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Ethernet over power line (EOP) is getting the internet from your power points. It is often promoted as an alternative to classical wi-fi. Is there also a ‘health’ difference?
EOP or Powerline (also called PowerLAN) is no longer a new technology but it is still relatively unknown compared to the wi-fi wireless standard. At the time that EOP/Powerline was introduced, it battled with many teething problems such as instability and speed. This situation has now changed significantly. Speeds of more than 100 Mbps are possible and stability is usually no longer an issue.
As with radio, man had no initial concerns about radiation and with Powerline, probably even less because it’s ‘wired’ and thus assumed to be free of radiation. But what are the facts?
In the field, our geobiologists now bump into Powerline more often; this is internet coming from the power points. The assumption that it is radiation-free was usually made by our client/patient for the reason mentioned earlier. However, as part of the geobiological home investigation, the exposure levels to electromagnetic field radiation (EMR) in the living area and bedroom are recorded, and despite attempts to fix the high-frequency stressors in the examined spaces, it is not possible to locate the source of the radiation when Powerline is in place. Building biological measurement results show higher levels of high frequency waves inside the home compared with outside the home. An SSID (Service Set Identifier) of an existing wireless network is also not visible. All microvolt loads of EMF disappear after certain electrical circuits are shut down in the circuit breaker box/fuse box. The same thing happens to a wireless signal from a router when the power to the applicable power outlet is switched off. A quick check around the phone socket then gives us the answer to the situation—a Powerline adapter is plugged-in.
A brief overview of how EOP/Powerline functions
There are various technical terms for Ethernet over power line such as EOP, PowerLAN, Powerline, dLAN or PLC. With this technology, existing electrical wires are used to transfer data for an internal network (LAN) and Internet. Technically, Powerline makes a carrier frequency system which is implemented by means of plug-in adapters; of these adapters, there are always at least two pieces—a transmitter and a receiver.
Many manufacturers of EOP/Powerline
The transmitting adapter is connected via Ethernet cable to your Internet modem and/or network router and plugged into the power point. The PowerLAN transmitter adapter modulates the data signal in the high frequency range onto the electrical wiring and this is again demodulated by the receiving adapter. The main advantage is that no additional wiring is necessary, and also a higher speed of several 100 Mbps can be achieved. Up to 300 metres of cable can be supported with PowerLAN.
Effects of EOP/Powerline technology on people and health
If you choose a LAN and Internet network via Powerline, you are installing an internal network of permanent high-frequency radiation transmitters. Each electrical wire in the building is turned into a radio transmitter due to the high-frequency transmission going through it. To make this even clearer, when you look out of your window, can you see a cell phone transmission tower on a pole or roof? This is just one. With active Powerline, you have several of these in every room because each electrical wire is transformed into a radio transmitter.
Other technologies in the house can immediately refuse to work if they use the same frequency band. Amateur radio operators ‘curse’ this technology as PowerLAN turns out to be a massively disruptive signal on virtually all short wave bands, and it can even be installed in neighbouring homes to create this affect. The neighbours are affected by the installation, whether this is a separate single-family home or an adjoining apartment. And what about our health? Powerline/EOP intensifies the effects of radiation on humans significantly. Everywhere, in every room electrical wiring traveling through the walls with junction boxes spreading a web of wires. Without electricity, practically nothing works anymore. The electrical wiring itself already produces a substantial health burden of electricity from the 50 Hz AC which has a reach of 2 m into the room (220-240 volt house current). With PowerLAN now we receive an added continuous high-frequency load, which again undermines the entire electro-biology of people. Especially with regard to the ‘need for a regenerative sleep’, another killer factor is added against this very important function of physical regeneration.
Smart meter
Powerline and smart meters—they affect us all!
You could say it is ‘luck’ that most people see Powerline only as an alternative to WLAN/wi-fi. Powerline is only used when a WLAN system is not possible. WLAN is significantly weaker in terms of radiation than, for example, cell phones or mobile Internet. It can happen that there are areas in a home with poor wireless reception due to wall construction. Since the power cables are physically placed in the walls, this reception problem is theoretically solved with EOP/Powerline. Unfortunately though, the reception problem is replaced with a dramatically higher, high frequency load in the entire house or apartment.
