When smartphones first hit the market in about 2007, they were a futuristic and overwhelming device. It seemed that only technological gurus or those with elite status owned one. A phone that can also access the internet and connect to a car? It didn’t seem possible.
Yet, here we are, over a decade later, and smartphones are more common than not. What used to be a device that more people did not own than did own has now been reversed, and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.
It seems like everywhere you turn today, you hear, “There’s an app for that.”
Your smartphone can control so many things. It is more than just making calls. In fact, it would be interesting to know how many people use their smartphones for making phone calls and having a conversation than those who use their smartphones for applications such as Facebook, Google Home or Apple Hub controls, or wireless internet.
So what do these devices have to do with whole-home EMF protection in the 21st century?
These devices have to communicate with the internet somehow, and the method of communication just happens to be through electromagnetic frequency known as radiofrequency.
Electromagnetic frequency is a radiation that is emitted when electronic devices are used. Therefore, when you use one of these electronic devices, you are exposed to a level of radiation.
To protect yourself from EMF radiation within the home in today’s modern world, you first need to know what EMF radiation is and why it can be potentially dangerous. How we can measure it (units of measuring EMF) so that we can take proactive measures beforehand. So before we dive into whole-home EMF protection, let’s first cover some basics.
What Is EMF Radiation?
EMF is an acronym that stands for electromagnetic frequency. Electromagnetic frequency is energy that is classified as low, medium, or high. Low electromagnetic frequency is also known as EMF radiation. EMF radiation stands for extremely low-frequency radiation. This is radiation that is measured with very little energy, also known as non-ionizing radiation. EMF radiation can be found in power lines (Process to measure), hairdryers, and small appliances.
The next type of EMF radiation is radiofrequency radiation. Radiofrequency radiation, also known as RF radiation, is another non-ionizing radiation. RF radiation can be found in cell phones, Wi-Fi technology, and other radio communications.
The last type of EMF radiation is heat radiation, also known as thermal radiation or infrared radiation. This type of radiation can be ionizing or non-ionizing. The most common heat or infrared radiation found within a home are through light bulbs, lasers, and remote controls.
EMF Radiation Throughout the Home
If you take a look around, you will probably see a television, computer, phone, tablet, microwave, some fluorescent lighting, wireless router, and some small household appliances. These devices are located all throughout the home with virtually no escape.
These devices and appliances have become a basic way of life. You simply can’t remove them from the home every time you want to protect yourself from the harmful EMF radiation each device emits. Therefore, how do you protect yourself from the harmful EMF radiation each of these devices constantly emit?
You first need to know the health issues that are associated with EMF radiation and the severity each can have on the human body.
TVs EMF Fact: Don’t be in surprise after knowing that our modern wall mounted TVs radiates EMF and that too while in no power mode! You can have a check in detail here.
Health Issues from EMF Radiation
EMF radiation has the ability to cause a laundry list of health issues. These health issues range from fairly mild to extremely severe, depending on the exposure amount and dose level.
Extremely Low-Frequency Radiation
This type of EMF radiation does not have many visible health issues when a person is exposed in small increments. However, studies have shown that extended periods of exposure (prolonged ELF radiation) can produce health effects.
These health effects can include:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Mood swings
- Hormonal imbalances
Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation
The most important use for radiofrequency energy is in providing telecommunications services.
This type of radiation has more visible health issues when a person is exposed. Health issues include the same as ELF radiation exposure but can also include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin/muscle damage.
Check out our article on interesting radio wave facts.
Heat (Thermal or Infrared) Radiation
Heat radiation is also known as thermal radiation or infrared radiation. This type of EMF radiation includes all of the aforementioned health issues, as well as the following:
- Skin burns
- Cataracts
- Vision impairment
- Vision loss
Protecting Yourself from EMF Radiation in the Living Room
Located in your living room is an assortment of electrical wires hidden behind some drywall, some outdated electrical outlets, and some harsh lighting; all of which constantly emit various ranges of radiation.
Fortunately, there are ways to protect your living room from these constant EMF radiation sources!
