Israel – Digital meters measuring electricity, water and gas are essential to the infrastructure of smart homes and smart cities that are becoming more and more common.
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And according to Erez Bar-Enosh of MTR Wireless Communications, the halachic issue of “closing a circuit” (segirat ma’agal) is one of the major reasons that digital meters are not more common in Israel.
A Sabbath observant person cannot open the water tap on Shabbat, because the information in the meter is updated, as is its display, with every drop, which is not the case with mechanical meters, which measure usage indirectly (as water flows it drives piston or disk that moves a magnet which in turn drives the register.
But MTR’s meter has received a “Shabbat kashrut certificate” from the Tzomet Institute, which works to develop electronic products that observant Jews can use on Shabbat. The product, called Kfir, also works indirectly, measuring changes in a magnetic field that are caused by water usage. The system (called Kfir) can store information in its memory and upload it after Shabbat. And the device’s screen remains “silent” over Shabbat, without an update to the data on its screen (instead of displaying constantly updating numbers, the screen displays a “Shabbat Shalom” message!)
MTR’s smart grid meter technology is certainly exciting enough – but the fact that it is “Sabbath observant” as well makes it awesome!
Sounds to me that “can store information in its memory and upload it after Shabbat” is a bit dodgy. It is still writing to RAM which is accessed after shabbos.
what about the american systems? can that work too?
this is great that they can have a system that is ok on shabbos!
You see, if there is a will there is a way. Imagine it was the government trying to force everyone to have those smart meters.
Wow I never thought about the water meter. So what do we do here? And how is a mechanical meter OK? It’s still measuring the volume of water, how many gallons–isn’t that assur?
Now that NYC has installed the new electronic water meters, I guess it’s only a matter of time until someone paskens that we can’t turn on water on Shabbas.
IMHO, it is a garmma of a derabanan. According to Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (and this is the consensus opinion) all electric uses are dereabban except incandescant lights. Some say that even the Chazon Ish would agree regarding modern systems using semiconductors. Assuming the “writing” on the screen uses LED lights the electric use is derabbanan and the writing is also as it is temporary. Thus we have a gramma of a derabban she aino mitkaven (presumably the pesik reisha is lo nicha lei as he does not want to pay more) bamakom mitzva and kavod haberiot. Of course, if it can be done in better way without loss to anyone ma tov.
BTW, who says the non-Tzomet approved way is assur? You do not quote any posek.