How to have a low-EMF house

A low-EMF house is mostly layout and wiring decisions. They cost little or nothing if they're made before the electrician roughs in, and a lot more once the plasterboard is on.

What the evidence says

ARPANSA, the federal radiation safety agency, says there's no established evidence that the fields around household wiring, or the radio waves from Wi-Fi and smart meters, cause health effects. The WHO's cancer agency classes both as possibly carcinogenic, based on limited evidence.

So we treat it like formaldehyde: if you can cut exposure where you sleep for very little money, do it. Fields drop away quickly with distance, so most of this is about distance.

Wire the internet

Run data cable to desks, TVs and the study. It's faster and more reliable, and Wi-Fi does less work. Put the router in a hallway or cupboard, not a bedroom, and turn Wi-Fi off overnight with the router's schedule or a plug-in timer.

Switch bedroom circuits off at night

Put bedrooms on their own circuits so they can be turned off while you sleep. Hack-It Electrical in northern NSW uses a single SleepZone switch for this, a good model to show your sparky. A demand switch in the switchboard does it automatically: it cuts the circuit when the last light goes off and restores power when something's switched on. They're sold in Australia and need a licensed electrician.

Keep smoke alarms, the fridge and anything that must stay on off those circuits.

Keep the big sources away from beds

The switchboard, meter box, solar inverter and battery carry the most current. Put them on a garage or laundry wall, as far from bedrooms as you can, and never behind a bedhead. Batteries can't go in a habitable room under AS/NZS 5139 anyway.

Queensland retailers now fit smart meters to all new connections and you can't opt out. Many send data in short bursts over the mobile network, which ARPANSA says is well below exposure limits. You can ask your retailer to turn remote communications off, but keeping the meter box off bedroom walls is the easier win.

Tidy wiring

Energy Networks Australia's low-EMF wiring guidance is short: keep the active, neutral and earth of each circuit tightly grouped, run active and neutral on the same route, and keep high-current circuits like the oven and hot water away from bedrooms. Mark bed positions on the electrical plan so cables don't run behind them.

While you're at it, Nexans ENVIROLEX cable is PVC-free, and amber globes from BlockBlueLight or Baxter Blue suit bedrooms.

Measure before and after

Get a building biologist to check the plan at design or rough-in, and measure again at handover. The Australasian Society of Building Biologists has a directory, and Spectral Design covers the Sunshine Coast. Measuring first stops you paying to fix problems you don't have.