1. Replace Harsh Lighting
The first thing you can do to protect yourself from EMF radiation within your living room is to replace any harsh lighting with incandescent lighting. Incandescent lighting emits less radiation than harsh fluorescent lighting. Replacing fluorescent light bulbs with incandescent light bulbs will significantly reduce EMF radiation within your living room.
2. Shield the Smart Meter
Another thing you can do to protect yourself from EMF radiation that comes into your home is to shield the smart meter on your home that reads the total energy used within the home. Shielding the smart meter on your home will keep EMF radiation from easily entering your home.
Read our article on the Best Smart Meter Shield to protect your home.
3. Reduce Wi-Fi Signals
The next thing you can do to protect your living room from EMF radiation is to reduce the number of wireless signals being transmitted throughout your home. A wireless router will emit EMF radiation as radiofrequency radiation as long as it is powered on and in service.
To reduce the amount of EMF radiation in the home from a wireless router, there are a few things you can try. You can try to remember to turn the wireless router off during times it is not in use. Otherwise, you can plug the wireless router into an outlet with a built-in timer. Or you can use a wifi router guard. These router guards use a faraday cage to block around 90% of RF radiation.
This way, you can set the timer to turn off power to the device plugged into it. This will keep EMF radiation from being dispersed throughout the house from the wireless router while it is not in use.
4. Use a Dirty Electricity Filter
The last and probably most effective means of protecting yourself from EMF radiation within the home is by using a dirty electricity filter. Dirty electricity is old, residual electricity that is located within the electrical wires in your home that is essentially rendered as useless electricity.
Read this study linking dirty electricity to several disorders, including asthma, ADD/ADHD, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia.
This means there is an additional electrical current within the electrical wires, yet there is not enough electrical current within the wires to create power. This is called dirty electricity, and dirty electricity emits EMF radiation throughout all areas of the home.
To turn this dirty electricity into full functioning clean electricity, you will need to use an electrical filter. An electrical filter will take the dirty, unusable electricity and convert it into quality, usable electricity. This will reduce the amount of EMF radiation that dirty electricity emits throughout the home.
Protecting Yourself from EMF Radiation in the Bedroom
The bedroom is the room in your house that you may think has the least amount of EMF radiation. Instead, the bedroom emits a large quantity of EMF radiation and can easily be the most radiated room in your home.
Before you protect yourself from EMF radiation, you need to take an inventory of the electronic devices you will find in your bedroom on any given day.
Is there a TV, cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, Wi-Fi smoke detector, Fitbit charging, Google Home, or Apple Hub? All of these devices emit EMF radiation. Without scrubbing your entire bedroom of these devices completely, you need to think of a realistic way to protect yourself from the radiation these devices emit.
Here are some ways to do that!
1. Don’t Take Cell Phone to Bed
This one is difficult, but only because we have become so accustomed to lying in bed playing on a cell phone before falling asleep. This might not be a terrible idea if we didn’t plug our phone into a charger just a few inches from our head and fall asleep.
EMF radiation is constantly emitted through a cell phone, even when it is not in use. The EMF radiation is increased if the cell phone is connected to Wi-Fi. This is because the Wi-Fi signal within the phone and the wireless router are communicating through radiofrequencies.
Radiofrequency is a type of EMF radiation. Therefore, your phone is emitting EMF radiation for hours at a time, just a few inches from your head as you sleep.
The best way to protect yourself from EMF radiation in the bedroom is to keep your phone out of the bedroom.
2. Turn Your Phone to Airplane Mode
If you must take your phone to bed, turn your phone to airplane mode before falling asleep. Airplane mode will allow your phone to use certain functions, especially the alarm clock feature, if you use your cell phone as an alarm clock.
Placing your phone on airplane mode will not completely eliminate all EMF radiation, but it will help reduce it. This is a much better option than keeping your phone on and connected to wireless internet as it lies beside you in the bed.
3. Place Your Phone across the Room
You may want to keep your phone nearby in case of emergencies, but do not want to place it on airplane mode or turn it off completely. In this case, you can help reduce the amount of EMF radiation you receive during the night by placing your phone across the room.
