The ‘No Rad’s Step-By-Step Plan for (Non-ionizing) EMF (Electromagnetic Fields) Radiation measurement guide‘ will allow you to quickly start measuring EMF radiation, finding sources in the house and penetration points of EMF Radiation to the house, find safety distances from ELF sources, and reduce your exposure to EMF. Both Electromagnetic Hypersensitive(EHS) people and people who are not yet EHS can benefit from this guide.The ‘No Rad’s Step by step EMF Measurement guide’ is more specific than the chapter about DIY EMF/EMR measurement in this site, and is meant to be easier to follow with simple steps and focus of EMF Measurement.
After over 10 years of handling EHS, and advising others (both EHS and non-EHS) about EMF, DIY measurements, Exposure reduction, and EMF protection, I have written this guide that includes the most basic steps of EMF Measurement. I prepared this guide so people will have an easy to follow step by step “checklist” of items to do. I believe following this guide will give you a solid start into the EMF measurement world.
EMF Measurement quick start guide with CORNET ED88TPLUS
Video – https://youtu.be/TtZkHmBGHRw
Video – https://youtu.be/TtZkHmBGHRw
The steps of the “No Rad’s Step By Step EMF Measurement Guide”
Step 1 – Watch “Preview to EMF/EMR Radiation”
Step 2 – Order/Buy/Get a home use EMF meter.
The most recommended home use meter is the CORNET ED88TPLUS (03/2018)
The basic need is to cover both Radio Frequency(RF), Extreme Low Frequency magnetic(ELFm) field.
If possible an ELF electric field(ELFe) and Dirty Electricity(DR) meter will be best.
The CORNET ED88TPLUS covers RF+ELFm+ELFe.
Step 3 – Start using the new meter
Learn how to operate it, learn what the display shows in every different mode. You can watch the demonstration videos we made, read the User Manual.
The basic is to know to measure Radio Frequency Radiation, Extreme Low Frequency (ELF) Magnetic fields.
In addition, it is also recommended to be able to measure also ELF Electric fields (The CORNET ED88TPLUS can) and also Dirty Electricity (a Different additional meter).
Step 4 – Learn what the display shows in RF mode
In RF mode the Radiation level will usually change very rapidly. I usually try to view the levels (highlighted in Blue) and the Histogram (in Green) for a while (10-20 seconds) and then write down the Max value (highlighted in Red) and the PEAK AVERAGE (in pink) of the last 15 seconds (if the is no PEAK AVERAGE for the last 15 seconds feature, I write the level that the meter showed the majority of the time).
Please note that in the CORNET ED88T you can also see the frequency of the strongest signal, if bigger than -30dBm (In the picture show 2398 MHz).
Step 5 – Learn how to hold the meter
Make sure you are holding the meter as shown in the picture. Hold it in such a way that your hand and fingers do not block the RF antenna or get close to the ELF Electric sensor.
Every time you start a measurement, measure the levels in all 3 axis: X, Y, Z.
Do most of the measurements in the strongest axis, or calculate the equivalent of the 3-Axis (square root of X2+Y2+Z2).
In RF the Y-axis is usually the strongest.
In ELF mode it changes from one place to the other.
Step 6 – Turn OFF your mobile phone .
At least for the measurement process, turn OFF your mobile phone. If it is not turned off, the meter will pick up the radiation emitted by the cell phone.
If you are going to use the smartphone as a camera, make sure it is in AirPlane mode and disable all wireless features: (Data, WIFI, NFC, Bluetooth) – Using a mobile phone
Step 7 – First tests – Measure where people stay
Measure the RF, ELF Magnetic and ELF Electric fields wherever people stay for a long time. The most important place to measure is the bedrooms. In the bedroom measure over the beds. Other places are sitting and working areas.
Debugging – If you see high levels, try to unplug devices and appliances from the electricity sockets. If the levels drop after unplugging a device, it is most likely it was the cause of the high levels that you saw.
If you continue to see high levels, turn off the electricity to the room, or to the entire house. If the problems continues, the radiation is most likely coming from outside the house (neighbors or environment).
Step 8 – Draw the your house/office plan
Mark the testing points with dots and assign a number to each dot.
Step 9 – Prepare an Excel sheet.
