Main causes for a disturbed electroclimate
Often people turn to me asking for an advice regarding a property that they consider for their new home. Sometimes these properties do not work out, because of one or more issues with the electromagnetic environment. Increasingly more and more future homeowners seek for a clean electroclimate, free of unnecessary EMFs. Here, below are listed the main causes for a disturbed electroclimate. There are nine different types of electromagnetic fields – all of these need to be considered when scouting for EMF sources.
Table 1 below summarizes the main causes for a disturbed electroclimate in a neighbourhood. Safe distance represents a relatively safe distance in meters from the source to where people stay for long time periods, like indoor places. Safe distance is Dr.Koppel’s estimation based on typical scenarios and applicable for most cases. Dr.Koppel’s recommendatory guidelines may be very well met also at shorter distances. However, there are exeptional cases where the distance given in below table is not enough to meet the recommendatory guidelines of this author. The requirements of electrosensitive people may not be met with the distances set below.
| Field type | Disturbance cause or source | Safe distance |
| Earth’s magnetic field temporal anomalies | passing traffic (road vehicles, trams, trains) | cars~30m; trains~60m |
| Abnormally elevated or attenuated Earth’s magnetic field | iron/steel reinforcements in concrete and other larger iron/steel constructional elements | NA |
| Power freq. MF | transformers | ~20m |
| Power freq. MF and EF | substations | ~60m |
| Power freq. MF | transformers within the house or another house | ~20m |
| Power freq. MF and EF | high-voltage power lines | 110kV line ~100m; 330 kV line ~300m |
| Power freq. MF | normal voltage power lines | ~20m |
| Power freq. MF (16 Hz) | electric transport power feeder lines (AC) | trams, buses~10m; trains~60m |
| Dirty electricity | street power lines | NA |
| RF EMF (microwaves, millimeter waves) | cell phone base stations | macro cell base stations~400m; small cell base stations ~50m |
| RF EMF | TV and radio transmitters | FM-radio~500m; TV towers~3km |
| RF EMF | powerful tranceiver antennas | ~100m |
| RF EMF (microwaves) | radar stations | ground stations ~2-5km, when directly visible |
| RF EMF | large metal surfaces focusing, reflecting other sources radiowaves | NA |
| RF EMF | higher locations have usually higher RFs | NA |
| – | – | – |
Static fields
Earth’s magnetic field anomalies
Earth’s magnetic field anomalies could mean abnormalities in three ways,
- temporal anomalies and/or
- elevated field or
- attenuated field.
Temporal anomalies are created by passing traffic. As road vehicles and trains are made of much steel, this greatly affects the uniformity of the natural magnetic field around the vehicles. When the vehicle moves pass the observer, it temporarily disturbs the magnetic uniformity around the observer. The faster the movement is, the quicker the temporal fluctuation in the Earth’s magnetic field. A static magnetic field in a house next to a busy street therefore resembles a neverending magnetic storm.
Elevated or attenuated static magnetic field is created because of a large ferromagnetic body within the building or below, in the ground. Buildings where a lot of steel has been used, including overly steel reinforced concrete, may have notably elevated or attenuated static magnetic field anomalies inside. In the ground, these can be both man-made or natural objects, such as large iron containing rocks or iron ore veins.
The afore mentioned also explains, why a garage, either below a residential house or an apartment house, creates anomalies above.
Because Earth’s magnetic field lines are vertical (from up to down) and these penetrate almost everything, there is no fix for this issue. Speaking of temporal anomalies, caused by passing traffic, ~30m distance is a safe bet from the flow of road vehicles and ~60m from trains.
Low frequency sources
Transformers, substations
Transformers, substations operate at high power and create an elevated magnetic field in the environment. Sometimes transformers are not easily visible to an observer. The same may apply to an industrial facility located in close proximity to a residential area.
Transformers within the house
In some buildings the transformers are built into the house. People in its immediate vicinity are in the environment of an elevated magnetic field. The amplitude of such field is mainly dependent on 1) the distance to the transformer and 2) how much current passes through the transformer, i.e. how many households or businesses does the transformer service.
High-voltage power lines
High-voltage power lines give off both electric and magnetic fields. The higher the current, the higher the magnetic fields, therefore the magnetic field strength around the power line is constantly changing. The electric field however remains the same, due to a fixed voltage. The higher the voltage, the stronger the electric field.
