Hi
Obviously I am a total noob here but I do have an idea in mind that would help me and hopefully other people here in the UK and other countries.
A little background for those who don't know: Here in the UK an energy supplier requires meter readouts a few times a year for billing enquiries and transferring suppliers.
Challenge: The challenge would be to somehow read these meters without physically looking at them (my meters are hidden in the walls behind a wooden surround, which requires me to move furniture to get at them). What I would like is a way to read those meter numbers and have them displayed on an LCD, so that I can put it in the window so the meter reader does not have to disturb me if I am home or to post a letter requiring me to make a phone call that costs me if I am out.
I was thinking about using a couple of webcams but the meters are at least 10ft apart and in darkness, so it would require (to my knowledge) a camera that can see in the dark. I cannot afford cameras like that and I cannot wire into the meters as that would be illegal and dangerous, plus I would not have a clue how to do it.
Do you have any suggestions on what I can do?
Thank you
Mark