If, however, the smart electricity and district heating meters (i.e. smart meters) are legally forced upon us, we can expect another avalanche of problems. Depending on its technical execution, the smart meter sends consumption data via mobile Internet, Powerline or via the existing DSL or CABLE alternative.
Based on unique studies, which have been confirmed by the High Court as legally valid, transmission via wireless networks is a questionable practice with regard to health effects. The same also applies to high-frequency data transmission over power lines. In the beginning, the providers often choose which transmission technology is offered to customers in terms of electricity and district heating services, but ultimately the customer can choose which equipment is installed.
What can I do? How can I protect myself?
By utilising circuit cut-off switches and technical shielding, one should be able to address these issues by effectively creating a Faraday cage effect. Reacquiring the ability to regenerate in the bedroom after protective measures are put in place is very likely achievable. However the quality of products used, as well as the approach, must get better each year as the health burden of radiation exposure continues to increase exponentially. And also, with the possible legalisation of the introduction of smart meters, the art of radiation protection must move forward.
A geobiological home investigation includes consultation about the results found that affect your health and how to best address these. You can read more about this in the following links, or call your local GEOVITAL office for more information.
LINKS
This is a very interesting article, but is has completely confused me.
I have a wifi router in my house, that needs to be switched on during the day (my family members use smartphones, and are not willing to give up wireless internet).
I do not use a smartphone. I only have a desktop pc. This desktop pc needs to be connected to the internet. I have 2 options:
1) Connect to the internet over the wifi network
2) Connect to the internet using powerline adapters
Which is better for my health, and will reduce my emf-exposure?
Hi Joe,
If your family members have reviewed the available research, realise WiFi (RF) is classified a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization and you as parents have decided it acceptable to take the risk, then of course it is your choice to leave WiFi active in the home.
In addition to the 2 options you raise, you can simply run data cables from your router to your office and avoid having a front row seat to the WiFi and Bluetooth transmitters in your computer. Cables can be hidden under floors, under carpets, taken up in walls and ran over the ceiling if possible. Faster, more secure and stable.
In terms of your question which of your two option is better for health.. it should be ‘which is less harmful to my health’, which will depend on how much your body absorbs and how you react to it, so that is hard to give any recommendations about. Maybe not all powerlan is as bad as what we have seen…
In all this, remember the bedroom and sleep time is the most important to get right. The average bedroom is terrible for sleep, starting with the wiring in the walls.
This is why a home assessment is so important and then taking action to get that sleep time perfect.
Apologies for the delay.
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Let me tell you this is definitely very useful information.
I am using Powerlines for a long time, as it was the easiest way I found to connect and injecting ethernet signal to some surveillance cameras I did fit in different places at my home
Wondering, is the EMF radiation you metnion here only applies to Wifi Powerlines or to Ethernet Powerlines as well ?
Also, since my powerlines are just connected to my cameras, and since they are IP cameras which only receive and send data when I use them to watching realtime video, do the Powerlines provide constant radiation even if are in idle ? Basically I have them configured to maximum power saving, and also scheduled to turn off wifi signal during the night.
Any idea Mr. Patrick van der Burght ?
Many thanks
Hi there,
Sorry for the delay. The carried signal send through the cables seems to make enough trouble without considering if data is moving around.
Good luck
Thank you SO much for this article. I literally had a powerline adapter in my hand ready to take home… it’s back on the shelf now. I just moved from a home that had very high EMF and RF… dirty electricity. We were right next to a tower, also had a smart meter. My Trifield meter would often spike in the bedroom, even with the power and router turned off! Thankfully, our new home has ZERO EMF in rooms I’ve measured. Problem is, we now have a WiFi router (which gets turned off at night) but it is upstairs and most of my devices are downstairs. There is no attic access at the moment. Are there any other options besides a powerline adapter? I’d like to hardline if possible. Thanks!