Normal voltage power lines
Normal votage power lines are electric power cables running along the street, within the ground or via the utility poles. Normal voltage power lines should be far enough from the residence. Although exposure to magnetic fields is more associated with high-voltage power lines, few understand that normal voltage power line, from the street, can also create a significant magnetic field, reaching the residence in significant amounts, if the residence is located next to it.
Electric transport power feeder lines (AC)
Electric transport like buses, trams and trains in some countries use AC to power these vehicles. These power lines are positioned usually above the road and are sources of elevated EMFs for houses right next to the road. Electric bus and tram lines create less powerful magnetic fields, but as trains are heavier, more energy is needed to move these vehicles, resulting in a larger. Electric transport using DC power is of no issue.
Intermediate frequency sources
Dirty electricity
Dirty electricity is an intermediate frequency electric noise traveling across the power lines. Dirty electricity could be higher around the inndustrial facilities, but nowadays also residential areas may have issues with this, because of widespread use of energy saving lamps and poor quality power adapters. Switching mode transistors create electric impulses which may spread across the electric grid. The possibility for such devices to pollute the electric grid is also dependent on the design of the grid infrastructure, but also of the building’s electrical system. Via the power line incoming dirty electricity can be though filtered out my EMI filters in the switchbox. Some researchers also say, that dirty electricity travelling within the ground, is also an issue. However, the science is currently short in this claim.
Radiofrequency sources
Cell phone base stations
Cell phone base stations come in three forms: 1) high-rise cell towers, 2) wall mounted or rooftop antennas, 3) small cell base stations on top of utility poles. Cell towers create an elevated radio frequency (microwave) electromagnetic field. In the city centers, the antennas are mostly installed on the rooftops and on the walls of higher buildings, whereas elsewhere, high-rise towers are used to mount the multitude of antennas. Studies show that noteably increased RF EMF is typically within the 400m (440yd) from the base station.
TV and radio transmitters
TV and radio towers have powerful transmitters, that create an elevated radio frequency VHF and UHF background in a large area around the tower. The field of these masts extends considerably further than that of cellular masts. TV transmitters antennas are usually well visible as separate towers, but sometimes FM radio antennas are installed on the rooftops and may therefore be inconspicuous.
Powerful tranceiver antennas
The government, military and first responder services may have installed powerful transmitting antennas in residential or commercial areas. Elevated RF EMF may be either constantly or periodically be present in the nneighbourhood of these antennas.
Radar stations
Radar beams are concentrated forms of RF energy. There are a variety of radars used in today’s civilan and military services. When looking for a low EMF place for your new home, check for radar posts in a 2 km radius when directly visible. In some, exceptional places, even at 5 km, the radar still can create a pretty intense exposure due to badly directed radar beam which hits the ground. When the direct line of sight is blocked by other buildings or trees, the radiation could be greatly attenuated. However for no-direct-line-of-sight radar stations, no confident distance can be given, as the pollution level is dependent on many factors. All sorts of radar posts should be accounted for, including military, civil aviation, maritime, meteorological, etc. Handheld radars are not an issue within the home selection context.
Large metal surfaces focus electromagnetic fields
Metal-clad buildings (e.g. shopping centers, tin sheds, commercial buildings, etc.), tin roofs and other large metal surfaces around the house or property can reflect/focus RF EMFs. These metal surfaces act as mirrors and create a direct line of sight for a RF source, such as a cell tower, even if it’s not visible. Besides reflections, there is a phenomena of difraction, which will also direct radiowaves around the corner, bending the wave, redirecting it onto a new path, covering areas, even if the RF source is out of sight. The afore mentioned issues – large metal surfaces and difratcion though are not of problem, if there are no RF sources in the neighbourhood.
Higher locations have usually higher RFs
The higher you go, the higher the radio frequency electromagnetic field becomes. Rising higher from ground usually makes ourselves also more visible for the RF electromagnetic fields in the environment. This is due to the spread of radio waves over buildings and trees. Higher locations are landscape elevations, such as hills, but also upper floors in a high rise building. RF is usually higher on the upper floors. In cities, starting from floor 3-6 the RF EMF is several times stronger than on the lower floors.