LIGHTING:

NOTE:
The below factors are all important considerations.
Time and resources have not permitted me to provide you with the details at this point. In the interim, consider the sub-headings as factors you can consider and research at will according to the relevancies mentioned on other pages of this site.

SUNLIGHT - windows:

FULL SPECTRUM FLUORESCENT:

INCANDESCENT LAMPS:

OIL LAMPS:

CANDLES:

ELECTRICAL:

ALTERNATING CURRENT:
The most popular form of consumer, commercial and industrial electrical consumption in the world is Alternating Current (AC). This is partly because it can be effectively transmitted long distances at high voltages. Near the destination, transformers step-down the voltage from thousands of volts to hundreds of volts and then further to between 115 and 120 volts AC.

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION is emitted by both transmission lines and housing circuits. This is a result of the frequency which AC fluctuates at --- usually 60 cycles per second. Incandescent alternating current lighting flickers at the rate of 60 flickers per second. For the non-sensitive person this flickering off and on goes unnoticed because of its rapid speed.

Hypersensitive persons may find such lighting stressful as their Life System detects these fluctuations and may present symptoms which suggest that it has been trying to activate and relax in cycle with the AC: tiredness, depression, distraction, irritability, headache. A person with such a hypersensitivity, and an actual awareness of the trigger, may choose to relax in a darkened rather than a lighted room. Using low voltage DC current is another alternative and is widely used in RVs (Recreational Vehicles), Motor Homes, and in some specialized residential wiring.

MOST SOCIAL GATHERINGS are conducted in lighted areas and many in the evening. A hypersensitive person may appear to others as anti-social because they often decline attending or they typically leave a party early, or, arrive at the last moment.

ALTERNATING CURRENT DEVICES --- refrigerators, blenders, ovens, ranges, toasters, mixers, fans, radios, and televisions may each contribute to the reactive symptoms of AC sensitivity. This can explain, although rarely, why some persons do not seem to be able to stay in or work in a kitchen. If you go camping, boating, or travelling by recreational vehicle and find that you are feeling better, more willing to participate socially and more comfortable to be cooking and around DC electric appliances, you may have identified a hypersensitivity to AC electricity.

DIRECT CURRENT:

Batteries and DC Current are often associated.
The electrical circuits you find in your car, boat or recreational vehicle and travel trailer will likely be 12-volt direct current systems. This is because batteries store and output direct current. Direct current is efficiently transported over short distances and adequate power can be provided at markedly lower voltages than when alternating current is used.

A LOWER INTENSITY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY is usually emitted from Direct Current transmission wires than AC --- partly because of the lower voltage. Information signals can easily be added to direct current which, because of its lack of frequency, can act as a baseline carrier wave. DC wiring systems for residential and commercial applications are available and can be utilized. For the hypersensitive or health conscious person, DC systems and the devices which are run by it can provide a health benefit due to the low level of electromagnetic radiation emission. Like most factors, people can become hypersensitive to this form of radiation also.

COPPER WIRING:
Electricity is conveyed from the utility service outside (street) stepdown transformer to your main fuse box. From there, cables containing connections to the two AC terminals and the building ground terminal are run and positioned throughout the house in circuits. Each circuit has an off/on main fuse or circuit breaker and is rated as safe to carry a certain maximum wattage of power dependent upon its metal type and diameter size of wire.

METAL COMPOSITION of utility cable wiring is usually either copper or aluminum. Both are good conductors and efficient transporters of electricity. When copper prices rose decades ago and costs were an increasing concern, aluminum wiring was introduced as a less costly alternative. Aluminum is less ductile (bendable) then copper and more brittle. A scratch across the surface of an aluminum wire can severely weaken it while little change is strength happens with the copper wire.

DURING THE INSTALLATION of devices such as duplex wall outlets, light switches, and wired-in appliances such as electric baseboard heaters --- a short length of the insulation on the end of the fresh wire must be removed. This exposes the bare wire and allows good contact with the appliance terminal and an effective flow of electrical energy. This stripping of the wire is usually done with a sharp knife-like tool which may or may not have a fixed opening to allow for the diameter of the wire. Relatively often, a small nick, scratch, or cut may be left on the edge of the wire.