The greater the distance you can put between yourself and your cell phone while you sleep will lessen the amount of EMF radiation you receive from the device.
4. Invest in an EMF Radiation Shielding Canopy
If you don’t mind spending a little money, you can create a perfect sanctuary from EMF radiation while you sleep. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t protect yourself by following some of the recommendations above.
Instead, an EMF radiation shielding canopy gives you an extra buffer of protection from residual EMF radiation lingering throughout your bedroom.
An EMF radiation shielding canopy is made of a strong yet breathable fabric that will block a substantial amount of EMF radiation when installed. If you suffer from headaches, sleeplessness, or other health issues, an EMF radiation shielding canopy surrounding your bed will help improve your health and quality of sleep.
Read our full guide to choosing EMF blocking fabric in this article.
5. Turn Off Wi-Fi
Another way to reduce the amount of EMF radiation within your bedroom is to turn off your Wi-Fi at night. Wireless internet communicates with devices by using radiofrequencies. These radiofrequencies are a form of EMF radiation. To reduce the amount of radiofrequencies being emitted throughout the home, turn off your home’s Wi-Fi when not in use.
6. Air tube headset
Instead of using wires to deliver sound directly to the a cell phone headset, air tube headphones use a hollow tube filled with air. Check out our in depth article air tube headphones here.
Protecting the Remaining Rooms of Your Whole Home
So we have covered how to protect two of the major rooms in your home from EMF radiation, so what else can you do to your home to offer additional EMF radiation protection?
1. EMF Radiation Shielding Paint
You can paint the rooms in your home with EMF radiation shielding paint to reduce EMF radiation. EMF radiation shielding paint is thick and goes on black, but don’t worry, it is not intended to be the final color of the room you are painting.
EMF radiation shielding paint is more of a primer. You will want to use EMF radiation shielding paint as the first coat of paint on the wall before adding the final wall color and finish to the wall of the room you are painting.
EMF radiation shielding paint will reduce frequencies up to 18 GHz. These are some of the reasons you may consider painting your home with EMF radiation shielding paint:
- To protect against current EMF radiation. This may include nearby power lines, Wi-Fi routers, or the power meter connected to your home.
- To protect against potential future EMF radiation. Maybe you live in an area that is rapidly developing with more power lines, industrial buildings, and commercial complexes. This impending growth is a good reason to protect your home from EMF radiation, as this growth will undoubtedly increase the amount of EMF radiation that you will be subjected to.
2. Window Protection
Another way to protect your whole home from EMF radiation is to protect your windows. Your windows are a vulnerable access point for more than just unwanted intruders. Windows also allow EMF radiation to penetrate and enter your home.
To protect yourself from this almost unavoidable vulnerability, you can protect your windows in a couple of different ways.
Window Film
The first method of protection on your windows from EMF radiation is by using a window film. Window film is applied to the interior, exterior, or both of a home’s clean windows.
Applying window film can reduce up to 10 GHz of EMF radiation. This is equivalent to over 99% of high-frequency microwave radiation that can enter your home through windows.
In addition to the window film, you can also paint the wooden frame of your windows with EMF radiation shielding paint to add an additional layer of EMF radiation protection on your windows.
Window Curtains
The other option of protecting your windows from EMF radiation exposure is by installing curtains. EMF radiation protection curtains can block out cell phone radiofrequencies and other EMF radiation up to 5200 MHz.
Combine the Two
Additionally, you can combine both window film and window curtains to provide complete protection on your whole home from EMF radiation.
3. Upgrade Your Appliances – But Be Mindful of Smart Technology
Throughout your home should be a microwave, refrigerator, washer and dryer, television. The good news is that all of these appliances have technologically evolved over the years. The bad news is that these upgrades have also increased the amount of EMF radiation that the appliance can produce.
Therefore, it is important to keep a few things in mind when you consider upgrading your outdated energy-sucking appliances throughout your home.
- Check the appliance’s energy efficiency ratio to see how much energy the appliance consumes. An appliance with EnergyStar certification means the appliance uses very little energy to operate. Less energy has the potential to also mean less EMF radiation being produced. We have covered a few articles on low EMF appliances- i.e; quality hair dryers with low EMF etc.
- Check to see if the appliance you are purchasing is equipped with wireless internet technology or Bluetooth capabilities. While these two features are convenient, they significantly increase the amount of EMF radiation that is produced from the appliance. This is because Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology use radiofrequency to communicate between the appliance, the internet, and other correlating devices, such as a smartphone with a corresponding application to control the appliance. For the same reason we discourage netizens using Bluetooth headphones for long period (Know more to check why we suggest so).
How Do I Know What the EMF Radiation Level is Within My Home?
To determine the level of EMF radiation your home contains, you will need an EMF radiation meter. An EMF radiation meter will not only measure how much radiation is currently within your home, but it will also indicate the type of radiation.
Is the current EMF radiation the less intense extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation, or are there high levels of thermal and radiofrequency radiation?
Knowing the level of radiation within your home, as well as the type of radiation is present, will tell you exactly how you should protect your home.
Top 10 Reasons Why Whole Home EMF Protection is Necessary for the 21st Century:
To make it easy, here is a list of the top 10 reasons (with explanations) as to why you would want to protect your whole home from EMF radiation in today’s 21st Century.
1. To Feel Better
Do you suffer from chronic headaches? Do these headaches occur every single day? What about blurry vision, fatigue, or sleeplessness?
If you suffer from all of these ailments but think this is just how you are supposed to feel each day, you may be wrong.
The symptoms of radiation exposure and radiation sickness include headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and sleeplessness. What may seem like a “normal” way for you to feel each day may, in fact, be signs of a deeper issue. Protecting your whole home from EMF radiation can drastically improve the way you feel and your quality of life on a daily basis.
2. To Protect Your Family
With so many electronic devices readily available today, EMF radiation is more prevalent than ever. If you are lucky enough not to feel the effects that EMF radiation can have on a person’s body doesn’t mean that the rest of your family members will be so lucky.
To protect yourself as well as your family, defend your whole home from EMF radiation exposure.
3. For Future Generations
Studies have shown that EMF radiation can cause cell damage within a person’s body. The damage from these cells can lead to gene mutations in future children. Gene mutations can commonly be passed between parent to child. This means that for future generations to come, gene mutations can occur because of EMF radiation exposure.
4. For Safe Reproduction
EMF radiation, especially through direct contact such as laptop computers, has been proven to affect a person’s ability to conceive or carry a healthy pregnancy. Infertility is a common health issue with EMF radiation, especially through direct contact exposure of radiofrequencies through a laptop computer.
Read my article on choosing a high quality, effective laptop radiation shield here.
5. To Save Money
This shouldn’t be the main reason you choose to protect your home from EMF radiation, but let’s face it – saving money is some people’s motivation to make a change. Protecting your whole home from EMF radiation can save money for many reasons.
- Health costs – protecting your home from EMF radiation can mean saving money on costly procedures to fight against radiation sickness.
- Energy costs – protecting your home from EMF radiation by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. These appliances will save you money on monthly energy bills. Turning off electrical equipment when it’s not in use helps cut the electric bill too!
6. To Prevent Cancer
It is proven that EMF radiation can chance the cellular composition within a person’s body. Changes to a person’s cells with the rapid growth of new, abnormal cells are how cancer within the body is formed.
To prevent cancer within yourself as well as the other occupants within your home, you can protect your whole home from EMF radiation to reduce the amount of radiation your body will receive in its lifetime.
7. To Protect Your Pets
Pets within your home can experience and suffer from the same health issues as a person would who is suffering from EMF radiation. Protecting your home from EMF radiation will not only protect you and your family, but it will also protect your four-legged furry friends who live in your home as well.
8. To Be as Clean as Possible
We don’t mean clean as in hygiene. We mean clean as in non-toxic. EMF radiation is toxic for your body. By having EMF radiation exposure, you are filled with toxins within your body. Not only do these toxins affect the way you feel, but they also affect your body’s purity and cleanliness.
