Many of us have heard the old words of warning; don’t stand near the microwave, or don’t put your phone near your ear – but how many of us actually take note? And is there really a danger? If so, what can we do to protect ourselves from devices we’ve come to rely on in our day-to-day lives?

RYVE is an Audio Visual and IT Company that is conscious of the effects caused by electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and strives to balance modern day living with safety.

A RYVE team member recently met with Engineer and Environmental Remediation Consultant, Cyril Bourke, who is an expert when it comes to problems around the home involving electromagnetic fields, radio fields, microwaves and disturbances. Cyril explains how these fields can affect the body, and what we as individuals, and as a company, can do to limit our exposure – scroll to the bottom of this article to watch the full video (47 minutes), or click the button below for a shorter version (just under 5 minutes) Short Interview – Are EMF’s Dangerous?

What is EMF?

EMF stands for electromagnetic field(also EMF or EM field);  a physical field produced by electrically charged objects, these fields can be natural or man-made.

Natural electromagnetic fields are present everywhere in our environment, but are invisible to the human eye. They are the electric fields produced by the local build-up of electric charges in the atmosphere, often associated with thunderstorms. There are also natural magnetic fields; the Earth’s magnetic field causes a compass needle to orient in a North-South direction and is used by birds and fish for navigation.

Manmade electromagnetic fields come from any electrically charged device, including all technology- and as technology has progressed into our daily lives, our exposure to EMF has been increasing.

There has been public concern over our health and EMF for quite some time, often expressed in the media and by many different organisations. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests, “Everyone is exposed to a complex mix of weak electric and magnetic fields, both at home and at work … Experiments with healthy volunteers indicate that short-term exposure at the levels present in the environment or in the home do not cause any apparent detrimental effects.”

Yet while the WHO claims the level of this exposure is safe, many other organisations suggest the level is not in fact good for us. Cyril Bourke an Environmental Remediation Consultants that says, “Uncontrolled exposure to electromagnetic fields, radio fields and magnetic fields are not healthy for us.” The debate continues, although more and more people and business are becoming concerned about EMF.

How do EMF’s affect us?

Cyril says the electromagnetic fields evident around the house from our modern electrical devices are harmful. Devices such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and even our electricity supply has an effect on our body and general wellbeing.

Studies suggest these devices can have an impact on sleep quality, chronic fatigue and many other ‘mystery illnesses’ that people suffer from. Cyril cites studies that show even at low levels, genes (our DNA) stop expressing; the mitochondria changes, meaning  the DNA of our cells start changing. Devices we use for modern day living can interfere with the natural electrical fields of our bodies, and as a result they start failing. Cyril says many modern day behaviours with technology, affects the natural fields of our bodies, like sleeping with our smartphones right next to our beds, makes for trouble sleeping. When our body has too much exposure to EMF, our bodies can actually stop producing melatonin – a hormone produced while we snooze that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. Watch the full interview with Cyril on EMF safety to learn more.

What can be done to reduce exposure to EMF’s?

Before you start throwing out your smartphone, smart TV and smart fridge – there are simple things we can do to make an impact on our surroundings. As a society, we have become somewhat reliant on modern technology to run our homes and businesses, so it’s definitely not a case of getting rid of these devices, but being aware on how we use them in order to limit our exposure to EMF.

Cyril suggests the way people use technology can be vastly improved. A common example is many homes keep their Wi-Fi on 24 hours a day, whereas switching it off between 11pm and 7am can make a significant impact. In fact,Cyril believes something as simple as flicking off the power switch to your Wi-Fi could have a vast impact on energy levels for everyone sleeping in the house.

Other healthier habits include:

• Filters
• Limiting Wi-Fi
• Limiting Bluetooth
• ‘Shielding’ your house – using coated copper in walls
• Using special paints to shield walls of homes – particularly sleeping zones
• Using hardwired technology – running cables through your house over using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wherever possible.

How can we help?

At RYVE, we pride ourselves on being an environmentally conscious company. After learning from Cyril and discovering the possible effects on EMF on the body, we would like to assist customers with ways to live and operate in a healthy home and business environment.

