EMF concerns at home

[dave1957]

Hi,

I am new to the Forum but it comes highly recommended from an instructor at my place of work.

I have a question and a concern about possible harmful EMF levels in my Child's Bedroom.

The Electrical Panel is located in the basement.

Branch Circuit wiring for the second floor and attic run straight up through the 1st floor studded wall (16" centers) and continue straight up through the second floor bedroom studded wall on their way to the attic where they the feed 2nd floor lighting, outlets and an attic gas furnace (electric Fan and controls).

The wall on the second floor with the branch circuit wiring is where my child's head board for her bed is centered. That would place her head within 6 inches of the drywall which would be the only barrier from the romex encased branch circuits. At night the only things on the second floor that would be on are; the attic furnace fan motor cycling on and off, ceiling fans, clocks, a small refrigerator, a tv, stereo and a computer.

Should I be concerned???

Is is necessary to have some EMF levels taken and if so what levels would be safe for this situation?

Thanks for your help,
Dave

 

[roger]

If the circuits are properly wired, EMF levels from said wiring should be nil for sake of conversation. household appliances, TV's, Computer monitors, electric blankets, mixers, etc... will most likely have significantly higer levels of EMF.



Note to all members, let's not go into a "how to fix the problem" conversation.

Roger

 

[al hildenbrand]

Welcome to the Forum, Dave.

Two story house, eh? How old is it? One wiring method, Knob & Tube, may be problematic, if it is installed in your home. By the 1950s, K&T was a wiring method that was no longer economical to install, but back in first third of the 20th century, it was very common. K&T individual branch circuit conductors can be widely separated from other conductors of the same circuit, and, as a result, the magnetic field created by the current in a conductor is in the space between the conductors of the same circuit. If a person is inside that space, the person is inside the unbalanced magnetic field.

Most other branch circuit wiring has the related conductors physically close to each other, so the magnetic field surrounding the related conductors becomes zero when the only current present is that of branch circuit.

If your home has a history of wiring installation and alteration being done by qualified individuals, the branch circuit wiring in the walls is not likely to be a source of EMF, as Roger notes, above.

The electrical equipment that you have running, at any given moment, is a likely source of EMF. The amount of EMF varies depending upon the care, or lack thereof, that the manufacturer's engineers gave to minimizing EMF. One has to investigate specific products to determine whether any is a problem.

Last, the electrical service entrance and the connection to the grounding electrode system for your primary electrical service may be a source of EMF that is unrelated to any electrical load inside your home. The routing of these conductors will affect the amount of EMF at your child's bed.

Consider, also, that the EMF from the power and light wiring in your home is only one specific part of all the EMF present in your home's environment. Most homes, not all, but most homes are in areas with cell towers, first responder communications, and other communication methods; and inside the home there are wireless networks, entertainment and communication transmitters, . . . all contributers to a complex EMF stew.

There is a lot to understand in your situation that will affect the answer to your question.

 

[electricalperson]

read the book from karl riley tracing emfs in building wiring and grounding. very good book. if you have a gaussmeter you can see if there is high emfs from improperly wired circuits. if all circuits are wired properly than the magnetic fields will be very small and should only come off of the conductors about an inch or 2. if all the circuits are wired properly i wouldnt worry too much about EMF's

Services on the other hand give off a high amount of emfs due to some of the current going down the GEC into the water pipe or ground. a sub panel should not give off emf's either

please let us know what you find if you get a gaussmeter.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I agree with Roger. Properly wired there should be no problem with EMF's . If you are worried buy a Gaussmeter and take readings. I believe Radio Shack has them-- I have heard that anything over 2 milligauss should be addressed.

 

[richxtlc]

One has to be very careful about determining a safe or unsafe level of EMF. The jury is still out as to what level, and what frequency may cause problems. For every group that has determined that EMF is harmful and equal number of equivalent groups found no causal relationship. Many stories that made the news in the 80s concerning cancer clusters had nothing to do with the EMF from the power lines.
When I was responsible for measuring magnetic fields as a result of a customers inquiry, I had a customer wanting us to move a pole mounted transformer from just in front of her window to another location. We measured the magnetic field. Later the transformer was moved to a pole further on down the street, we remeasured the field, it increase dramatically. The pole transformer was negating the field created by the primary on the pole. The customer was happy that the transformer was moved, end of problem.
If a person is truely concerned, then they should move the child away from the area of concern as it is more of a perceived problem then an acutal problem.
Much of the concern involving magnetic field was as the result of sensationalism cause by irresponsible scientists who released their finding without peer review. When these reports were peer reviews (too late it made the 6 and 11 o'clock news) it was shot full of holes. They had determined that the strenght of the magnetic field by the size of the wires, giving no other causal conditions that could account for a "cancer cluster" that formed near power line. Peer review is important to minimize the chance that the results are skewed due to a small sample size, improper data, insufficient data, etc. This is normally done prior to release of the results of their findings.