Electrical repair man working on outside meter of home.

Get the facts on smart meters

Electrical repair man working on outside meter of home.

Powering the future with smart meters

Great Lakes Energy is in the midst of a multi-year effort to replace all of its more than 130,000 electric meters with new models that will provide many benefits for both GLE and its members. These new meters use radio frequency (RF) technology similar to that used in cell phones to communicate with GLE’s headquarters. We understand that some members may have some questions about the new meters and the technology they use. Please see below for answers to the most common questions.

Q: Why are the new meters being installed?
A: GLE’s existing electric meters use what’s known as “powerline carrier technology” (PLC) to communicate usage and connectivity information with GLE headquarters. Many of these meters are nearly 20 years old and use technology that is being phased out in the industry.

The new meters offer many benefits for both GLE and our members. The information provided through these meters will allow members to better analyze their electric usage and then make decisions to modify their usage habits. This information will allow members to have more control over their monthly electricity bills.

The new meters also offer enhanced outage reporting and response. This improved outage information will not only help our crews restore service as efficiently as possible but also allow us to provide improved updates to members about ongoing outages and restoration efforts. Another benefit the new meters offer is alarms for high and low voltage and high temperature. These alarms will allow for faster detection of problems with your service.

Smart meter notifications
at work

When a fire broke out at a member’s unoccupied seasonal home in late 2023, the home’s meter sent a “power failure” notification to our dispatch center. Within 3 minutes, a GLE line crew was dispatched to investigate the notification and arrived on the scene shortly before the fire department.

Q: Are the new meters safe?
A: Safety, for both our members and employees, is a top priority at GLE. While we are confident that these meters are safe, we also know some members may have encountered information that raises concerns about the radio waves these new meters use to communicate with GLE’s headquarters. Let’s take a closer look at these meters and the communication technology they use.

Meter Details

The smart meters we are using are the Stratus model made by Sensus. These meters use a low-power radio transmitter much like a cell phone uses to communicate with a nearby base station. From these base stations, data is relayed back to GLE headquarters either by a cellular signal or a fiber optic network. The transmitters on the meters are only on a few seconds each hour when they send electric usage data to GLE’s network. Over the course of a day, the transmitter is on for about a minute or less in total. The data transmitted is limited to the electric use the meter has recorded, the status of the meter, and its connection to the grid.

The meters GLE is using have been licensed by Sensus through the Federal Communications Commission. As part of FCC licensing requirements, all devices that emit RF must pass testing to ensure that they comply with all current government radio frequency emissions safety standards.

A drop in the
RF bucket

We are all exposed to RF emissions from many sources on a daily basis. The amount of RF people are exposed to from GLE’s new smart meters is very small compared to many other common everyday devices. In fact, a person using Bluetooth earbuds for 3 minutes is exposed to more RF than the maximum exposure from an entire day’s worth of 2-second emissions from their home’s smart meter.

RF emissions comparisons

To help dispel concerns members may have about their exposure to RF from GLE’s smart meters, we used a commercially available RF detector to compare the RF emissions from several common household devices to those of one of our smart meters in use at a member’s home. In our testing, we found that many environmental factors can cause variations in the readings obtained.

*Smart meters emit RF for about 2 seconds each hour. All other devices listed emit RF whenever they are in use.
All values are shown in microwatts/cm2


Bluetooth Earbuds

Fitness Tracker

Security Camera

Smartphone

900-watt Microwave Oven

Sensus RF Meter*
Adjacent 1.5-2 0.3-3 8-23 10-14
(in use)
30-52 50.4
3 feet n/a** n/a** 0.02-14 0.07-0.09
(in use)
9.5-22 8.38
(inside home)
6 feet n/a** n/a** n/a** n/a** 2-7 n/a**

** Data is not provided either because the device is typically used directly on a person’s body, or because RF levels were not detectable at the specified distance.

Its a matter
of time

A person holding a smartphone during a one minute video call is likely exposed to about 50 times more RF emissions than a person sitting in his or her home as close as possible to the smart meter’s location for the 2 seconds it transmits data.

In real life

Almost no one spends much, if any, time within three feet of their home’s electric meter. However, even if you happened to be that close to the meter when it is transmitting for 2 seconds, you’d be exposed to a lower RF level than a smartphone emits the ENTIRE TIME it’s streaming a video call.

Sensus smart meter

We used a Sensus smart meter in use under typical operating conditions at a GLE member’s home for this demonstration.

Distance: Immediately adjacent
RF signal: 50.4 microwatts/cm2

Distance: 3 feet
RF signal: 29.5 microwatts/cm2
Signal reduction: 41%

Distance: 6 feet
RF signal: 19.3 microwatts/cm2
Signal reduction: 62%

Distance: 3 feet (inside house)
RF signal: 8.38 microwatts/cm2
Signal reduction: 83.3%

The most common way a person would be exposed to RF from a smart meter is when they are inside their home. Our tests showed an 83.3% reduction in signal strength when measured from the closest location inside the home to where the meter is mounted on the home’s exterior. RF exposure would be even less in locations farther away. It’s also worth noting that the RF meter transmits data for only about 1-2 seconds per hour while many other sources of RF take place for much longer periods of time.

Smart phone

We used an Apple iPhone 13 streaming a Facetime call via cellular network for this demonstration.

Distance: Immediately adjacent
RF signal: 10-14 microwatt/cm2

Distance: 3 feet
RF signal: 0.07-0.09 microwatts/cm2

The first reading was taken 2 inches away from the phone because most people have these devices in their hand or on their person for much of the day. The RF level readings would be higher immediately next to the phone.

However, the demonstration shows that the amount of RF emitted from the phone during a Facetime call is still double what was recorded from the RF meter inside the house. An RF meter transmits data for about two seconds every hour, which is less than a minute each day. 

In other words, a person’s exposure to RF during a one-minute Facetime call is at least double what he or she would be exposed to while sitting inside their home as close as possible to the meter for 24 hours.

Microwave oven

We used a 900-watt GE counter-top microwave oven manufactured in 2021 for this demonstration.

Distance: 6 inches
RF signal: 30-52 microwatts/cm2

Distance: 3 feet
RF signal: 9.5-22 microwatts/cm2

Distance: 6 feet
RF signal: 2 -7 microwatts/cm2

Our demonstration shows at a distance of 6 feet, the RF exposure from a 900-watt microwave is, on average, 20 times more than the amount detectable from an RF meter inside a house.

In other words, a person standing near a microwave for one minute waiting for their lunch to heat up is exposed to more than six times as much RF as they would be exposed to if they were sitting in the room closest to the RF meter’s location for an entire day.

Security camera

We used a D-Link home security camera for this demonstration.

Distance: Immediately adjacent
RF level: 8-23 microwatts/cm2

Distance: 3 feet
RF level: 0.2-14 microwatts/cm2

If you use a Wi-Fi security camera to keep tabs on a portion of your home, anytime you are near that camera, you are likely being exposed to RF levels equal to or many times higher than from an RF meter installed on the outside of your home.

Fitness tracker

We used a Fitbit Sense fitness tracker for this demonstration.

Distance: Immediately adjacent 

RF level: 0.3-3 microwatts/cm2

Most people wear fitness trackers on their wrist nearly 24/7. Many of these trackers, such as the one used for this test, are synced via Bluetooth to the wearer’s smartphone. Because these devices are worn on people’s wrists, the RF measurement was taken at very close range.

This demonstration shows that a person wearing this type of fitness tracker is likely constantly directly exposed to RF emissions that are about half of what’s detectable from an RF  from the closest location inside a house for 1-2 seconds per hour.

Bluetooth earbuds

We used Horizon True Wireless earbuds streaming music for this demonstration.

Distance: Immediately adjacent

RF Level: 1.5-2 microwatts/cm2

A person using this type of earbud is exposed to RF levels that are less than what is detectable from an RF meter inside a home. However, earbuds are usually used for an extended period of time. 

An RF meter transmits data for a combined less than a minute per day. 

Because earbuds are worn in people’s ears, this measurement was also taken at a very close range.

Distance
matters

All of our demonstrations showed that RF levels for all devices dropped off significantly as the distance increased. The level recorded from the smart meter from the closest possible point inside the house was 84% lower than the amount recorded right next to the meter. If you move a few more feet away from the meter, the RF levels drop below what our detector can measure.

Wrapping it up

As these demonstrations show, the amount of RF exposure people experience from the new meters GLE is installing is very small compared to the many other common sources of RF most people encounter daily.

Duration
Another important distinction between the RF emitted by our meters and many of the other sources of RF in our daily lives is the duration of the emissions. Not only is the strength of the RF signal from our meters that reaches inside a home very low, the meters only transmit data for 2 seconds every hour. Many other common sources of RF are on for much longer periods of time — some of them are nearly 24/7.

To put that into perspective, if you sat inside your home as close as possible to where your electric meter is located on the outside of your house for 24 hours straight, you’d have been exposed to a very low-level RF signal for a total of less than a minute. That’s significantly less than you’d be exposed to if you stand near your microwave for a minute when you heat up some leftovers.

Distance
Furthermore, as our demonstrations show, RF emissions readings drop off significantly by just moving a few feet away from the source. We used the reading of 8.38 microwatts/cm2 to compare the emissions of the Sensus smart meters to other common household sources. This reading, taken from inside the home as close as possible to the meter’s location, is likely the maximum level a person would be exposed to inside a home. As you move farther away, those levels would quickly drop and become undetectable.

Additional information
In addition to the examples we provided above, it’s worth noting that we are all exposed to radio frequency emissions on a daily basis from a wide variety of sources. Television and radio broadcasts, business and emergency radio systems, weather and air traffic control radar, and cellular phone networks are just a few examples. Even the sun and planets in our solar system emit radio waves. In most situations, the strength of the above examples is quite low. In fact, taking readings from the middle of a rural subdivision street, the detector we used for our demonstrations didn’t register any RF readings. However, the same device was able to pick up RF readings from a vacant lot in an industrial park.

If you have further questions about GLE’s smart meter replacement program, please visit: gtlakes.com/faq/.

Reference links

  • Here is a link to a video produced by the manufacturer addressing concerns about electric meter RF emissions.
  • Click here to see the RF detector used in our demonstrations.
  • To view the manufacturer’s data sheet on the smart meters GLE is using click here.
  • Click here to view a letter filed with the FCC confirming the compliance of the meters with FCC regulations.

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