What's the most common EMF in our home?
Common Sources of EMF - Part 1: AC Electricity
This is Part 1 of a 6 part series on Common EMF contaminants in our home.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
1. How our homes are a living organism
2. What are the 4 natural elements of our home?
3. How do we experience EMFs as energy?
4. Two main biological systems disrupted by EMF
5. How EMFs affect epigenetics
6. How AC electricity affects us
7. Common sources of AC electricity
8. What is dirty electricity?
9. What can we do about dirty electricity?
10. Simple ways we can create a safe sleeping environment
11. EMF 101 is now open for registration!
I like to think of my house as a third type of skin, with clothing being the second.
In last week’s article we covered how we can use the natural EMFs (elecromagnetic fields) of infrared and UV light to build a skin that’s more environmentally resilient to EMF.
How do EMFs affect us through the third layer of skin we take for granted, our home?
Many of us are afraid of 5G and radiation from satellites, while we often forget what we can control locally.
Building our Biology
If our homes are our skin, what qualities would we want it to have?
If you were in outer space and dependent on a space suit to be your life support, what would you want it to do for you?
You’d want it to let out stale air, and inhale fresh oxygen. In terms of electricity, you’d want that spacesuit to be electrically quiet, so that you can perform optimally.
When I became a Building Biology Advocate (BBA), I learned not only to treat my house as a permeable living organism, but as a home for my spirit - a stage, rather than a cage, for every day experiences.
I started to tap into my intuition and ask “how does this room make me feel?
Where do I feel most relaxed? Where do I feel most productive?
Instead of using the assigned office to study, I sought shelter in my cool, quiet basement, where I could focus as well as meditate.
Instead of eating in the dining room, my wife and I would find ourselves eating outside on the deck nine months out of the year.
The 4 Elements of Housing
Before the Industrial Age, houses and shelters were built from natural materials, allowing air and energy to circulate in and out, refreshing our living environment. Our homes were automatically grounded to the Earth and in tune with the Schumann resonance.
The Age of Electricity of the 1800s then arrived, bringing momentous change to our homes and health. The light bulb brought progress, however it also came with AC (alternating current) electric and magnetic fields. Our homes have been bathing in non-native EMFs (nnEMF) ever since.
Water, Earth, Wind & Fire
Building Biology is a study of how each element interacts and cycles with the next in its natural sequence. For example, the Sun’s energy (fire) is stored by nature in wood, plants, oil, and natural gas. When burned, this energy is released into the air. The air then carries it down to the water, then to the Earth.
There are 7 major types of EMFs that can cause toxicity in indoor environments, which we’ll cover in future articles.
In this article I’ll give a basic overview of the element of energy, in the form of AC electric fields.
What is Energy?
The only place where equilibrium exists is death. Otherwise energy is constantly working through us, in the form of sound, light, magnetism, or manmade EMFs. If you ask a quantum physicist, they might tell you that our bodies are more energy (empty space) than matter.1
en·er·gy : in physics - the capacity for doing work
Before we can learn to harness the energy of our body to make it work for us, I believe we must reduce the energy in our living spaces that is working against us.
How do we learn to make our energy environment work smarter,
so that we don’t have to live harder?
Our physical environment is the most controllable, thus easier to address before we move onto more complex healing modalities on the mental or spiritual plane. For example, it’s easier to unplug your Wi-Fi than trying to meditate or pray that the radiation doesn’t harm you.
How do we experience EMFs as energy?
If you’ve ever had an electrocardiogram or electroencephalogram, you’re well aware of the electrical nature of our hearts and brains. Traditionally our bodies were thought to be only electrical (transmitting power). Mainstream science has since recognized that our bodies use a much more sophisticated operating system that is electronic (transmits power and communicates information).
It’s not what you say, it’s how you pulse it
External pulses from from electrical and electronic equipment obscure the normal bioelectrical pulses of our organs, making it difficult for cells to understand the signals they’re receiving from our hearts and brains.
Our skin isn’t only a surface that can feel electricity, but a semi-conductor, akin to that of a computer chip, that sends information in the form of electrons to other parts of the body. Electronic equipment can be disrupted or destroyed by power surges - our organs are no different.
Vibrating our cells
The speed of our communication is determined through vibration, with various cell-types oscillating at frequencies ranging from 0-75 Hz (hertz, cycles per second)2 This range corresponds to Earth’s Schumann resonance and magnetic fields.
