What are the Best EMF Shielding Fabrics/Materials?
EMF shielding materials and fabrics can be a very effective solution to reduce the electromagnetic pollution in your home. This type of solution includes specialty shielding fabrics, sheets of metal and RF blocking paint. When installed properly, you will often see a 99.9% or 30 dB reduction in field strength. However, you always want to have a coherent strategy before implementing any EMF shielding solutions.
How to Install EMF Shielding Materials
The first step to installing EMF shielding materials is to measure the four types of fields in your home. You can then consult with a competent EMF professional to map out a shielding strategy. We can do this remotely if you have quality EMF meters or I can recommend a competent local EMF consultant. Once the shielding materials are in place, you will test your environment again to make sure the fields have been reduced as expected and that new EMF exposures have not been inadvertently created.
It is also important to realize that each type of frequency requires different EMF shielding solutions. For instance, electric fields are shielded with different materials than magnetic fields. Radio Frequency also requires different types of solutions. The reason for this is the complex nature of each type of field and the wavelength. There is a whole science to properly testing and implementing EMF shielding solutions, which is detailed in this book.
The following are the EMF shielding materials and solutions that I recommend to my clients. You will find them organized by the type of electromagnetic field that may be affecting your home:
- Radio Frequency Radiation
- AC Magnetic Fields
- AC Electric Fields
When it comes to EMI or Dirty Power, both RF and Electric Field shielding materials can reduce the exposure levels. This is particularly true if the material is properly grounded. However, EMI is best solved by eliminating the source, which is often easy to do with an AM radio. You can always contact me to learn more about this process.
Radio Frequency Shielding Fabrics:
1.) The Ripstop Silver Fabric works really well for shielding Wi-Fi routers and other microwave transmitters. I like to use fabrics like this to put over Wi-Fi transmitters if they are within the modem and cannot be disabled. At nearly 60 dB, this EMF shielding fabric will block approximately 99.9% of the microwave radiation. It also reduces electric fields (not magnetic fields though). For WiFi routers, you can also use the Router Guard, Signal Tamer or Wave Cage.
2.) For excellent reduction of microwave radiation, the Swiss Shield Naturell Fabric is ideal. You can make your own bed canopy, tent, curtains or wall shield with this EMF shielding material. This fabric is made in Switzerland and shields to 40 dB (approximately 99.99% reduction in RF). The Naturell fabric is primarily made of organic cotton that is interwoven with silver coated copper wires.
A less expensive, more breathable version with less shielding capability is the Swiss Shield Daylite Fabric. You can also get the new Swiss Shield Evo-Ultra fabric, which is groundable to reduce electric fields, and the Naturell Fabric through Safe Living Technologies. You will get a 10% discount with Safe Living Technologies by using my coupon code of EMFA at checkout.
Note: This new microwave absorbing material is something that you might consider adding to your shielding project.
3.) Windows are often where the most RF gets into a room or building. Some of the better window screening solutions are RadioClear and Signal Protect. Both are very transparent and have high shielding ability. The easiest window solution to implement is ScotchTint because it has adhesive and comes in a wider roll. It provides less RF shielding than the other two options though.
Gila Privacy Mirrored Window Film as provides RF reduction, as seen in this video. If you have a high RF environment because of antennas outside of your home/building, you may want to also hang some sheets of the Swiss Shield Naturell Fabric I list above. Finally, some newer apartment buildings feature Low-E Glass that greatly reduces radio frequency radiation from entering your home. You can install this type of window if you are doing a remodel or new build.
4.) Y-Shield Paint is a popular option for RF and electric field reduction. This can be used when a bed canopy is not a suitable option for you. The paint does need to be properly grounded, which you can do with this kit. You can go with either LessEMF or Safe Living Technologies for your radio frequency reducing paint project.
Magnetic Field Shielding Metals:
5.) Magnetic fields are typically caused by wiring errors in a home. Most homes have 2-3 wiring errors (see this excellent book). Magnetic fields are very important to fix as they are likely the most harmful to your health. If you find that you have high magnetic fields (over 0.5 milliGauss) in your sleeping area from your home wiring, you can have an electrician check your wiring for errors and/or you can use this GIRON Shielding material.
GIRON is also available here from Safe Living Technologies and you get a 10% discount with my code EMFA. You can find this material by going to a metal supply shop and asking for Grain oriented electrical steel (GOES). GIRON is strips of GOES in opposite directions.
If the magnetic fields are coming from outside your home (from local power lines for example), it can be quite cost prohibitive to shield and you may only be able to reduce the fields by 50% unless you completely surround the area with multiple layers of shielding material. This is why moving is often best if there is a large magnetic field in your neighborhood.
GIRON Magnetic Field Shielding
Electric Field Shielding Materials:
6.) The Ex-Static Fabric is excellent at reducing electric fields. Electric fields will diminish the quality of your sleep. You can reduce these fields by turning off the circuit breakers in your home at night. However, some people need additional shielding beyond turning off the breakers. Purchase enough of this fabric so it hangs down the front and back of your bed (under your mattress). Then ground it to the ground outside.
7.) Copper wire mesh can be useful for electrical field reduction and RF shielding. An electrician should use twisted electrical wiring inside a solid steel conduit when a home owner is sensitive to electrical fields. Additionally, or as an alternative, you can wrap the electrical wiring in this copper wire mesh to make the best EMF shielding fabric. Be sure to make a full enclosure around the electrical wiring and then ground it. This material also makes the best Faraday Cage.
Copper Wire Mesh
8.) If you are building a new structure and know that there are nearby microwave sources (such as a neighbor’s WiFi or local cell towers), you may want to consider putting an aluminum mesh in the walls during construction (this is a less expensive option than the copper mesh above). This will reduce the RF by 40 dB (10,000 times reduction) if installed in a way where there are no leaks. When grounded properly, this product will also reduce AC electric fields in your new home.
For further RF reduction, you can use the mesh in conjunction with aluminum foil. Note that the foils is a vapor barrier as well which you may or may not require. It needs to be placed in the correct position for their region. In the north you place it on the inside of the insulation, and cover it with drywall. Down south it would be the opposite. Verify with a local builder.
9.) AL60 Wall Shield is a very effective material for reducing RF and electric fields. It is also very cost effective for its shielding capability (60 dB at 2.0 GHz). For a project where you want to shield the inside wall of a wireless smart meter (where there is no opt-out), this is a material to use. At this price, you can even double up the material for better shielding. Shield an area that is approximately 8′ by 8′ on the inside wall and put a Smart Meter Guard over the wireless smart meter. You can also put 1 mm thick aluminum foil on the entire inside wall from the smart meter and an even thicker 4′ x 4′ aluminum sheet (see your local hardware store) directly behind the pulsing meter.
10.) For electric field shielding projects such as tubing for CPAP machines or electrical cables for lamps, this ESD Static Fabric is a good option. It will need to be properly grounded. ElectraHealth also has a new product out called Safe Wrap that is perfect for shielding electrical cables.
I hope this page has helped you to better understand the complex topic of EMF shielding. If you have any questions or would like to be connected to a local EMF consultant that can assist with your shielding project, please send me a message.
Jeromy
Updated June 2023
Disclosure: EMF Analysis is partly supported by a small commission for purchases made through some product links on this page. This income enables me to continue to research and write about this important topic. Thank you for supporting my work.