Lately, there have been quite a number of burglaries near where I am staying. Often saw cases where they have opened the unlocked meter box and shutdown electricity.
Since putting up normal lock can be easily broken, hence I am curious to know if anyone has better recommendations
NMB padlock is probably the best you can do.
Weld it shut, has the added bonus of no more electricity bills :P
Only if you don't have a smart meter.
My tenant riveted it shut…
All good until you simultaneously use the kettle, toaster, microwave and dishwasher all the same time, tripping a breaker.
Put the electrical box inside a safe.
It needs to be sn approved lock and you need to notify your utility
https://www.sapowernetworks.com.au/your-power/billing/meter-…
Just keep your electricity always shut off. Maybe they'll turn it back on for you
Lol…wth
Since putting up normal lock can be easily broken
If they want in, they want in. So yes, a normal lock will stop an honest or unprepared thief from entering.
But if they come prepared, they are entering, power or not.
Hang a noisy bell inside on the door. You may not hear it - but a burglar sure will and theyll wonder what else is going to happen. Hopefully move on to the next place.
Toy cars and marbles on the ground under the meter box too.
Calm down, Kevin McCallister
Is your meter remotely read, or the old fashioned way? Meter reader might still need access
1 Install security cameras and hope they don't steal those, as well.
Include a UPS for those cameras.
Lately, there have been quite a number of burglaries near where I am staying. Often saw cases where they have opened the unlocked meter box and shutdown electricity.
This is often done to disable security cameras and the internet to avoid notifications or cloud recording. To prevent this, it is best to have all Internet and Security Hardware connected to a UPS.
Plus hiding any security recording units like your NVR somewhere that it cannot be taken easily.
just reminds me of a mate who has an expensive security system installed with cameras & sensors. Kept bragging how secure it was, I said wanna bet….. first I pulled the internet cable connection outside & said 'now it's not recording to the cloud' then i opened the meter box (also outside) & flicked off the main power breaker & said 'now nothing is recording or monitoring' that was enough I also explained his backdoor would take one or two kicks to open.
Easily fixed with a 4G/5G fall back router and a UPS.
true but the average person doesn't know this, they are oblivious that their blissful peace of mind security is so easily circumvented. They were probably offered such a backup & refused
You're thinking about the wrong part of the equation. Do you have security systems? If not, don't bother about it. If you do have security systems, think about how you can power the security setup if they try to disable it.
Then think about the rest of your house. Dont leave high value items lying around. Add sensor lights, make it more obvious if theyre trging to break in. Remove shrubs they can hide in. Improve locks etc. Get a safe?
Motion sensor, that notifies your phone?
As others have said, use a padlock approved by your energy distributor.
Light sensor with an alarm.
If you are worried about being robbed while you are home, get a pistol licence.
Useless as it has to be kept, unloaded and inside a safe.
Only to be used in an approved pistol range.
Probably being robbed will be better than being charged with firearms misuse.
That is the way it works in Australia.
Move switchboard inside.
The metering equipment will then only have incoming mains fuses/links. Network operator can then be advised if that can be locked, using one of their network pattern keys. This is in Victoria. Where we mostly have smart meters.
In my group of 4 homes, I am the only one with an impressive array of security cameras, hence hopefully the least likely target. Looks do count! I do have a UPS and the hidden NPR records on HDD… but the shitty Swann cameras are absolutely crap despite the supposedly superior features. They either record continuously, or not at all or in between en missing the important bits! Hard to navigate through footage too, totally useless. The other ones are all great, from Ring to Tapo.
Get a dog