Hi there,
Sorry for the delay. There are no really better alternatives. Best to run cable, which is getting smaller and flatter and easier to hide.
Best to get rid of the WiFi during the day too of course…
We wanted to reduce our WIFI exposure so we opted for Powerline, which seemed to take the WIFI out of the air and through the power cables. We thought this would be more like an ethernet solution. Does your article mean that this is even worse than WIFI with one router in the house then?
Thanks for your feedback.
Kate
Its a totally different problem it ‘can’ create. WIfi is ‘RF’ radiation. The Powerlan makes dirty electricity and sometimes magnetic fields. Which is a nice evil? Hard to say. Should you use normal data cables instead? Absolutely. If you won’t do that, then at least turn all that stuff (powerlan or wifi) off at night. Its a pain, but you have to decide what you’re willing to put up with and how much risk you’re willing to take. – Best plan…. get an assessment by one of our people and know what you’re dealing with first. You house likely has many other sources of EMFs you should be working on to improve dramatically. Most homes do.
Good luck 🙂
Dear Geovitals I’m Rene from Texas, U.S. and I hope to come to Australia first chance I get to take Academy Training, In reference to Electro magnetic sensitivity from Hard wired routers, I noticed still dangerous levels within 3 feet of my router even with ethernet connection plugged in turning your computers Wi-Fi enabler off, in other words putting PC on airplane mode will reduce exposure when hardwired. Thank you Patrick and others, Rene.
Need to disable the Wifi on the Router as well as the computer – The Router can have two wifi’s to switch off – (home and public (when your out you can tap into your wifi)).
Better to Wire Up all TV and Internet Connections
I experienced the Powerline and Wireless – I notice I feel these things when in the building, so better get the TV Company to wire up properly rather than taking short cuts with Powerline (HF Radiation), Also I know that anybody with a 4G Phone, better to not use at a dinner party as it can destroy all the other guests while showing videos or music, rather insist guests have phones on Airplane Mode before arriving for a dinner party. – Also disabled bluetooth. Observations that cars may have bluetooth built into sound system and sat nav – learning how to disable the Wireless Functions would make a difference to the quality of your driving experiences
Hi, I have just bought an EMF meter and I was shocked at the electric field around the powerLAN adapter, even at a distance >1m. Unfortunately, the meter does not tell the frequency. I have heard that the waves in the wires have a frequency of roughly 10Mh; on the other hand, the meter is supposed to work from 50Mh to 3.5Gh. Does anybody know what is the frequency of the EMF around the adapter? Thanks!
Hi
What is the safe distance between the a TP-link PA4010PKIT power adapter and the person at the workstation that connects to it?
Thank you
A Ben
Hi, thanks for asking.
Wi-Fi has of course been linked to be a burden to health already by various research and experiences of people, so its always best to go to wired. These power adaptors in general have shown us large magnetic fields around them, the levels of which government would say is not a problem, but many others feel differently about it. You’d have to assess the magnetic fields with the likes of a Trifield meter (TF2 for example as a nice amateur meter) to gain insights into your exposure. >0.3mG is ideal in the bedroom. 1.0mG is where the bad news starts, 1.6mG double the chances of sperm abnormalities and form 2mG concer studies start weighing in. You should measure what your exposure is. Then you know. If desired, we may have a consultant or affiliate near you that can do an office assessment.
Good luck.
Hi
I am trying to choose between two options with my 50mb internet,
My workstation is located less than 20 meters from the modem, but due to the house structure it is not possible to connect a direct ethernet cable
1) I connect via WIFI 2.5 ghz or 5 ghz (airport extreme bridged to modem about 10 meters from workstation, getting 47mb DL)
2) I connect via TP-link powerline PA4010PKIT 500mb (which gives me about 43mb which as you see is actually a slower speed then the 5ghz)
I’m sitting most of the day infront of this workstation (with my mobile phone next to me connected to the WIFI)
Which of the two options is better for my health?
Thank you!
