Energy field under ones head?

[Airwave503]

So with my restored AS, I have my AGM 300 Ah battery, pretty much directly under the head of my bunk. I'm separated from the battery and inverter by my mattress cushion and a 3/8th in sheet of plywood.

I know AGM's don't give off any fumes to worry about, but would any body be concerned about having the energy field so close to your head? Is that even a thing?

If so, would there be some metal sheet I could tack on to the underside of the plywood to give more protection?

[KelloggKid]

A battery in and of itself does not generate any type of field.

[GMFL]

Using those batteries excessively can cause a freeing of the mind. I would sleep over them as much as you can.

[sheriff1]

Using some wire coat hangers and some aluminum foil you can fashion some headgear that will protect you from the harmful EMF (electro magnetic field)

[DKB_SATX]

There's no way you can rationally spin this one up into an EMF nonsense non-problem. The battery is charged with DC, not AC. If you believe the EMF nonsense, the 120V shore power input has more of a field. So does your cell phone.

[SilverWind]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

There's no way you can rationally spin this one up into an EMF nonsense non-problem. The battery is charged with DC, not AC. If you believe the EMF nonsense, the 120V shore power input has more of a field. So does your cell phone.

You will believe what you want to believe.

[thiel]

If you believe in the EMF field stuff, you should acquaint yourself with the "inverse square" law of field magnitude. The TL;DR is that these fields are very strong when you are close to them, but dwindle to be almost non-existent very quickly... just like how you feel the pull of a magnet when its super close but then not at all when you're even just a little distance away from it.

[Foiled Again]

Of course you could try sleeping with your feet over the batteries and your head at the other end.

[dieppe9]

I think the only thing missing is a Flux Capacitor.
Should be an easy fix.

['55 Airlight]

Originally Posted by Airwave503

...I know AGM's don't give off any fumes to worry about, but would any body be concerned about having the energy field so close to your head? Is that even a thing?

If so, would there be some metal sheet I could tack on to the underside of the plywood to give more protection?

AGM batteries do not outgas under normal operation. However, if the charger malfunctions your AGM could outgas (hydrogen). <<Charging too quickly produces hydrogen at a rate faster than it can be absorbed into the glass mat. If this occurs long enough, pressure will build inside the battery, and could force the pressure relief valve to open.>>

Why not lithium? Initial cost is higher, but not only are longterm savings much greater than flooded cell or AGM batteries, lithium batteries hold and release more energy than conventional chemistry batteries.

Michael

[Airwave503]

Thanks guys for the peace of mind and the humor. It's actually my son's bunk and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't subjecting him to anything harmful.

Not sure exactly why I went AGM and not Lithium, but the battery has been great. When it dies I will consider Lithium.

[aswell]

Originally Posted by Airwave503

So with my restored AS, I have my AGM 300 Ah battery, pretty much directly under the head of my bunk. I'm separated from the battery and inverter by my mattress cushion and a 3/8th in sheet of plywood.

I know AGM's don't give off any fumes to worry about, but would any body be concerned about having the energy field so close to your head? Is that even a thing?

If so, would there be some metal sheet I could tack on to the underside of the plywood to give more protection?

It is a thing, actually. Surprised there haven't been more engineer types chiming in, as the AS crowd tend to be pretty well informed.

So, the DC power from the battery isn't so much of a concern, but AC can be an issue. Unless you have a Samlex or similar inverter that specifically states they are made to work in sensitive environments (hospitals, labs, etc.) chances are it's creating a large AC magnetic field. And unfortunately, there are studies linking AC magnetic fields to cancer.

The way to tell whether the levels your setup is generating is a cause for concern, is to get yourself a meter that measures such fields. I have a Trifield meter (analog) that tests AC magnetic fields, and an RF meter that measures fields associated with WiFi, cellular and Bluetooth frequencies. See the two attached pictures.

I spent 15 years designing and installing various types of electronics systems, and in the process, it seems I became overly sensitive. During that time I was a heavy cell phone user always being in the field, spending much time in electrical and mechanical closets and around various types of wireless equipment. Now, I get headaches and don't sleep well when near cell towers and strong RF fields like WiFi and Bluetooth. And, when in environments where the AC is generating strong magnetic fields, I don't feel well.

My awareness has grown over the years, as I went looking for answers to what I was experiencing. In the process I went from an early adopter and promoter of new wireless technologies to someone who actively avoids them, in order to feel well. It's definitely a thing.

However, you need to educate yourself, as there is reluctance to accept that many advances in technology are, with sufficient exposure, actually really bad for our health.