Every line should mark a testing point(TP), every column should mark a different time & date of measurement.
Repeat the measurements several times during the week and on weekends.
Repeat the test in different times, usage high peak hours, and low peak.
Electric usage peak hours in residential areas are usually between 19:00-21:00, and during the weekends.
Mobile phone antenna peak hours are usually weekdays between 07:00-22:00.
| Mon 10:00 | Mon 12:00 | Mon 16:00 | Mon 20:00 | Saterday 14:00 | Sun 14:00 | |
| TP1 | ||||||
| TP2 | ||||||
| TP3 | ||||||
| TP4 | ||||||
| TP5 |
Step 10 – Scan the house
Scan the house searching for sources and penetration points of EMF.
When getting near a source or penetration point, the levels will rise.
Scan when the meter is at 1.5-meter height.
Step 11 – Scan in different heights
If there is a need to know if the radiation is coming from above or below, scan also in the height of 1 meter, 0.2 meters, 1.8 meters.
Step 12 – Reduce exposure to sources that you found.
If you found an ELF source inside the house, and you wish to reduce your exposure to its radiation, hold the meter next to the source and then gradually move away until the levels drop to the “safe levels”.
Safety distance from ELF sources – Usually less than 2 meters.
Safety distance from RF sources – if it covers the whole house, then thers’s no safe distance.
Step 13 – Measuring Safety distance from ELF sources.
- Hold the meter in a place near the source, where it is easy to measure the ELF Magnetic or Electric fields.
- Measure the radiation levels in 3 Axis, Y, X & Z.
- Pick the strongest axis and hold the meter in this axis.
- Gradually move away from the source. Watch the levels drop. When the level will be below 2mG (0.2uT) in Magnetic Fields, and 10V/m in Electric field, this is where you can stay occasionally.
- Continue to move away from the source and pay attention to the levels. When they drop below background levels, 0.6mG for the magnetic field, and 8V/m for Electric fields.
- Add an additional 0.5 meter, this is where it is better to sleep (I always recommend unplugging ELF sources from the electricity socket if not in use).
Step 14 – Scan walls and windows
Scan the walls and windows to check for radiation penetration. Try to understand where the radiation is coming from into the house.
If you are measuring RF radiation it is important to understand how much RF radiation is coming from the windows and how much passes through the walls.
When measuring RF radiation, put the meter against the wall and measure. Then put it against the window and measure.
When measuring RF radiation against a window, measure the level both when the window is opened and when closed. If the window already has a film that blocks some of the RF radiation, you should see lower levels when the window is closed. In most cases 90% less than when the window is opened.
Step 15 – Radio Frequencies Radiation Protection
If you found RF penetration points to the house from outside, it is possible to protect the house with RF Protection. Please see:
Radio Frequencies Radiation Protection
Store – Home Protection (mostly RF)
Step 16 – ELF Magnetic field Protection
If you found ELF radiation penetration points, in some of the cases (electric cabinet, electric meter, sources behind a wall…) it is possible to use ELF protection, usually by professionals only, to stop and divert some of the radiation.
Please see:
Extreme Low Frequencies Radiation Protection
Step 17 – Radiation exposure recommendations
In RF radiation, I recommend removing from the house all RF sources. Replace them with wired alternatives. Then if you get more than 0.04mW/m2 from outside, start the protection effort.
In the case of ELF magnetic field, I recommend not to be exposed to higher levels than 2mG(for EHS people even lower than 1mG) for more than a few minutes.
Please read the following chapter on this site in order to understand the basis of the safety standards and my recommendations.
Safety standards & recommendations
None EHS people
RF – start protection from 0.04mW/m2
ELF – stay lower than 2mG
EHS people
RF – try to stay at levels lower than 0.0005mW/m2
ELF – try to stay at levels lower than 1mG
Step 18 – Redo the measurement
Redo the measurements in different days/hours, every once in a while, until the radiation exposure and penetration picture becomes clear to you.
Make sure you redo the measurements at least once a month to ensure nothing changed.
Congratulation on finishing the ‘No Rad’s Step-By-Step Guide for (Non-ionizing) EMF Radiation measurement’
Please see more on the following page
RP-CRMLM