A Ben
Impossible to say. The transmitting back to the wall unit is likely more of a stress than the actual adaptors in this case. You’d have to measure your exposure, but then still the question remains… are you really much better of with less exposure or it still a stressor. Perhaps you can run a cable under the floor or through the ceiling? Good luck.
This information is GREAT! Now I am wondering about the effect of having Internet running through the Cable line. Is this bad too? Is it just as if it were going through the electrical wires? My understanding is that Cable wire is not shielded.
We have just eliminated our wifi and are now hard wired. Do I need to take this a step further? Thank you for your help!
Thanks for the comment. Hard wired is great and no need to go further on that subject. We find electric fields from the wiring inside the walls a big issue in most bedrooms, but you need a consultant to investigate that with you properly. We’re here to help should you need us. – Patrick
Been suffering 2 years in my 14 by 70 mobil home in the country with no factories around but 2 cell towers and a 1700 foot radio tower 5 miles away but we are high up so we are level with top of their antenna. I have the cornet88 electrosmog meter and no readings on rf mode but on the lf30 mode it runs between .05 and .20 with the high reading on the floor on where the beams would run under the mobil home and then lessens away from the beams. The springs in the couch read about .12 and can feel burning sensation on back of my legs when sitting down. most rooms are .07. our skin feels stingy nausau dizzy twitching walking off balance. Always hearing a rumbling noise and feeling vibration from floor. sometimes feel it in the ground outside. electricians checked everything and cant find nothing and our power company cant find nothing on outside lines and they checked magnetic field from under lines. I am exhausted I do not know what I have going on and or how to shield against it. green mold on our trees. couple trees died out from bottom first and then upwards. cant grow anything. grass smells like linament when you cut it.. If I don’t find an answer soon I don’t think I am going to make it. av
Hi Lily,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Electric fields are often a problem when the wiring is within 2m/6ft from especially a sleeping environment. Remember the bed is the place that has to be perfect. Most EMF meters measure the air for electric fields and RF radiation. We have not found this very useful in low levels of this radiation and found a body assessment for electric fields and RF to be far more reliable to judge if mitigation is needed. I would suggest a Geovital consultant or affiliate to come and assess your home our way. Also, with the issues you identified in the surrounding area… I couldn’t help wonder if Geopathic Stress may have a lot to answer for too. Consultants with a profile on our website have that ability to assess for that too. Check on this page: https://en.geovital.com/consultations-in-your-area/ . or contact us via the quick question form down the very bottom and we can see if anyone is travelling to your area anytime soon.
Good luck.
Just don’t use powerline and everything will be good. Cause you’ll piss of your local radio amateur if you use them XD
Cause it causes so much electric smog that you disturb his frequency bands.
Technologies such as powerline works in the exact same way as coaxial/cable tv hfc technology. It runs a radio frequency over that wire to a peer device to create a circuit.
This is vastly different from your standard normal computer cabling. Your normal ethernet cable does not use RF over the copper, it uses small pulses or electical signals. Fiber optics for example use neither, it pulses light so you get the best of all worlds.
So in summary, the powerline adapters creates an RF circut over your house electrical wiring hence the RF smog. Unfortunately this will propagate throught your entire electrical circuit that the powerline device needs to traverse.
The more powerful your powerline (high speed circuit) the stronger the RF signal over the wire, the more smog.
Dan
I purchased a telephone pouch to keep my mobile phone shielded (I worked in telecom’s back in 2000, I know how dangerous they are) whilst searching for larger sheets of shielded material I came across your site. Can you please provide details of your locations in the UK (Scotland) do you have agents in Scotland.?
Do you have a price list on your emf shielded sheeting.?
Thank you..
Ian
Hello. I am interested alot in the subject but unless i see some real evidence it just appears to me some thoughts (which are very usefull when doing brainstorming). I would like to replace my wi-fi with powerlines due to the radiation that wifi creates. Therefore I question myself whether this extra burden can be quantified and if yes what does it mean to us? Why the radiation emmited from the classic LAN wiring you suggest is less than the powerline? Is it quatifiable? I understand that it is something new, so i do not know if there is any research out there on this subject.
