{
  "id": "meters:ac-electric-field-meter",
  "collection": "meters",
  "slug": "ac-electric-field-meter",
  "name": "AC electric field meter",
  "summary": "Reads power-frequency electric field strength in V/m, the quantity that reveals energised wiring behind a bed head even when no current is flowing.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "aliases": [
      "E-field meter",
      "electric field meter"
    ],
    "measures": [
      "electric-field-strength"
    ],
    "bandCovered": {
      "minHz": 16.7,
      "maxHz": 2000,
      "label": "power frequency plus harmonics"
    },
    "axes": "single",
    "priceBandUsd": [
      60,
      500
    ],
    "detects": [
      "Live conductors in walls, floors and ceilings",
      "Unshielded lamp flex and extension leads near sleeping positions",
      "Ungrounded metal surfaces acting as re-radiators"
    ],
    "cannotDetect": [
      "Magnetic fields — an unshielded conductor can show a high E field and negligible B field, and vice versa",
      "Radiofrequency fields"
    ],
    "buyingCriteria": [
      "A defined measurement mode: potential-free or with ground reference, since the two disagree by a large factor",
      "A supplied grounding lead if ground-referenced readings are wanted",
      "Resolution to 1 V/m or better, since precautionary bands start at 1 V/m"
    ],
    "exampleModels": [
      "TriField TF2",
      "Gigahertz Solutions ME3830B"
    ],
    "related": [
      "protocols:body-voltage-survey",
      "limits:sbm-2024-electric-bands"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "sbm-2024",
      "title": "Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)",
      "publisher": "Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN)",
      "url": "https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf",
      "year": 2024,
      "kind": "ngo",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/meters/ac-electric-field-meter",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/meters/ac-electric-field-meter",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/meters/ac-electric-field-meter.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/meters"
  }
}