action being taken. One power company came out with giant clippers following their customer's continued requests and protests over the phone and cut the home owner's power line to the house, severing them from the grid.

While evidence on both sides of the debate is contradictory and leaves one attempting to separate fact from fiction, fear and loathing, we're erring on the safe side and looking forward to those comforting spinning anaolog discs back home.

If you're a GMP customer and prefer to opt-out of your smart meter you can contact GMP Customer Service at (888) 835-4672 or fill out the GMP Smart Meter OPTOUT form 3.6.14 CVPS can be reached at 800-649-2877, Washington Electric at (802) 223-5245, For other Vermont power providers, contact your own utility as the state requires the opt-out option for all power providers without cost to you.

What's your opinion on these digital smart meters? Have you experienced health affects,  are you EHS, or do you find the movement against smart meters unreasonable?

Maple Sweet Real Estate provides Vermont real estate owners, buyers and sellers with all kinds of real estate information including health concerns. If you have any questions on EMF,  smart meters or would like to sell or purchase your home in Vermont,  reach us at 800.525.7965,  email at info@maplesweet.com or connect to www.maplesweet.com

Connect to maplesweet.com, e-mail info@maplesweet.com or call toll-free 1-800-525-7965 for more info on smart meters, selling or purchasing a Vermont home, condo or land or any other aspect of Vermont real estate, homes and properties.