If you live in California, Maine or Texas odds are that you have had smart power meters installed on your house or apartment. People in smart meter regions have reported audible tones in their homes withing 6 months to a year after the installation of the smart power meters. Many believe that these effects are not only due to the smart power meter, but the smart power grid itself.
Although no one can really say for absolute sure that the ever-persistent audible tone, know as the silent or oboe tone, comes from, there have been many attempts to try to eliminate it.
The one method that seems the most practical and seems to work are low-noise or even silent fans. Thankfully, the silent tone can be easily obliterated with small wind currents. Small fans, even Japanese hand fans, can easily dissipate the low frequency audible waves. A practical fan solution requires that you selectively place your fans around the room and then listen for the silent tone(similar to the low note from an oboe). You may have to adjust the fan placement and speed if the silent tone can still be heard.
Alternately, you can use one big fan. Many don't like the big fan method because of the noise a big fan makes. Big fans may be necessary however if you have high energy silent tones in your home. In this case, a big fan could be replaced with a network of silent fans or an adjustable air circulation system.
If an electric fan is not around and you need some instance relief, try a Japanese hand fan. This works well for low energy silent tones. For higher energy silent tones, you will have to fan faster.
If you want to further reduce the resonance and vibration effects that are also associated with the mysterious smart power grid, consider a new bed if it has metal bed springs. Some suspect that the coil shape of these springs electromagnetically or acoustically couples with the power meter
(and or the power grid) to turn your smart power meter and bed into a one big gigantic speaker. Although removing bed coil springs has been reported to help reduce the silent tone effect. The data so far suggests that you will still need to use fans to eliminate all the noise
If you still have problems, you might also want to take a look at the structure of your home, the electrical and the pipes and the materials it is made of. It may just be that your home is incompatible with the smart power grid altogether.
You may also want to contact your local utility or a consumer safety organization if you suspect that your smart power meter or the smart power grid is the silent tone source. If you want to measure the tone, you can use a frequency spectrum analyzer or build your own tone detector or band pass filter. There are a lot of devices out there that may help you further isolate the source of the tone. They vary widely in quality and price. However, it may be necessary for your power company to measure for the presence of audio harmonics if they are coming from the power line.
But before you go to the expense and time, consider that the power gird could be the source of the tone. Some theorize that the silent tone is a result of acoustic feedback similar to what you hear when you cross two wires that connect to a speaker. However, in this case it is a low-power, low-frequency acoustic feedback instead of a high power, ear piercing acoustic feedback.
Keep in mind that the smart power grid or smart power meter may not be the source of the problem. Consider contacting an electrician, plumber and electromagnetic, audio and mechanical vibration specialist or even your doctor to determine if there are any underlying problems than may be the source or aggravating the situation.
For the most part, there should not be continually audible low frequency tones in a home.
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