When we’re exposed to abnormal frequencies from energy stressors, our bodies try to become in tune so that we can reach the resonant frequency of Earth, just as a tuning fork to a certain tone.
Vibration tells our cells when to divide. When our cells encounter unusual vibratory patterns, they don’t know what to do or how to divide.3
Biological problems associated with EMF stressors fall into two major categories:
Brain (behavioral abnormalities, learning disabilities, altered hormonal cycles and stress responses)
Growing tissue (embryos, genetics, and cancer)4
An Electric Power Couple
Our bodies act like antennas, receiving, and coupling with energy of ambient electric fields. Since the electromagnetic communication systems of our own body run very efficiently at extremely low voltages, even miniscule changes from external EMFs can cause muscle and nerve cells to fire incorrectly.
Research from 1989 showed that “long distance cell-to-cell or organism-to-organism communications” can occur by transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals.5
The concept of the 'electroconformational coupling' proved that electric signals can change how the proteins of our cell membranes behave.
Why is this important?
Epigenetic changes occur at the level of our cellular membrane proteins.
Stem cell biologists like Bruce Lipton and many others have discovered that only 1% of chronic diseases are genetic, whereas 99% are epigenetic and based on our environment.
What kind of signals do we need to be aware of that may be trying to couple with us, without our consent?
Those smooth-talking outlets are always trying to jump our bones.
AC Electricity: a common EMF offender
An alternating current (AC) by definition is not static, and switches polarity, or direction, at regular intervals.
The number of times these switches or reversals occur are referred to as frequency, which is expressed in hertz (Hz). In North America, electric power is supplied at 60 Hz, whereas in other countries it is 50 Hz. '
Alternating electric fields cause an electric potential to occur. The electric potential between two points is defined as voltage.
The strength of the electric field is determined by proximity. The further away you are from the source, the lesser the field strength. This is why it’s prudent to keep your bed away at least one foot away from walls.
DC Electricity
Direct current is safer, more stable, and is the same type used by our bodies to regenerate and heal.
Unfortunately, AC electricity was adopted worldwide since it was a more economical way to deliver power to the grid in the 1800s, despite being recognized as more dangerous.
Common sources of AC electricity
Live wires generate voltage, and will produce EMF, even without anything plugged in. The only way to eliminate this is by shutting off your power breaker, like my wife and I do at night. Some common sources include:
bedside lamp, radio
overhead lighting
wiring in the walls
wiring in flooring or ceiling
extension cords
Commercial vs residential electricity
Electric fields generated by wiring can be shielded in metal conduit, is costly, and not required by the electrical code. This practice is standard in commercial construction, however even when metal conduit is used, electric fields will still be generated by appliances when plugged in unless they have been specially wired.
Some Power Couples play dirty
Power utility companies, cell towers, and laptop chargers operate and are powered by a switch mode power supply. Again, this method is used because it is more economical however not biologically-efficient.
Switch mode power supply regulates voltage more precisely by converting AC to DC electricity, but to do this it has to interrupt the electrical current flow up to hundreds of thousands of times per second. When an AC field is converted to DC, this creates electrical pollution known as dirty electricity which then flows back into the grid.
The 60 Hz current of our AC outlets is transformed into much higher frequencies as a typical switch mode power supply operates between 30 to 60 kHz, or 60,000 pulses per second!6
What does this do to our bodies?
Samuel Milham, M.D. is an epidemiologist, or a scientist who proves that the results obtained by other labs and researchers actually happen to the masses of people in the real world. He studied historical US mortality and electrification data of the 1930s and 40s.
Milham was astonished as he found that the data suggested many of our modern diseases: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and suicide are caused by electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure, most likely dirty electricity. Milham would go on to literally write the book on Dirty Electricity.
Dirty electricity was shown to be a potent universal carcinogen in a study of cancer in teachers at a La Quinta, California, middle school. A single year of employment at the La Quinta school increased cancer incidence by 21%.7
What can we do about dirty electricity?
Reducing dirty electricity is trickier than eliminating other sources of EMFs, such as unplugging our Wi-Fi modem to lower radiofrequency (RF) EMF. Dirty electricity can also jump from one circuit to another within our house, even travelling along power lines and coming in from neighbors’ homes through wiring, or even through the ground.8
The simplest way to reduce dirty electricity is by installing microsurge power filters, like the ones I have from Stetzer Electric. These filters are portable, meaning you can move them from room to room. For instance, if you’re working in the office during the day, plug the filters into the surrounding outlets.
