Are smart meter RF fields safe?
Yes. Key factors for exposure risk are the power and frequency of the emission and the distance from a person. Smart meters emit only about 1 watt and, when installed, no transmitter is located within the home. Cell phones are considered riskier since they’re held to the head. Although SMUD’s smart meters meet all FCC testing and certification, SMUD is also taking the extra step of including vigorous RF testing during the initial rollout. Aggregate RF field levels in neighborhoods where smart meters are installed are expected to also be very low and are below the levels established by applicable FCC RF exposure rules or the RF produced by other sources in the neighborhood. A group of meters located at the same location, such as might be the arrangement at a multi-family housing complex, for example, will produce a cumulative RF field that is greater than what would be produced by a single meter, but because the meter transmitters operate at such low levels, even the aggregate amount wo