Thanks for your article. Looking forward to reading your reply.
Hello Konstantinos, thanks for the question.
We do a lot of home assessments the world over and so we see what items produce radiation and then more interestingly see that people start feeling better when these sources and others have been removed. The Powerlan was something unexpected. You are right, why would you expect it to produces all this radiation? It seems a simple enough concept, right? Well, practical experience measuring radiation in homes of patients of ours has shown this technology to be a problem many times. Does that mean every single Powerlan system is like that? We cannot know this, because we tend to mostly go to homes where people have health issues, but most homes that do have powerlan (all that I have personally seen) had this radiation. One could also expect it to contribute to dirty electricity, but that is another thought process.
Measuring with a sensitive low frequency gauss meter shows it most of the time.
People look to us for information about radiation and we can share our practical experience to some extend. Many take this to heart, based on what it is; observation.
We have intentions to make a little video showing this radiation, because we do get the occasional question on this post/topic, but we are run of our feet helping people, so finding the time is tricky.
There are other technologies that we can see negative effects from like many Solar Panels, Inverters, electric cars, most energy saver light bulbs, smart meters, wireless devices strapped to the skin to monitor your health, toys with Wifi, the list goes on.
In terms of a home, or your home; The normal blue data cables don’t seem to be any problem, so I would encourage anyone to wire their home, office or school with those. Put your modem somewhere central in the home (Wifi off of course), attach a ‘switch’ so you can connect many blue data cables and run them to every room and every device you need internet for. If you really get stuck with certain device needing Wifi, you can always switch the Wifi on for a short time and turn it off after.
I hope this helps you a little.
You could take a chance that our past experience would not be the same in your home when implement a particular Powerlan product. Maybe you would be an exception.
I’d go for the blue data cables though… anytime.
Hi.
I have been measuring the EMF close to a wifi router, obtaining fields of about 3 mW/m2.
In the case of the PLC, I can’t measure it, because the background noise is higher. And in any case I have reached more than about 10 microwatts/m2.
So it seems that the first comment is right, the quantity of radiation seems in PLC about 100 times less.
I would be interested in seeing some real data measurements in your article. I can spend max 30 seconds next to a cellphone doing a call before experiencing pain. I can spend up to 5 minutes next to WIFI laptop uploading video before experiencing same level of pain as cellphone. I can spend up to 2-3 hours easily next to a laptop receiving video over WIFI (watching a movie) and I can spend all day without any problem being right next to a Powerline ethernet plug with heavy data running through it all day. From what my body tells me Powerline ethernet is more than 100 safer than WIFI.
Dear Francios, thank you for your comment.
The experiencing of ‘immediate’ symptoms vs not experiencing ‘immediate’ symptoms gives now assurances that a long-term effect is not developing. There is much research linking the levels of EMR we find near many of these PowerLAN systems with affects on Melatonin’s anti-cancer action, mortality rate increases amongst children with leukemia, sperm abnormalities and so much more. How this exposure might express itself in an individual can’t be predicted. However, as we work with patients, we find the presence of these systems and the often found levels of EMR unacceptable when one is trying to maximize the bodies abilities to restore health, and so it is a logical precaution to stay clear of this technology when trying the create environments that are less stressful to the body.
Our recommendation to anyone would be to simply return to a wired system. Using the blue data cables so to speak. There is no issues with the use of an internet connection this way and no significant radiation exposure to worry about. Hope this gives you more insight.
I am exactly like you Francois. I can handle EMF about the same as you. Recently, I am getting head numbing from power line ethernet plug. I was searching for EMF from powerline ethernet and found this site. I measured the EMF from powerline and I am very surprised. It produced similar to what cellphone LTE produces. The weaker and cheaper power line adapter actually produced significantly less EMF, so I am going to use that. I am actually also surprised that by putting the strong power line adapter in another room actually produce EMF in my room. So I believe, like Patrick said, we need to go ethernet cable. I am going to look for ways to remove my power line adapters.