Phase 1: Planning the Electrical Wiring Layout
If you’re building a low-EMF home, everything starts with planning the electrical layout. It is also where you can save the most time, money, and frustration. Good planning lets you make smart decisions before the walls are closed, which means fewer costly changes later.
In this first part of the series, the focus is on the electrical layout: where panels should go, how far wiring should be kept from sleeping areas, and which materials can help reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). This walkthrough features Kevin Fortney of Fortney Electric, who worked closely on the home’s wiring, sharing the practical decisions that made this low-EMF design possible.
Start With the Main Panel and Subpanel Locations
One of the first and most important decisions in a low-EMF home is where to place the main service panel and any subpanels. According to Kevin, these should be kept out of areas where people spend the most time, especially bedrooms and other living spaces.
The ideal placement is where the utility power enters the property. The best option is to install the service equipment on a remote meter base mounted away from the house. That may mean placing it on a separate pole or mounting it on posts and a strut so it is completely detached from the building. Another strong option is to place the service equipment in a shop or outbuilding that is not frequently occupied.
If neither option is available, the next best choice is mounting it on the side of the house or in the garage, as far away from living spaces as possible. The reason is the smart meter, which can affect a surprisingly large area of the home. In this discussion, Kevin explains that the smart meter’s influence can extend up to about 30 feet, which is why distance matters so much.
If the meter must be attached directly to the home, careful placement becomes even more important. In that case, the goal is to keep it as far from bedrooms and primary living spaces as possible.
Why We Chose the Siemens PN Panel
When a subpanel is installed inside the house, the panel type matters. For this project, they chose a Siemens PN panel, which stands for Plug-On Neutral. This design was selected because it helps reduce magnetic fields inside the custom home.
The Siemens PN panel has neutral bars on both sides, along with ground bars attached to the panel. That layout allows the hot and neutral conductors from the same circuit to be landed as close together as possible. The closer they stay together, the smaller the magnetic field tends to be. If the panel design forces more separation between those conductors, the magnetic field becomes stronger.
That makes this panel style a practical choice for a low-EMF house, especially when it must be located indoors.
MC Cable vs. Romex
Another key choice in the planning phase is the wiring method. In this home, they used MC cable rather than Romex wherever possible.
The benefit of using an MC cable is that it has a metal sheath, and that metal shielding is grounded through the connectors bonded to the panel and boxes. This helps shield against the electric field. Kevin explains that shielding the electric field is different from reducing the magnetic field, but it is still an important part of the overall strategy.
With Romex, the electric field is always present because there is no metal shielding around the cable. With an MC cable, that shielding can significantly reduce electric-field exposure when the installation is done correctly.
However, Kevin also points out that magnetic fields still need to be managed through layout and planning, because electromagnetic fields are generated by current flow in conductors, regardless of whether you use MC cable or Romex.
Keep Wiring Away From Sleeping Areas
One of the most practical lessons from this project is the importance of keeping electrical wiring away from beds and other places where people spend long periods of time.
Kevin recommends keeping low-amperage circuits at least 6 feet away from sleeping areas. For high-amperage circuits—such as those serving ranges, dryers, and air conditioning equipment—he recommends about 12 feet. The reason is simple: higher amperage produces a stronger electromagnetic field.
In the bedroom areas of this home, the wiring layout was adjusted to protect the sleeping space. For example, circuits were routed vertically instead of horizontally where possible, helping keep wiring out of the wall area directly behind the bed. That reduces the chance of fields being concentrated near the headboard.
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Using a Kill Switch for Bedroom Circuits
Another smart feature in this house is the use of a kill switch for outlets and lights near the beds. At night, the homeowner can shut off power to those circuits, greatly reducing EMF exposure in the sleeping area.
Kevin notes that if you do not want to get out of bed to flip a switch, you can also use a timer or a smart switch, depending on the home’s needs. In this particular project, the house is designed to be Wi-Fi-free, so the chosen solution avoids introducing unnecessary wireless systems.
This kind of planning is exactly why the design phase matters so much in a low-EMF build. A simple decision early on can make a major difference in how the home performs later.
Testing and Bonding Every Box
For a low-EMF installation using MC cable, proper bonding is essential. Every metal box and armored cable connection needs to be bonded to ground so the shielding can do its job.
In this home, they checked every box using a continuity test. Kevin describes testing the ground screw to the cable sheathing to confirm that the metal path is bonded and connected. They even marked the boxes with tape after checking them, so nothing was missed.
This attention to detail ensures that the MC cable, metal boxes, and connectors work together as intended. Without proper bonding, you lose the shielding benefit.
Two-Story Homes Need Extra Electrical Planning
Low-EMF design becomes more complex in a two-story home because you also need to consider what is happening below the floor. Circuits feeding lights and outlets downstairs can generate electromagnetic fields that rise through the floor and into the rooms above.
In this project, the house was framed with deep floor trusses rather than shallow framing members, which provided more space to route wiring lower in the assembly. High-amperage wiring was run low in the trusses to keep it farther away from the finished floor above.
They also installed a 100-amp subfeed for a future shop and routed it in rigid conduit. Kevin explains that the rigid conduit helps shield the magnetic field more effectively than simply leaving it in an MC feeder. By keeping those larger feeds low and controlled, they reduced the chance of magnetic fields reaching into the occupied spaces above.
This is an important reminder that low-EMF design is not just about the walls around you. It also includes the floor below, the ceiling above, and the full three-dimensional space of the home.
Measuring With a Gauss Meter
To verify what is happening around the electrical panel, Kevin also recommends using a Gauss meter. As they approached the subpanel, the magnetic field increased significantly. Even without a heavy electrical load, the readings climbed as the meter moved closer to the panel.
This helped illustrate an important point: panels can create a meaningful field around them, and that is why placement matters so much. In this case, they were looking for ways to keep the subpanel well away from living and sleeping areas, ideally around 12 feet away whenever possible.
Building a Better Low-EMF Home Starts on Paper
The biggest takeaway from this first phase is that low-EMF home wiring is not something you “fix” at the end of the project. It has to be built into the design from the start.
That means carefully choosing where to place the main service panel, subpanel, smart meter, and remote meter base. It means selecting the right materials, like the Siemens PN Plug-On Neutral panel, MC cable, and rigid conduit, where needed. It means planning bedroom walls differently, keeping high-amperage circuits away from sleeping areas, and using features like a kill switch to reduce nighttime exposure.
When those decisions are made early, you can create a home that is not only functional but also thoughtfully designed to reduce exposure to electric and magnetic fields in the places that matter most.
Final Thoughts
If you are building a healthy home, a custom home, or even a healthy ADU, this kind of planning can make a major difference. And as this project shows, the right electrician and the right strategy can help you get there from day one.
Need further assistance for your own project? You can request a consultation with us. We have offices in Ramona, California, serving the San Diego County area, and Middleton, Idaho, serving the Boise Metro area. You can also explore our comprehensive collection of similar videos on our YouTube channel, The Real Property Show.
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