You are exposed to electromagnetic pollution everywhere, even at home. But do you know exactly how to measure it? We have developed an instrument to help you find out.
Electromagnetic pollution comes from electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions generated by man-made sources. These emissions fluctuate during the day and spread through the environment in the form of disturbances and interferences in different frequency bands. In simple terms, your environments are full of electromagnetic pollution that is harmful to health, the environment, and the proper functioning of the technologies you use.
Radio waves, television, mobile telephony, high-voltage power lines, electrical transformers, electrical appliances, electronic devices, and even lighting systems are emitting artificial fields (EMF), what varies is the degree of intensity, amplitude, and how often they spread. In summary:
“Everything that uses electricity produces an electric and magnetic field that must be taken into account when evaluating a home and determining which are the ‘hotspots’ (sources of greatest risk) there.”
It is a reality that the accelerated implementation of new technologies that do not comply with standards compatible with the human body and the environment are creating new and greater risks for the population, different species, and natural ecosystems.
This accelerated development and our increasing dependence on technologies have significantly modified the natural electromagnetic environment that surrounds us; so it is difficult for you to find a single place on the planet that is totally free from artificial radiation, including your home.
Thanks to an immense amount of studies that have been made over the years by respected scientists and organizations, we know that the biological effects of artificial electromagnetic fields can become pathological depending on the exposure time, the dose, their power and frequency, and the characteristics of the exposed organism.
Our home can be one of the most important sources of electromagnetic pollution to which we are exposed almost permanently every day. Home appliances, lighting systems, smart devices, wireless connections, and a host of other devices that work in a sustained and parallel way. It is important to enjoy and take advantage of all the technology that today can make our lives easier, but how can we do it while protecting our health, the environment, and our appliances? Do you know how to measure the levels of exposure you are constantly prone to in your home? Based on our experience and thousands of case studies, our team has developed a guide to help you determine it. Now let’s go a little deeper into the variables to take into account.
The guide: learning to perform an EMF Self-Assessment
The first thing you should know is that an EMF self-assessment is not a substitute for a professional analysis by an analyst, technician, or certified Consultant in Bio-construction and electromagnetic radiation, who not only have the training required to perform such analysis, but also the proper measuring instrument, and more importantly, who can understand the readings that such instruments collected.
Also, at this point, it should be noted that this not about obtaining electromagnetic measurement instruments, but about having the necessary experience and training. We often see people who buy electrosmog meters, gaussmeters or other instruments on the internet to use them in an inappropriate way.
In our experience, anyone who acquires measurement equipment as a hobby to “measure” radiation don’t really know what radiation is, what kind of radiation they are measuring, or what is the nature of that radiation. They don’t understand the equipment and how it really works, and they end up behaving like “ghostbusters” in their home or office, and worse, they even wander the streets measuring without really understanding anything.
That said, we are NOT asking you to do any of these measuring equipment, because if you do, you should take a training course with us or with a qualified institute or center. If you own measurement equipment, this self-assessment guide does not require you to use it; however, you are free to use them as a confirmation method. Just make sure the instrument you are using has been certified and calibrated by an accredited laboratory.
Electromagnetic pollution is not standard, flat, or automatically the same in all places, that is why it is important to be able to identify in your home where are the main sources of contamination.
EMF Pollution is variable by the size of the enclosures or the number of devices functioning there, but also by the location with respect to external sources of contamination. The pollution that we receive from abroad, for example, from mobile telephone operators is variable, it fluctuates in its power transmission based on the traffic of calls that it must handle simultaneously in a given time, therefore the exposure on a Sunday is not as on Monday, and the exposure on Monday morning is not the same as Monday night.
That’s why the NOXTAK Team takes as a reference the highest average values that have been observed in professional measurements compared to each type of issuer. For example, in the case of a base radio or mobile phone antenna, we will estimate the polluting emission that we have observed in antennas located in places with similar characteristics, like the population density, which determines the number of mobile devices that are tied to that base stations or those nearby, and therefore the information flow that the base stations are transmitting.
Electromagnetic pollution, especially the latter related to telecommunications, changes during the day, we could say figuratively that this environmental toxin spreads in waves and fluctuates like the tide in the electromagnetic ocean.
So the first thing is to observe the surroundings of the home or environment to be evaluated, locating the main emitters that contaminate the home from the outside. Second, the type of emission that emanates inside, coming from the appliances connected in the home.
Exposure levels by location
A home in a low-population residential area, in the countryside, or far from the city is not even close to those located in an area with a high population density, highly technical or very close to sources of external pollution such as lines voltage, high voltage transformers, telephone base stations, or radio and television antennas.
In addition to this, it must be taken into account that, in terms of pollution, an apartment is not the same as a house; since the apartments can share walls, floor, and ceiling with others that can be highly technical, which influences the analysis of general exposure in the home.
Exposure levels based on the size and construction of the house
As a general rule, smaller places tend to accumulate more electrical and electronic equipment with less separation, which can generate a greater accumulation of electromagnetic fields in common and adjacent spaces. This could affect the function of spaces intended for rest, for example.
The manufacture of houses or apartments must also be taken into account. An enclosure built with cement and concrete blocks is not the same as one built with Drywall, prefabricated materials, or warehouses with a large number of metal components. Each of these materials have a different density and, therefore, a level of permeability in relation to electric and magnetic fields. For example, glass has a very low shielding ability (blocking the penetration of an electric field), but electric fields are easily shielded by higher density materials. However, when we talk about magnetic fluxes, they penetrate the densest materials. That is, while they easily shield electric fields, they allow the penetration of magnetic fluxes.
This is an element that implies that, for example, an apartment in Manhattan with large panoramic windows will receive greater exposure and electrical charges towards the interior of the property than an apartment with few windows. This is how contamination in the enclosure can vary.
Exposure levels according to artifacts
Appliances that operate inside the home play a major role in measuring electromagnetic pollution. At this point, there are several aspects to consider:
- Number of devices: There is an average standard of appliances in homes, but it is important to bear in mind that there are homes that are much more technical than others. While there are people who probably only have a refrigerator, a washing machine and a TV; there are others that may have multiple entertainment areas, game consoles, fully equipped offices, home automation, and high-speed internet.
- Location: It is recommended to pay special attention to the location of larger appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc. The location of the electrical appliances and areas of high concentration is very important, especially to make a more successful relationship between places of rest, study, and entertainment. For example, if the wall of a room adjoins a high demand appliance, the quality of sleep of the person there may be affected.
- Usage habits: It must be taken into account that many people in their daily lives use particular appliances that may appear to have negligible emissions. For example, blenders are a significant source of low-frequency electrical contamination due to its motor and operation. As well as this appliance, there may be many in the house that probably have stronger emissions, such as the microwave oven; but it is important to measure how much these devices are used to classify their emissions as permanent or occasional.
- The lighting system: The quality and type of bulb you use (halogen, incandescent, LED, and fluorescent) are important. This is one of the factors that determine how much interference or noise surrounds the power line and, therefore, influences the amount of dirty electricity. In addition, an appropriate type of light bulb can avoid ocular oxidative stress and promote rest. Also, you should pay special attention to dimmers or light controllers, as these also increase the level of contamination by dirty electricity.
- Wireless technologies: Electronic devices that work with wireless connections such as telecommunications, WiFi, Bluetooth, and infrared connection produce high frequency electromagnetic pollution. These devices should be an extremely important focus of attention in the assessment.
How to receive the guide?
Now that you know how this instrument works, you will want to use it. We are currently working on an interactive survey that you can easily fill out and get automatic responses; but, at the moment, we can provide you with a manual table, which fulfills a similar function and with which you can collect basic information necessary to have an idea of the degree of contamination to which you are exposed today. This same information can be studied by our team of analysts and get an opinion from our specialists for free. Write us to info@noxtak.com to get this guide for free.
Please, note that this EMF self-assessment guide is not a scientifically accurate study. However, it is work that our team of experts has carried out and standardized based on thousands of case studies and our experience. We have taken the key factors to evaluate and we have assigned a specific value to each one, which will allow us to understand the approximate degree that a home has in terms of electromagnetic pollution and, thus, help its inhabitants to take the necessary actions to neutralize these emissions through our recommendations and our SPIRO technology.