# Are these cell antennas dangerous to the apartments next to them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457 "2022-05-15T17:44:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cogreg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cab0a1/32.png) [@cogreg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cogreg)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/1 "2022-05-15T17:44:51Z")
Just wondering if these cell antennas constitute any danger to the building’s top floor apartments. [Picture](https://imgur.com/vb0Fzo4) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/2 "2022-05-15T18:09:15Z")
Aside from the offense to aesthetic sensibilities of tacking extra shit onto buildings in the most ad hoc way possible, no. “Radiation”, natural and otherwise, is all around us, and unless it is ionizing radiation or your brain somehow has an antenna that receives microwave signals that tell you to deface public facilities in the name of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, it has no demonstrated physiological affect upon you. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/3 "2022-05-15T18:12:40Z")
I suppose those antennas might warm them up a little bit but I doubt you could measure it. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/4 "2022-05-15T18:12:49Z")
If they were installed poorly, there might be water intrusion… ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/5 "2022-05-15T18:37:04Z")
Welcome to the community, cogreg! Is there a specific danger, or a category of danger that you are concerned about? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/6 "2022-05-15T18:43:04Z")
Agree with the above. But might they increase the probability of a nearby lightning strike? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/7 "2022-05-15T18:58:12Z")
Most tall buildings already have [lightning rods](https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-rods) on them to protect against strikes, and most large buildings already have other metal structures such as HVAC, elevator equipment, water tower, et cetera atop them. Cellular antenna fastened to the side of a building are not going to materially increase the chance of a lightning strike. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/8 "2022-05-15T19:00:40Z")
I can imagine danger to people below, should one of them come loose and gravity has its way, but I don’t know of a specific danger to those on the top floor of the building. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/9 "2022-05-15T20:46:38Z")
Well, in the depths of summer heat waves, they might generate an all-but imperceptible increase in the the nearby apartment’s temperature through waste heat, but that’s probably about it. Or, if poorly wired, they could be a fire hazard, but then again, so could the neighbors Space Heater / Hibachi / Scented candles / Nic-fit. ---
**Author:** ![cogreg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cab0a1/32.png) [@cogreg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cogreg)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/10 "2022-05-15T21:09:46Z")
Just wondering if the radiations are harmful to the apartments behind them. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/11 "2022-05-15T21:27:22Z")
Given that urban cellular antennae are directional line-of-sight transmitters that radiate at a effective radiated power (ERP) of 120 watts or less, no. I would be more concerned about the radiation leaking from your 1200 watt microwave oven that actually has serious effects like interfering with the Bluetooth link between your smart TV and the noise-cancelling headphones you wear so you can watch Die Hard at full volume without disturbing your neighbors’ delicate sensibilities. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/12 "2022-05-16T02:33:42Z")
I suspect the OP’s concern here is that the antennas somehow “attract” radiation, so that there is a higher concentration of radiation in their vicinity than elsewhere in the ambient space. I’ve known other people who refused to have a dish antenna on their houses due to this concern. The answer is no. Those satellites or other radio communication sources just send out their waves, which bathe us all in a steady ambient sea of photons. The antennas collect whatever incident waves land upon them, but they don’t attract higher concentrations of radiation in any way. It’s true that some kinds of antennas – the parabolic dish antennas to be specific – will collect what waves they can over a large area (the area of the dish) and focus all that down onto the receiver. But that’s just a local effect between the surface of the dish and the receiver. They don’t somehow suck in radiation from any wider area than that. ETA: I would definitely feel impinged upon, however, if someone stuck such an antenna _right in front of my window_. If I’m paying rent for a top-floor penthouse, I want my view unmolested! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/13 "2022-05-16T02:41:37Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I suppose those antennas might warm them up a little bit but I doubt you could measure it. The opposite, I would think. Photons impinging directly on your walls or windows might jazz some electrons. But any photons captured by those antennas are photons that are not reaching your walls or windows. I think the antennas would cast radiation shadows, keeping your apartment cooler. Now to be sure, as noted above, the whole idea is to induce electrical flows in some wires, and that could bring some heat into the building. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/14 "2022-05-16T02:55:20Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The opposite, I would think. Photons impinging directly on your walls or windows might jazz some electrons. But any photons captured by those antennas are photons that are not reaching your walls or windows. I think the antennas would cast radiation shadows, keeping your apartment cooler. I (and I think others) have been assuming these are powered 5G cellular broadcast antennas. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/15 "2022-05-16T02:57:31Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I (and I think others) have been assuming these are powered 5G cellular broadcast antennas. Okay – Yeah, my experience was with someone who refuses to have a dish antenna because, as described above. So that’s the scenario I had in mind. So that only applies to _receive-only_ antennas. I wasn’t thinking in terms of antennas that transmit also. ---
**Author:** ![cogreg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cab0a1/32.png) [@cogreg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cogreg)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/16 "2022-05-16T03:32:10Z")
I thought those were cell phone transmitters. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/17 "2022-05-16T03:33:23Z")
> [@cogreg](#): > > I thought those were cell phone transmitters.   Yes, @Folly pointed that out too, just above. I was thinking of the situation with receive-only antennas. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/18 "2022-05-16T05:10:40Z")
Well…they do not operate on photons but also, they transmit and receive (both sides of a conversation). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/19 "2022-05-16T05:22:23Z")
They _do_ operate on photons, just fatter ones than your eyeballs use. UV, IR, X-Rays, microwave, radio, all photons. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457/20 "2022-05-16T05:25:35Z")
Ooof…you’re right. My bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-cell-antennas-dangerous-to-the-apartments-next-to-them/964457.md?page=2)