EMF Field Guides: The Beginner’s Guide to
Common External EMF Sources
In this field guide we’re going to go over common external EMF sources found around your home or place of work.
You may know many of these already, but I bet a handful are new to you.
Let’s begin:
Common External EMF Sources
This section focuses on external EMF sources to be aware of.
Not every home will have each of these to take into consideration, but it’s good to be aware of what sources may be a hindrance in achieving a low EMF home environment.
Many of these are helpful in noting when in the process of looking for a home or apartment to purchase or to rent.
Unfortunately, some of these sources (cell towers) can be added to areas with ease and therefore the EMF landscape can change rapidly.
01
Cell Phone Towers
Cell phone towers are the backbone of the wireless communication industry and, as you can imagine, they give off a sizeable amount of radio frequency radiation.
If possible, we advise people not to live next to, work close to or frequent areas (children’s playgrounds, for example) that are adjacent to these.
This is especially true after the National Toxicology Program study.
Learn more about cell phone towers and how to tell where cell phone towers are located. (coming soon)
A Low EMF Solution
Some protection from the RF exposure can be achieved with specialized Rf shielding film for windows and paints for bedroom walls.
For people especially sensitive to RF radiation, moving to less urbanized areas may be the most practical solution.
02
5G Small Cells
5G cell towers are starting to be rolled out in urban areas. These cell towers are much smaller than the previous generation towers and can be placed on street lamps and telephone poles.
Be aware of these if they’re being rolled out in your local area or if you’re searching for housing. This isn’t something you’d want adjacent to your home or apartment.
Learn more about cell phone towers and how to tell where cell phone towers are located. (coming soon)
A Low EMF Solution
As we discuss in our chapter on 5G, much of the technology is still in flux, along with the subsequent shielding options. We’ll update you on this when we learn more.
03
Electrical Transmission Lines
This category includes the massive metal structures constructed for the transmission of electricity over larger distances.
It’s always worth testing, but these will almost always have extremely elevated magnetic fields and are very difficult to shield.
If possible, we recommend that you don’t live, work or regularly play below or near these structures.
A Low EMF Solution
These can be measured with a guassmeter. Visit our Best EMF Meters page to learn more.
Our guide to Magnetic Field Shielding page is coming soon.
04
Electrical Distribution Lines
Distribution lines are the smaller overhead and underground lines in your neighborhood that bring electricity into your home.
These can be all over the place in regard to the magnetic field intensity, so you’ll want to have these surveyed. An EMF specialist can help you with this or you can DIY with a gaussmeter.
A Low EMF Solution
See our page Best EMF Meters to view our favorite gaussmeters to purchase.
05
Power Plants & Substations
Power plants will have very elevated levels of magnetic fields from the generation and distribution of the electricity they produce.
These are hard to miss when looking for a new place to live, but try and find a home or apartment away from power plants and the large transmission lines originating from them.
Electrical substations are less noticeable than the power plants, but can still produce surprisingly high levels of magnetic fields.
We always advise keeping a distance from these when selecting housing, playgrounds or other areas to frequently spend time.
A Low EMF Solution
The advice here is one of our most common pieces of wisdom: Distance yourself from the source.
06
Digital Broadcast Towers
These towers broadcast digital AM/FM/TV signals. The older analog radio signals weren’t as worrisome, but the newer pulsed, digital signals are similar RF radiation to cell phones and wi-fi and may be on continuously.
These are, thankfully, often on peaks and elevated areas not directly adjacent to where people live, but it’s something to be aware of.
A Low EMF Solution
The RF radiation might be shielded against, but the easiest solution is distance.
07
Airport or Military Radar
Civil and military radar installations can produce high levels of microwave RF radiation. We recommend people avoid these if possible.
Like all forms of RF radiation, radar can be shielded against with varying degrees of success.
Here’s an article on radar published by the World Health Organization.
A Low EMF Solution
We don’t recommend people live next to these installations, but shielding can reduce some of the RF levels.
08
Current on Plumbing & Other Utility Lines
Electrical current, instead of returning to the power company in the same manner it entered a home, will sometimes exit a home through utility lines.
Commonly, this occurs through metal water pipes to the utility pipes in the streets.
From there, it can actually go from the utility pipes in the street up your metal water pipes and into your home and then cause elevated magnetic fields.
It sounds bizarre, but it’s not uncommon.
It can also happen on other utility lines, like cable television and telephone lines.
The expertise of an EMF consultant comes in handy in these situations, but you can purchase a clamp meter and test for excess current on you utility lines yourself.
We’ll publish our page on How to Prevent Magnetic Fields from Excess Current soon.
Visit our Best EMF Meters page to learn more about clamp meters.
A Low EMF Solution
Decent clamp meters are affordable and are invaluable in determining if you have current coming in from your neighbors or wiring errors of your own.
09
Your Neighbors
Your neighbors, both residential and commercial (if you live in an urban area), can be responsible for EMFs in your home in a number of ways.
Some examples include:
– Placing their wireless router near a shared wall.
– Placing a cell phone booster right next to your home.
– A recent ruling by the FCC will allow OTARD (over-the-air reception devices) on homes and private residences. Unfortunately, these may become more common soon.
– As mentioned in the previous section, if they have a wiring error in their home, this can cause electrical current to travel up utility lines and into your home, causing elevated magnetic fields.
–
A Low EMF Solution
If you’re on good terms with your neighbors and explain your concerns to them, many times they’ll be happy to move their tech products farther away.
You may even be persuasive enough to get them to stop using the tech altogether.
Being on good terms may be especially important with the new OTARD rule changes.
If persuasion doesn’t work, you can always contact an EMF professional to see what your shielding options are.
The Beginner's Guide to EMFs
Purchase the Book for Family or Friends
Go low EMF and read our EMF guide offline on your kindle or preferred e-reader. Or gift this to a loved one that doesn't know as much about the EMFs in their lives.
This option comes with printable worksheets and other helpful guides.
Donate to Our Educational Mission
Help support our mission of EMF education by making a donation. Every little bit counts and it helps us spread the word!
Learn About the Beginner's Guide to EMFs
Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to EMFs.
Our site attempts to inform you of the possible invisible dangers that you and your family may be subjected to.
Legal
None of the content here should construed as medical or legal advice and is purely for learning and entertainment purposes.
Do not mess with your electrical system in any manner, way, shape, or form!
Only a certified electrician should be making changes to your electrical system!
Our Privacy Policy.
Affiliate Information
Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links and if you click on any of those affiliate links and make a purchase within a certain time frame, I’ll earn a small commission. The commission is paid by the retailers, at no cost to you.
You can help support our EMF educational mission by using our affiliate links on Amazon.com, Ebay.com, Safe Living Technologies, Satic Shield and others by linking from products on our site.
This is a small, but important revenue stream for us and we appreciate you clicking through our links before purchasing at the product websites.
Overall, It is another easy way to support us and our educational mission.
Thank you!
Popular Links
Our EMF Newsletter
Receive updates on 5G, EMF products & the latest EMF news. There's no better way to stay informed.