Large-scale development of power transmission systems inevitably makes transmission lines adjacent to residential houses, and the attention to the effects of power frequency electric field on residential houses and related complaints become the problem not allowed to be disregarded. Under the condition of increasingly stringent demand due to environment protection, it is necessary to research the distribution law of power frequency electric field around residential houses exposed to air near AC transmission lines to provide technical foundation for the design of transmission line and the environmental impact assessment. Firstly, the impacts of both conductivity and capacitivity of residential houses on power frequency electric field around the houses by theoretical formula, and then by use of ANSYS software an accuracy model for three-dimensional calculation of power frequency electric field around the residential house adjacent to AC transmission line is established; secondly, a simulative residential house is constructed near the testing line and the simulative test and calculation for power frequency electric field around it are carried out. Calculation results show that when the power frequency electric field around the adjacent residential house is calculated, the method of electrostatic field can be used to established the model and the residential house can be approximately regarded as ideal conductor, and the potential of the residential house is zero; the finite element method is used to accurately establish the model of residential house near AC transmission line to carry out the three-dimensional calculation of power frequency electric field, and there is smaller error between the calculated results and actual measurement results, thus the proposed method can be applied in actual engineering. ©, 2015, Power System Technology Press. All right reserved.