ALUMINUM WIRE NICKING has proven critical with regard to safety. More than the minimum of crimping or bending of the wire during its connection to the appliance terminal can result in a crack which later can develop into a break. A fracture is worse than a break for it often conceals a problem which is potentially hazardous. Such a fracture can result in an overheating of the receptacle and connection as electricity arcs through the air across the small opening between the sides of the crack or between close, yet broken pieces. This has resulted in a number of house fires that were preventable save for cost-cutting and poor installation practices.

FUMES PRODUCED DURING THE SOLDERING PROCESS, or even hot building materials have proven to be toxic to hypersensitive persons. In some cases, the fumes from a hot arcing wire hours prior to a fire outbreak have been noticed by a hypersensitive person. Unaware of the direct cause, the hypersensitive person may be believed and a search made to find the break. More often, the hypersensitive person is ridiculed by less sensitive family members --- only to result in a fire outbreak hours or days later. Then the hypersensitive person may be blamed for putting a spell on the house, working magic against the fortunes of the family, or, jinxing the house by mentioning the possibility. This makes you wonder about the supposed intelligence level of humanity.

BEST ADVICE:
If you know that you are hypersensitive to this form of interaction, it is your responsibility to take the action to find the source. Ask if aluminum wiring was used in the construction. If not, consider another factor. If unknown, show a keen interest in finding out for the sake of curiosity.

Turn off the electricity to a specific circuit and remove a wallplate from a device on the circuit. The color of the wire connection ends will either be copper or aluminum in color. If copper, consider another factor. If aluminum, check these connections for nicks or cracks --- being careful not to add some. If the wiring for this device is OK, mention to your friend the potential problems with aluminum wiring.

Ask if they would like you to help them check the other connections. If not, leave it for them. You have fulfilled your moral responsibility by informing them. Friends assist. Abusive persons insist. Their house and their health is their responsibility.

ACCESS:
INSTALLATION STANDARDS are published by the electrical supply utility in most regions. These are adopted by local building permit regulators. While some standards must be strictly adhered to for the wiring to be sanctioned as acceptable and the construction of the building to proceed, others are provided as guidelines and minimums from which positive deviation can be made.

GUIDELINES may include the distance of switches from the floor, the number of duplex outlets within a room, and the height of outlets above the floor. For ease in turning switches on and off and plugging appliances in --- duplex receptacles can be raised to knee height and wall switches can be lowered to waist height. This is particularly beneficial for adults with chronic illnesses. Duplex receptacle height chosen may depend on furniture placement.

GOOD INTENTIONS lead to guidelines but you still must determine RELEVANCY. Utility service and government guidelines noted placement heights for wall switches high so that small children could not play with them. Suggested duplex receptacle heights were largely chosen so as to be above the floor (and wash water contact), above the baseboards (to preserve the baseboard wood intact), and as low as possible (so as to not break one's image of a clear wallspace). Safety should be a priority in health. Difficult access contributes to falls, twists and pinched nerves, and, aggravates some symptoms of illness.

THE USE OF 3-WAY and 4-WAY SWITCHES to provide more convenient switching of lighting and appliances can result in less waste of electrical energy and greater safety. Lights are often left turned on when not required because the switch is at the other end of the room or is on another level of the house. Lighting intended to be useful in theory can often become dangerous in reality. A stair light which only has a switch at the bottom of the stairs is an example.

A STAIRWAY LIGHT is most often required at night when it is dark.
Since the persons going upstairs may be going to sleep, they may not turn on the light when they now could benefit from it. They would have to come back down to turn it off. In the middle of the night, when the stair light could improve safety the most, the switch at the bottom of the stairs prevents access until the person has stumbled, fallen, or slowly and carefully made their way to the bottom. Planning and a little added initial cost can provide real advantages and better health.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Increasing the density of duplex outlets to twice the minimum allows for greater flexibility in the placement of furniture and the plugging in of devices.

2. The use of extension cords and multiple dividers can provide a greater opportunity for fire as well as acting as obstructions which persons may trip on and fall.

3. For persons with bending or movement difficulties, an outlet at counter height, or waist height behind beds, dressers, and tables --- can afford greater ease in plugging in and unplugging appliances.