Bio Electric House Wiring

Local Area Wiring

• In New Zealand at the time of publication, some builders are experimenting with the concept of “local area wiring” for reducing house wiring electromagnetic fields. Instead of multiple circuits coming from the main breaker panel, local area wiring has one main feeder cable coming from the breaker panel that acts as an electrical “bus.” It carries both low-voltage direct current for lighting and powering some small appliances and appliance control signals, and higher-voltage alternating current for high-draw appliances. Lights and appliances are connected to the bus rather than to the main service panel. Filters keep the currents separated at outlets, and devices are individually fused.

Field Reduction

• The local area wiring concept reduces electromagnetic field exposure by reducing the amount of wire in the home and by lowering the voltage for all lights and some appliances. Electromagnetic field strength depends on the length of the conductor, the amount of current passing through it and the voltage of that electricity. A small current at low voltage produces a much smaller electromagnetic field than a large current at standard mains voltage. The wires used in the New Zealand trials are “bio friendly” because they use a generation of plastic insulation that is free from toxic chloride and halogen compounds.

Shielded Wiring

• Another approach to bio-electric wiring is to use metal-shielded cable that reduces electromagnetic field strength by drawing the radiated energy to ground. In the U.S., most electrical codes permit use of rigid metal conduit and flexible BX metal armor for house wiring. They are not common in residential wiring because they cost more than plastic-sheathed cable and require more time and a high level of skill to install properly. In Europe, codes permit use of shielded electrical cable with a layer of copper mesh between the inner insulation and the outer plastic sheath. A shielded wiring setup also requires use of metal service panel, outlet, fixture and junction boxes rather than plastic ones. The metal shields need to have a ground connection through the metal service panel or other grounding pathway.

Plug-In Devices

• Some companies market plug-in devices they claim will safeguard your health by reducing or eliminating harmful electromagnetic fields around household electrical wiring. These devices claim to be especially beneficial for persons suffering from a medical syndrome called electrohypersensitivity, in which affected people report pain, disorientation, headaches, depression and general mental sluggishness when close to electric-powered equipment. However, tests of these plug-in devices showed they had no effect on electromagnetic field strength, according to the EMF & Health website, which dismissed them as scams.