Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) or ‘electromagnetic radiation’ is basically a form of energy discharged from a source. What makes one type of EMF different from another is the frequency it operates at (think big boat making big waves vs small boat making small waves). Based on those differences we can organise EMFs into a so called Electromagnetic Spectrum where each frequency band will have a different effect on its environment.
We talk about the basics in the article titled ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Electromagnetic Radiation’.
In this article we will give you a brief overview of the eight most common sources of EMFs in your home and what you need to know about them:
1. Wifi
Wifi can use a number of different frequency ranges . Although we all like to be connected, we recommend that you switch your wifi off for the night.
2. Mobile Phones and Cordless Phones
Mobile phones are often carried in pockets, attached to ears or even behind bras. They emit especially strong EMF signals when hotspotting, calling, downloading or streaming. Since these devices are often worn on the body, you should also watch out for the heating effect. This applies to cordless phones too.
Read the articles titled Emissions from mobile phones exceed safety limits (link) and What is a mobile phone SAR?
3. Smart devices – Smart TVs etc., switches, laptops, computers
Similar to the wifi and mobile phones, these devices also emit EMF signals. Same caution applies as with wifi and mobile phones.
4. Smart Meters
Smart Meters communicate with your energy supplier and tell you exactly how much energy you are using up. They use the same 2.4GHz signal as wifi. You can read more about smart meters in the article titled ‘What is a smart meter?’ (link)
5. Microwave Ovens
Despite a general claim of safety and stating that microwaved food doesn’t affect the nutrient content of food, I always question whether the fact that we might be eating food that just received a high dose of electromagnetic radiation in the higher frequency range is beneficial to us.
I always remember my dog never wanting her food for at least half an hour after it was slightly heated up in the microwave compared to when it was left to slightly warm up on a hob.
6. Electrical Wiring
It emits very low frequency range EMFs, different from your mobile phone or wifi. The EMFs it creates are sometimes referred to as ‘dirty electricity’.
7. Cars
The ’ smarter’ the car, the more electrical wiring and bluetooth technology it contains.
8. Your neighbours
That is, if you have any. They will most likely have the same sources of EMFs in their home. The most concerning aspect of this is their wifi. If living in a block of flats, anyone in your home will be exposed to a variety of wifi networks you can’t escape.
Are all of these sources of EMFs safe?
Although they the industry tends to stick to the idea that they are nothing but safe, we recommend you do your independent research and use sources such as the https://bioinitiative.org/.
It is also worth while to check the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) It states that EMFs are possibly carcinogenic to humans and believes that some studies show a possible link between EMFs and cancer.
For example, one study from 2018 done in Switzerland evaluated the effects of low frequency EMF exposure in adult workers in an 18 year period. It was found that the workers exposed to higher levels of EMFs for a longer period of time presented with an increased risk of certain types of leukemia.
We mention more references and examples in the following articles:
‘Are all EMFs harmful?’
How EMFs affect children’s health?
5G: Is the health of your family at risk?
What to do about the potential risks?
We should all aim to reduce our exposure to EMFs where possible, switch off devices that aren’t in use and look for solutions to become more resilient.
At Qi-Technologies we are dedicated to helping you mitigate the effects of electromagnetic radiation from wireless devices in your home, office and on-the-go.
If you are interested in finding out how we can help, request our product brochure.
Resources:
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118301403
2. http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf
3. https://www.healthline.com/health/emf
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5607572/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels#targetText=The%20802.11%20sta
ndard%20provides%20several,into%20a%20multitude%20of%20channels