Tip: You first want to plug in these filters to outlets that consume the most power, so that you can bring down the total amount of dirty electricity in your home.
Here’s a quick video of how I like to use the Stetzerizer filter and meter:
Stetzer filters: a real-world study
Dr. Magda Havas is Professor Emerita at Trent University, and researches biological effects (both harmful and beneficial) of non-ionizing electromagnetic frequencies. In 2003, Dr. Havas designed and ran an experiment at a school where one of the students was having health and cognitive challenges. She installed Stetzer filters in the classrooms. The teachers were not aware of the filters. In an interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Havas recalled:
“I was very skeptical that you can put something in an electrical outlet and that would clean the electricity and everyone would be happy and healthy after that….When I finally got to analyzing the data, I was absolutely shocked by what I found…
About 44 percent of the teachers improved while the filters were plugged in…and student behavior improved. Many of the symptoms that improved in the school were those we associate with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.)”
Dr. Havas, along with Sheena Symington, founded the Electrosensitive Society, which assists those who are experiencing symptoms of radiation sickness.
Here’s some more information on electrosenstivity, so that you can educate yourself when speaking with your healthcare professional:
Creating a Sleep Sanctuary
Although we shut off the power to our bedroom at night, we still keep our bed away from the wall since EMFs magnetize onto electrical currents and any metal that may be in the siding. In the typical sleeping area, electrical exposure from wiring in ceilings, walls, and floors can be thousands of times stronger than our body’s own electrical system.
We’re particularly vulnerable to EMFs when we sleep, as this is the time our rest/ digest nervous system is switched on, and not equipped to handle a barrage of stress. EMFs activate the fight/flight branch of our nervous system instead, putting us in a chronic state of stress when we need to be repairing cellular damage from the day.
The only way to know that you’re being exposed to safe levels of AC electric fields is by testing your body voltage.* We had this done at our home by a certified building biology electromagnetic consultant from Geovital years ago, and is well worth the piece of mind.
In future articles I’ll be showing how we can test body voltage by creating our own body voltage meter, which I’ll also cover in the Wireless Health & Safety course I’m creating.
*Body voltage should ideally be less than 10 mV (millivolts).
*In future articles we’ll explore other types of household EMFs we can remediate, along with tips on how to measure them.
Have questions?
Reach out to us!
Thank you so much for reading, and congratulations on empowering yourself with the gift that keeps on giving - knowledge.
You are more powerful than you know.
Roman & Bohdanna
Registration for EMF 101 closes on February 25th!
How can we measure EMFs in our environment?
How does the wiring in our homes lead to cancer?
How does blue light disrupt our hormones
How can we break the cycle of tech addiction?
What are some other ways we can nourish the electric field of our body?
I’ll be covering these types of specifics, along with practical steps we can take to reduce EMFs in our daily lives, in the EMF 101 Masterclass we’ve created.
This is Part 1 of a 6 Part Series on Common EMF Contaminants we face daily:
Part 2 on AC Magnetic Fields:
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Oschmann, James. Energy Medicine, London: Churchill Livingstone, 2000.
International Institute for Building Biology & Ecology, Natural Healthy Buildings, 2015.
Becker, Robert O. Cross Currents. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 1990
Tsong TY. Deciphering the language of cells. Trends Biochem Sci. 1989 Mar;14(3):89-92. doi: 10.1016/0968-0004(89)90127-8. PMID: 2728105.
Firstenberg, A. The Invisible Rainbow, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2000.
Mercola, J. EMF’d, Hay House, 2020.
Wonderful article Roman. I’m building a place with steel roofing and steel siding. With everything wired for computers and phones- no wifi or Bluetooth. We have a shutoff for electricity in the bedroom, however whet the head of the bed is against the kitchen wall with no appliances but plugs. I’m thinking of putting aluminum foil on the bedroom side of this wall before the drywall. Do you think that this will help or juts waste of time?
this was great! i especially appreciated finally understanding what dirty energy actually IS.
cuz i'm a canary, i've been following this and mitigating a long time- but it's still not enough with all those space-ex launches and military frequency hits.
may we out-evolve it all, and may all the right tools appear!