How to remove siding under the electric meter?

[Daniel Meyer]

Could just cut the siding around the meter...then trim around it with something.

[phil]

another option would be to trim the siding away around the perimeter and install a box with a little roof to hide the meter. Just leave the door open for the guy to read the meter, or give him a key to access it. or install a mesh screen or lexan window for him to look through. around here they are installing a lot of smart meters which allow the power company to track your power usage in real time. that way they can find grow ops because they turn the lights on and off at certain intervals. it also puts the meter reader out of work. many complain that the signals given off by the smart meters are health hazards and some resort to putting cages and boxes and things over their meter so the thing can't be changed without the homeowners permission. or to shield the homeowner from the microwaves.

If someone was to break in they might try to knock on the door and if no one is home, pull out the meter just before a break in which would disable your alarm systems and security cameras if you have them ,possibly your cordless phone. unless they are protected by battery backup so installing a box over the area makes it harder for a would be crook to pull your meter. once you get that door with the hole in it open it is easy to just release the band and pull the meter which will kill all the power to the house. The fire department might want to do that if your house was on fire to prevent electrical hazards. if you have a security system you could make the door to your meter box trigger the alarm as well. the meter box could be another zone that you could disable in the event you need to give them access.

cosmetically a little box with a little roof might hide the conduit and things and improve the look of the place and you could put your siding or shingles on top of that. I'd check with the fire department to see if there is a way to do it without preventing them from pulling the meter. it is against code to block the electrical panel inside the house and I don't know if it would be a code violation to put the whole works inside a box but I suspect it can be done and that would prevent you from having to worry about the bits of siding behind the meter.

[Vala]

The options I like the best so far are either the plywood behind it or to see if they can adjust the meter to just rest on the wood directly. I don't like to have any artificial siding over wood, we also have lots of different insects and spiders living under the siding currently, I dont like to give them anymore places to hide than they already have.

We opted out of "smart meters" due to all that phil mentioned so we still have the traditional one.

Thanks again for all the ideas

[Texas_Ranger]

another option would be to trim the siding away around the perimeter and install a box with a little roof to hide the meter.

I don't think the power company would like that! In my experience they're mightily afraid of wasps and other animals nesting in such boxes. I think that's why you can't get factory-made meter cabinets with a door like they have everywhere in Europe in the US (the meter is flush in the exterior wall with only a flat door visible). Besides there are all sorts of rules in the NEC regarding how much space there has to be around the meter for working on it.

Burglars who pull the meter would have to be very brave or very stupid - if there's something big running in the house, e.g. the AC compressor, yanking the meter could cause a flash that kills the burglar. Besides, alarm systems should have batteries for such situations.

[Don M]

Yes & if it killed the burglar the family would sue you for wrongful death.

[phil]

if there's something big running in the house, e.g. the AC compressor, yanking the meter could cause a flash that kills the burglar.

It's 240 volts not high voltage, I think burglars have been able to do more stupid things , like pulling down HV power lines with their pickups to steal the copper. and if it is an old style meter you can see if it is spinning fast.
I'd just ad some trim to cover the exposed edge and call it a day

[Vala]

Well I'm limited to doing what the power company will allow. So I'll have to contact them and see.

[Texas_Ranger]

Well I'm limited to doing what the power company will allow. So I'll have to contact them and see.

I'd talk to a few electricians first. Power companies tend to be far more responsive when approached by professionals than by homeowners! That's not always the case but far too often.

[phil]

I heard that you can lay a thin wire across the contacts of the meter, the wire will then not limit current but fools the meter into thinking you are using less power than you actually are. evidently it still makes the meter work in a linear manor. the thickness of the wire is important to get the right savings. I wouldn't have the guts to do something that illegal or possibly dangerous but I can see how it would be an attractive option to fake the thing into thinking you used like 75 %
When my brother rewired his old house he found certain receptacles that were hooked in before the meter. I bet this scenario is found in more old houses that you will ever know. When I moved in it would have been easy to tap into the wires before the meter. since I changed the whole system I now have a mast that goes up through the roof. the linesman said the wire I have going to my 200 amp panel is as thick as the wires on the poles now. I think it was 000.
old houses that haven't been upgraded are often used by the grow op guys because they can get to the wires easily to steal power which avoids detection of the massive amounts of power they use. The house next door had the whole electrical system ripped out by the city because a previous owner was doing stuff like that.
Phil