A few links for you to explore, if feel so inclined:
EMFs and Childhood Leukemia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1940086/

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON NON-IONIZING RADIATION (report): https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/publications/ICNIRPemfgdl.pdf

Building Biology Institute: https://buildingbiologyinstitute.org/

[aswell]

Originally Posted by Airwave503

If so, would there be some metal sheet I could tack on to the underside of the plywood to give more protection?

Also looked into this recently. I attempted to use sheet metal to shield the AC magnetic field generated by our permanently installed Progressive Industries surge protector, and it made minimal difference. The most effective shielding for blocking AC generated magnetic fields, based on my research, is something called MuMetal, and it's insanely expensive.

Lots of metals block RF to some degree, including aluminum, but AC magnetic fields are more challenging. If your inverter is creating a big magnetic field, your best option may be to relocate it.

From the factory our model of trailer had the breaker panel installed above the bed in the overhead cabinets, with the electrical entry point at the rear street side corner. We slept with our feet toward the rear, head pointed to the front, until I relocated the breaker to the closet, in the center of the trailer. I also installed a SmartPlug behind the kitchen counter, so the electrical entry point is also in the center, and intercepted all electrical circuits at that point extending to the closet. We now sleep much better, as the bedroom is free of AC generated magnetic fields.

We recently stayed at a resort in the Palm Springs area where we saw 2-3 milligauss in the trailer before even connecting electrical, it was radiating up from the ground and was over 5 milligauss standing outside. Apparently there was a high voltage electrical conduit under our site feeding transformers across the street.

We walked the park out of curiosity, and found that every site had at least 5 milligauss where the conduit crossed the site going from pedestal to pedestal. However, back by the solar field it was 30-40 milligauss in the street, which is over 10 times the supposedly safe limit. I don't know how people could stay in that part of the park without having constant headaches.

I had read that some power company supplied grid-tie solar inverters create a lot of dirty electricity, and assumed that was the reason, but when we explored a nearby park that also had a large solar field, at all sites we checked we were only seeing around 1.5 milligauss, even right across from the solar field.

Point is, when we plug in we bring whatever is going on outside into our trailer, so it's good to make the sleeping space as free from electrical equipment as possible...

Hope some of this helps.

[Airwave503]

Hi aswell,

Thanks so much for the thoughtful posts. So am I reading you right that the only concern might be when I am using the my inverter? (Which is a Samplex 1500 pure sign wave) The manual only has a bullet under the list of 'cautions' saying it's not been tested with medical equipment.

But I use the inverter very rarely and never while sleeping. Mostly we camp without shore power with our 2X 100W solar panels and limited generator use to run the microwave.

Thanks,
--Jason

[aswell]

Originally Posted by Airwave503

Hi aswell,

Thanks so much for the thoughtful posts. So am I reading you right that the only concern might be when I am using the my inverter? (Which is a Samplex 1500 pure sign wave) The manual only has a bullet under the list of 'cautions' saying it's not been tested with medical equipment.

But I use the inverter very rarely and never while sleeping. Mostly we camp without shore power with our 2X 100W solar panels and limited generator use to run the microwave.

Thanks,
--Jason

It seems the inverter would only generate an AC magnetic field when in use, but you might want to pick up a TriField meter to see for yourself. Some devices are always on and generating AC or RF fields, even when sitting idle.

[SilverWind]

Important information here. Thanks

[Jeeper]

Hmm, old microwave radio frequency engineer here. If non-ionizing radiation was dangerous, then I would have died 50 years ago already. Since electricity became widely available, the human life expectancy has increased enormously - you can draw your own conclusions from that.

As for the actual effect of non-ionizing radiation on the human body: It is mainly absorbed at the bone/meat interfaces and the resulting heat is carried away by your blood. Your brain is inside your skull for protection. The most dangerous source of radiation on the planet is the sun - 300 Watt per square meter outside your Airstream (Your cell phone is 5 Watt maximum). So if you are worried about radiation - stay inside.

Regarding the inverter under the bed: The hum from the electronics may be annoying, so putting the pillow at the other end of the bed would likely be preferred for peaceful sleep.

[ondaroadagin]

There is a much greater energy field to be concerned about...The Sun!

[wave man]

Still, a thought provoking idea... always are examples going both directions on the merits, or lack of, I suspect as we are able to collate more information things will become clear- one way or the other.

[aswell]

Ran across an architectural firm in Chicago that explored the topic, at the request of client. Some helpful and very well documented info on the subject, for future reference...

https://www.zokazola.com/emf_reduction.html