Smart Meters: Convenient or Hazardous?

In a world designed around increasing efficiency, it’s no wonder that smart meters have exploded
in popularity. With the ability to automatically send usage data for electricity, gas, and water to
the companies that provide these utilities versus having them manually read, they save utility
suppliers time and money. However, this convenience for companies may cause more harm to
you in the long run.

Smart meters are potential fire hazards that come with radiation risks, meaning they may cause
catastrophes that can not only harm your health and well-being but may end up destroying part of
your home.

The EMF Risk of Smart Meters
The information from your meter is not magically transported to the company providing the
utility; smart meters communicate with their central system using radiofrequency (RF)
transmissions based on a cell phone power line or the internet. In this way, they give off the same
kind of RF waves—a type of electromagnetic field (EMF)—as cell phones and other Wi-Fi
devices.

While smart meters are typically installed outside the house, it is still possible for you, as the
homeowner, to be exposed to RF energy, and it can affect your health when it spikes and surges,
something called dirty electricity.

RF radiation is a low-energy radiation that is categorized as non-ionizing radiation, meaning it
has enough energy to move atoms or cause them to vibrate but does not damage DNA directly.
However, RF radiation is still classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) as being “possibly carcinogenic to humans” due to a study offering a possible link
between cell phone use and a brain tumor.

As it stands, there is not much research available on the effect of RF radiation on our health,
which makes it all the more dangerous—without knowing the true harm that can come from this
ever-present radiation, especially since smart meters send signals on a regular basis, there’s no
saying how much damage it may be causing without you even being aware.

Yet another concern is that even if RF radiation does not directly cause cancer, if the cells in your
body have been damaged due to exposure to another substance, RF radiation may be enough to
set it over the edge and increase the risk of cancer. On top of that, if the meter is located near a
bedroom, you or your children may unknowingly be exposed to this radiation all night long.
Research even shows that exposure to wireless utility meters can cause the following symptoms
to appear or worsen:

• Sleep problems
• Stress and anxiety
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Memory problems
• Fatigue
• Heart palpitations or heart arrhythmia

While smart meters do not cause EMF exposure at the level of cell phones, since cell phones are
something that we have direct contact with, anything that adds EMF radiation can further
increase your exposure. At some point, the combined exposure may reach such an intensity that
damage can occur even if each individual device puts out only a small amount.

A Fire Hazard
It’s not just EMF radiation that should be a concern with smart meters. Contained within smart
meters are lithium-ion batters, which come with their own set of threats; specifically, as potential
fire hazards.

If a lithium-ion battery were to catch fire, it would experience something called a “thermal
runaway,” which refers to the rapid escalation of temperature—going from 140ºF to 6000ºF in
just a few seconds. Even more, once the thermal runaway starts, it’s very hard to stop.
It’s not just the battery catching fire that can be troubling. The smart meter that houses the
battery is connected to the copper wiring of the house, which possesses a conductivity that is
designed to carry electricity. However, copper wires are also excellent transporters of heat due to
their convective properties and insulation, meaning the fire of the battery and its immense heat
can easily spread throughout the house, following the copper wiring.

In this way, while smart meters can put out low-yet-steady RF waves that may progress to health
concerns over time, just one electrical fire can be catastrophic.

Smart Meters: Pushing Aside Safety for Convenience
While smart meters seem like a convenient option for utility companies, they may be harming
the people whose residences they are placed in. In addition to the risk of frequent RF exposure,
there’s the fire hazard posed by the smart meters and their wired connection to every corner of
your house.

When it comes to protecting yourself, your family, and the home that you’ve nurtured, it’s
important to be aware of the hidden hazards, including your smart meters.

References
Powell, R. (2015). Symptoms After Exposure to Smart Meter Radiation.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2401/5737/files/tw-research-symptoms-after-exposure-to-smart-
meter-radiation.pdf

Shahid, S., & Agelin-Chaab, M. (2022). A review of thermal runaway prevention and mitigation
strategies for lithium-ion batteries. Energy Conversion and Management X, 16, 100310–100310.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100310
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IARC classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
(2024). Who.int. https://www.iarc.who.int/pressrelease/iarc-classifies-radiofrequency-
electromagnetic-fields-as-possibly-carcinogenic-to-humans/