Evaluation of commercial EMF software

Abstract

Electricity has become a integral part of life during the nineteenth and twentieth century. As a society we have become more reliant on electric energy and it is considered an essential service by the majority of customers. As such electric utilities are under increasing pressure to provide a reliable source of electric energy, with built in redundancy to guarantee continuity of supply. The additional redundancy coupled with the high growth in electric energy usage has resulted in electric utilities placing both High and Low Voltage infrastructures closer to homes, schools and places of work. The general public are concerned with adverse health effects associated with exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) radiated from this electricity infrastructure. The scientific community despite years of research and large amounts of research funding, has found no direct link between EMFs and adverse effects on human health. Despite this electric utilities are adopting a policy of `prudent avoidance' which defines limits on EMF exposure levels. In order to comply with this policy there is a requirement to purchase software to accurately estimate and model the EMF radiated from High and Low Voltage infrastructure. This project will develop a systematic procedure for evaluation and selection of EMF software by developing theoretical models and carrying out laboratory tests to verify the results obtained.