The issue of excessive electromagnetic fields (EMF) in our homes and places of work is an issue that is rarely recognized, but is one that effects our lives on a daily basis whether we know it or not. Often under the banner of ‘convenience’, we are damaging our family’s bodies, states of mind and reducing our general wellbeing. Being one of the many people sensitive to electromagnetic fields, over the years I have experienced directly the exponential increase relevant to our everyday experiences, and have sought ways to reduce the harm these fields do. Often hand in hand with EMF pollution, Wi-Fi and mobile phone use, and now ‘smart’ meters, add to the overall exposure with their own individual brand of harmful radiation. In the elemental studio, we operate without Wi-Fi and encourage minimal mobile phone use, as well as using corded, analogue landline phones.

In the recent rewiring of my own house, I have designed in a few simple measures to reduce, and at certain times to completely eliminate, EMF pollution. In use the difference has been wonderfully tangible, with better night’s sleep and a general feeling of wellbeing before not enjoyed with the old, out of date wiring system.

Achieving this is reasonably inexpensive for an existing system, and almost cost neutral if thought through when planning a rewire or installing in a new build.

The first thing to consider is how many electrical sockets and fittings do you actually need? The temptation is to overdo things, thinking that your home can be future proofed, but in my experience endless double sockets are often underused in actuality. So, careful planning and acknowledgement of how you use and intend to use your home can be applied to create a sensible number of outlets.

Secondly, especially if you are rewiring or building from new, the way wiring is routed through the house can be designed in a way that reduces potential daily exposure. This becomes very relevant when multiple cable runs are taken through bedrooms, often along walls where beds will be placed, or through living rooms where extended time may be spent.

There are other things you can do to drastically reduce EMF in your home, and here in my own house, due to its mediaeval origins and the subsequent limitations on route choice, an approach has been taken to near completely isolate the electrical system at night, i.e. switching it off! This has been achieved by the use of two consumer units; a main unit serving all the power and lighting and a second, smaller unit serving just the fridge freezer, boiler and one socket. Between the main unit and the incoming mains/electric meter, we have installed a 100amp electronic contactor/relay system which is operated via a remote control. The system operates a mechanical switch which isolates the power going into the consumer unit, so all power is removed. Switching is accompanied by a rather satisfying mechanical clunk from within the housing. The fridge freezer, socket and boiler wiring have all been installed in 2.5mm CY shielded cable, which uses a braided steel sheathing and aluminium foil sheathing to effectively create a ‘faraday cage' around the wiring. These cables do necessarily run through the main bedroom, but emit no EMF, so when climbing into bed and the remote relay switch is operated, the whole house is joyfully EMF free!

Being sensitive to EMF and other radiation, I can truly feel the difference when the house is ‘operating’ electronically and when it is shut down for the night. For many years, I would wake in the mornings still tired, unrested and often with a headache. Since installing this system and removing the electronic aspect over night, I awake fully rested, clear headed and rejuvenated. We are essentially electrical beings, and with the exponential rise in electronics, wi-fi and other forms of radiation, we seem to be happily, yet naively playing with this fact. Earthing/grounding our bodies against this growing onslaught would seem the rational thing to do, and to generally reduce our exposure when we can.

If, like me, you suspect the wi-fi in your home of having a negative effect on mental processes and general health, a CAT5 wiring system can be installed to distribute internet access around the home. Alternatively, to avoid any wiring changes at all, use a 'powerline adaptor' system, which simply involves plugging adaptors into existing power sockets and taking the broadband via an ethernet cable to each device.

As a footnote, it is worth touching on the subject of ‘smart’ meters here. Although being rolled out nationwide, and with the energy companies selling them with slick advertising, the fact remains that they are untested and the effect they may have on our health is unknown. The salesmen are of course good at their job, so it probably beholds us to investigate what it is exactly they are selling to us. They are not compulsory (even though they intimate that they are), so an informed decision can be made. This excerpt is from stopsmartmeters.org.uk

‘…the electricity usage data may be transmitted every few minutes or even seconds at peak usage times. This means that these intense pulses of microwave radiation (900Mhz) can be emitted tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands – of times a day.  A British Gas ‘Smart’ Meter we have measured emitting 43,200 pulses per day. Consider the effect of a strobe light vs a candle on human biology.  These pulses provide no respite for recovery and chronic exposure to them can lead to a variety of tangible effects (headaches, sleep problems, palpitations) as well as more serious issues such as calcium ion damage, nitric oxide depletion, melatonin disruption, endothellial cell dysfunction, oxidative stress, blood-brain-barrier leakage, DNA damage and sperm damage.’

Having carried out extensive research, needless to say, I will not be accepting a ‘smart’ meter. As mentioned, you are under no obligation to have a 'smart' meter, so your discretion can be used and your rights asserted; but if you do have one already, or feel they are in some way useful, they can be effectively shielded by metal gauze to reduce the emissions. Protecting from EMF and other radiation can be life changing!For more information about 'smart' meters, their affects and the system through which they are being imposed upon us: