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Household appliances & electrical installations

  • Domestic household appliances and electrical installations generate low-frequency electric and magnetic fields.
  • Electric field strengths in the vicinity of household appliances are generally well below the reference values recommended by the EU.
  • Localised areas of high field strength only occur at the immediate surface of some appliances – such as various food processors or drills.
  • At a distance of 30 cm, the magnetic field of most appliances already falls well below the recommended reference level of 100 µT.

A woman drying her hair Hair dryer

Low-frequency electric and magnetic fields are also generated by household appliances and electrical installations in the home. In Germany, the safety of appliances is regulated in product standards based on the Product Safety Act. Insofar as these standards include an assessment of the possible health effects of the electric and magnetic fields, this is usually carried out based on the the recommendation of the Council of the European Union.

Electric field strengths in the vicinity of household appliances are generally well below the recommended reference value. Localised areas of high field strength only occur at the immediate surface of some appliances – such as various food processors or drills. As the field distribution is spatially very inhomogeneous, the peak values only occur at certain points. In general, the field strengths decrease with each centimetre of distance from the appliance.

The same is observed in relation to magnetic flux densities: at a working distance of around 30 cm, the magnetic flux densities of most household appliances have already fallen well below the recommended reference level. No health effects are to be expected if the reference level is complied with. The table below sets out representative magnetic flux density levels for household appliances at various distances.

Representative magnetic flux density levels for household appliances at various distances, measured in microtesla; working distances in bold.
appliancemagnetic flux density [µT]
(distance 3 cm)		magnetic flux density [µT]
(distance 30 cm)		magnetic flux density [µT]
(distance 1 m)
air cleanern/a2 to 5n/a
computer0,5 to 30less than 0,01n/a
cooker hood450,50,06
dishwasher3,5 to 200,6 to 30,07 to 0,3
drilling machine400 to 8002 to 3,50,08 to 0,02
electric mower1180n/a520 to 1013
electric grilln/a0,08k.A.
fridge0,5 to 1,70,01 to 0,25less than 0,01
hair dryer6 to 20000,01 to 70,01 to 0,3
induction cooktopn/a2 to 62,7
iron8 to 300,12 to 0,30,01 to 0,03
kitchen stove1 to 500,15 to 0,50,01 to 0,04
LCD monitor0,02 tos 0,810,050,01
microwave oven73 to 2004 to 80,25 to 0,6
night storage heatingn/an/a3 to 25
radio set16 to 561less than 0,01
razor (older model)15 to 15000,08 to 90,01 to 0,3
television (tube device)2,5 to 500,04 to 20,01 to 0,15
vacuum cleaner200 to 8002 to 200,13 to 2
ventilator n/a0,30,1
washing machine0,8 tos 500,15 to 30,01 to 0,15
water boiler (electric kettle)n/a0,240,01

At a distance of 30 cm, the magnetic field of most appliances already falls well below the recommended reference level of 100 µT.

Source (only available in German): Berichte der Strahlenschutzkommission, Heft 7, 1997 "Schutz vor niederfrequenten elektrischen und magnetischen Feldern der Energieversorgung und -anwendung"

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State of 2023.11.14

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