Toxins can take years to expel from your body, and toxins aren’t limited to something you may ingest or consume. Toxins can be absorbed through the skin, and EMF radiation is a serious toxin contaminating your body and DNA.
9. To Provide a Toxic-Free Environment
While you can’t control the remainder of the world, you can control your little piece of the earth in which you live. Chances are, the local store down the road or the office building in which you work is not going to be EMF radiation protected.
While this may make you think “What’s the point?” when considering to cleanse your environment from these toxins, it is important to realize that you can control your environment in which you live.
So while you may be exposed to a portion of EMF radiation during the day at your office or while on a shopping trip, you can rest assured knowing you are going to be returning home to a safe, toxin-free environment.
10. You Only Get One Body
You only get one body in this life. Take care of it. You can do everything right when it comes to physical health. You can eat clean, work out five times a week, drink a gallon of water each day, but if you are constantly surrounding yourself by EMF radiation, you can be undoing so much of the good you are attempting to do for your body.
What your body comes in contact with is just as important as what you put in it. Take care of your body. You only get one.
Things to Remember
Whole-home EMF protection doesn’t have to break the bank, and it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process. Start small.
The first thing you should implement when turning your home into an EMF radiation protection sanctuary is by distancing yourself from your electronic devices at night. This is a feasible and relatively easy practice to put into play.
Once you have begun eliminating the amount of electronics that remain powered on throughout the night, you can step your whole home protection up to the next level by adding EMF radiation shielding paint or window protection to your home.
You can protect your whole home as simple or as multifaceted as you desire. If you want to make small changes in the beginning, you should absolutely do that. Small changes are better than no changes at all, especially when it comes to your health and protecting your family and pets.
If you feel you need to add additional protective means, such as EMF radiation shielding paint, an EMF radiation shielding canopy, or a dirty electricity filter, you can add these elements to the rooms you need.
Other ways to increase the EMF radiation protection within your home is by upgrading old, outdated appliances within the home. Old appliances can use excessive amounts of energy, causing an unnecessary amount of added power to enter and circulate through your home.
Additionally, you will want to make sure the new appliance you purchase does not include smart home technology, such as wireless internet capability or Bluetooth connectivity.
While these features are convenient and practical with today’s modernized and instant gratification world, they are your kryptonite when attempting to protect your whole home from EMF radiation.
Wireless internet and Bluetooth technology capabilities communicate with wireless routers and each device by the use of radiofrequencies. Radiofrequencies is a type of EMF radiation. Therefore, you would be adding additional EMF radiation to your home by replacing an outdated appliance with no radiofrequency with a new appliance that includes it.
Conclusion
We are in a digital world with no signs of slowing down. The more digitally connected we are, the more electromagnetic frequency will go into the atmosphere, and this EMF radiation will have to be absorbed somewhere.
An entire home can be powered through wireless internet technology. Door locks, televisions, lights, lamps, ceiling fans, ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, swimming pool pumps and heaters, thermostats, smoke detectors, doorbells, and security cameras. Can we even say “to name a few” when listing the above? Because these are definitely more than a few. These devices are everywhere. With so much technology communicating between one another, the amount of radiofrequency that enters the atmosphere is high. If you place these devices in virtually small quarters, such as a home or an apartment, the EMF radiation has nowhere to go. Therefore, the EMF radiation becomes absorbed into your skin. The more devices you have in your home communicating with one another, the less it will matter if your cell phone is in another room or not while you sleep.
You might be interested in our article on how EMF shielding materials work.
References
International Organization for Research on Cancer. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. Non-ionizing radiation, Part I: static and extremely low-frequency electric and magnetic fields. Vol. 80. Lyon: IARC; 2002.
Genuis SJ. Fielding a current idea: exploring the public health impact of electromagnetic radiation. Public Health (2007), doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2007.04.008
Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Early (Acute) Effects of Radiation.
Havas M. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: biological effects of dirty electricity with emphasis on diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Electromagn Biol Med 2006;25:259–68.
