Is mmWave radar safe? Power levels in a bedroom, in plain numbers

What mmWave radar is

A millimetre-wave (mmWave) presence sensor is a small radar. It sends out radio waves and listens for the echo. Room sensors sold in Canada mostly use 57 to 71 GHz, the band ISED sets aside for them (RSS-210, Annex J, 2024). For how the echo becomes "someone is in the room", see mmWave radar for elderly care.

These waves are non-ionizing. They cannot break chemical bonds or damage DNA the way X-rays or UV can. Health Canada names two established effects: nerve stimulation below 10 MHz and tissue heating above 100 kHz. At 60 GHz only heating is relevant, and the Safety Code 6 limits sit below the level at which it could happen (Safety Code 6 guidelines, 2024).

They also do not go deep. ICNIRP states that above 6 GHz, "86% of the power at 6 and 300 GHz is absorbed within 8 and 0.2 mm of the surface respectively" (ICNIRP Guidelines, 2020). At 60 GHz the depth is well under a millimetre. That is our reading of those figures, not a number ICNIRP states.

Canada's limit, and what a sensor may transmit

For the public, the power density limit at 15 to 150 GHz is 10 W/m², averaged over 6 minutes (Safety Code 6 (2015), Table 5, 2015). ISED adopts Safety Code 6 through RSS-102 (RSS-102, Issue 6, 2023).

Licence-exempt radar sensors follow RSS-210. For field disturbance sensors in 57 to 71 GHz, Annex J sets two ceilings: −10 dBm peak conducted output power, and 10 dBm peak EIRP (10 mW). Indoor devices in 57.0 to 59.4 GHz may reach 20 dBm EIRP (100 mW) (RSS-210, Issue 11, Annex J, 2024).

Chip datasheets are not a shortcut to that number. Texas Instruments lists a transmit power of 12 dBm, about 16 mW, for the IWR6843, a common 60 GHz part, but does not say whether that is conducted power or EIRP (TI IWR6843, accessed 2026-09-06). A bare chip has no antenna, so the figure that matters is the finished product's certified EIRP.

A sensor on the bedroom wall: the worked example

These are our own calculations, not measurements. EIRP is the power sent out in the strongest direction. We use the free-space formula S = EIRP ÷ (4πr²), worst case: beam straight at the person, no losses. Sensors transmit in bursts, so a 6-minute average is lower than these peaks.

Even at the highest cap and an unusually close 30 cm, the sensor sits 100 times under the limit.

For scale, a microwave oven may legally leak up to 1.0 mW/cm² (10 W/m²) with a test load inside, measured at least 5 cm from the oven surface (Radiation Emitting Devices Regulations, Part III, current to 2026). That is about 100 times the closest sensor case above, and thousands of times more at a normal 1 m wall distance, though the oven is measured much closer.

The honest caveat: the research base is thin

Health Canada reports "no health risks from exposure to the low levels of radiofrequency EMF" people get from phones, towers and 5G devices (Health Canada, 5G safety, 2026). Two caveats.

First, in 2011 IARC classed radiofrequency fields as Group 2B, "possibly carcinogenic". Health Canada's reading: "IARC did not find a direct link between radiofrequency EMF exposure and cancer." It adds that "the vast majority of research to date does not support a link", and that more research is warranted (Safety Code 6 guidelines page, 2024).

Second, most RF research is on phone frequencies, not 60 GHz. Simkó and Mattsson reviewed 94 studies on 6 to 100 GHz and found "no clear evidence, due to contradictory information" (Simkó & Mattsson, IJERPH, 2019). Karipidis and colleagues, two years later, found "no confirmed evidence" of hazard (Karipidis et al., JESEE, 2021). The right phrase is "no established harm at these levels", not "proven harmless".

The bigger question is not the radio

The harder question is what the sensor can actually tell you. For how radar compares with other sensors, see radar vs PIR vs Wi-Fi vs acoustic.

Some vendors claim a great deal. Vayyar Care says you can "Receive immediate alerts when a resident experiences a fall" (Vayyar Care, accessed 2026-09-05). Xandar Kardian describes its XK300 as "Precise Vital Signs Monitoring Powered by Radar Technology" (Xandar Kardian, accessed 2026-09-05). Those are the vendors' words; ask for test evidence before relying on them.

Next step

If the power question is settled, the next is what a sensor can and cannot tell you. See how WalledCare works, or start at the technology hub. Whichever product you look at, ask for its ISED certification number and its certified EIRP.