To help reduce exposure to EMF’s RYVE has the following suggestions

• For existing Wi-Fi customers using our managed cloud service, we are offering complimentary scheduling in your home or business for your Wi-Fi to be switched off/on at a time of your choosing, every night. Contact us for more information.
• We now sell a range of filters and other EMF protection products available through our online store to help reduce your exposure to EMF’s. We will be updating the range all the time.
• As always we will continue offering our customers the option to hardwire their homes in combination with Wi-Fi for new builds
• We encourage people to get their houses and businesses checked with Cyril should they have any further concerns, email your location to admin@healthexpressworld.com and you will be connected with your nearest consultant.
• We encourage people to learn more about EMF from Health Express World.

As a progressive company, we take a healthy approach to electromagnetic fields very seriously, and look forward to supporting our clients in enjoying a safe digital environment. Watch the full video.

To learn more about EMF, view the video below and discover:

• Are mobile phones more damaging than Wi-Fi?
• How EMF affect different people
• What can we do today to minimise EMF around the house?
• Should you listen to your mother and not stand near a microwave?

For Further information on Cyril Bourke visit his website – Health Express World or stay connected or connect via their Facebook Page.

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1. Efficiency 
With one touch of a button or a mobile phone application, you can have control over numerous gadgets or systems. With the help of the smart device (mobile or tablet), you are able to operate your heating and cooling, as well turn on and turn off lights with a single click from anywhere in your house. This is not just efficient, but also helps to save on utility bills.

2. Security
Small crimes are becoming common in this era, and everyone wants to make their home (and the people within it) secure. Smart homes will allow you to make your home safe through alarms and CCTV, often allowing you to monitor the security very easily through your smartphone.

3. Comfort
Smart homes make your life comfortable; you do not have to move all over the house to perform various tasks, particularly great if you have a big house!

4. Peace of mind
A smart home is also a major way to give peace of mind; you
can utilize the smart device to check the doors, windows, water spill sensors and ensure you’ve locked your house! Rest assured, you can also check that your garage door is properly shut through an application. You do not have to worry about whether or not you locked up correctly, just log onto your smart device and check.

5. Customisation
Smart homes allow you to have appliances and technologies to work however you would like to have them.  Enjoy the heating turning on an hour before you get out of bed in the morning, have the shades drawn automatically at a certain time, or adjust the brightness of lighting whenever you want.

If these sound like great reasons to invest in a smart home, contact the RYVE team today for a quote, we are able to help you with a customised design to suit your best lifestyle. For more information check out our smart home page, download our pre-wire
checklist or give the team a call today.

The Ryve team are audiovisual and antenna installation and repair professionals who service all of Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria. Since 2002, Ryve have been installing home theatre systems, CCTV, home security, lighting, networking and internet, Wi-Fi, antennas, pre-wiring of homes and installation of audio/visual equipment. In recent years the team have become leading experts in home automation and pre-wire across Melbourne and southeastern suburbs including Ringwood, Croydon, Ferntree Gully, Glen Waverley, Box Hill, Oakleigh, Mount Waverley, Clayton and more. Contact us today to help you with all your audio visual and antenna needs.

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Essentially a smart home is a residence that uses internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting and heating. This can also be called ‘home automation’.

Essentially it provides homeowners security, comfort, convenience and energy efficiency by allowing them to control their environment by using your phone or tablet. As part of the internet of things (IoT), smart home systems and devices operate together, automating actions based on the controller’s preferences.

Examples of smart home technologies

Nearly every aspect of life where technology has entered
the domestic space (lightbulbs, dishwashers and so on) has seen the introduction of a smart home alternative:

• Smart TVs connect to the internet to stream content through applications, such as on-demand video and music. Some smart TVs also include voice or gesture recognition.
• Smart lighting systems can detect when occupants are in the room and adjust lighting as needed.
• Smart thermostats come with integrated Wi-Fi, allowing homeowners to schedule and remotely control home temperatures. These devices also learn homeowners’ behaviors and automatically modify settings to provide residents with maximum comfort and efficiency, and that’s
  smart. Smart thermostats can also report energy use and remind users to change filters and other updates.
• Using smart locks and garage-door openers, users can grant or deny access to visitors. Smart locks can also detect when residents are near and unlock the doors for them.
• With smart security cameras, homeowners can monitor their homes when they are away. Motion sensors are able to identify the difference between residents, visitors, pets and burglars, and can notify authorities if suspicious behaviour is detected.
• Pet care can be automated with connected feeders. Houseplants and lawns can be watered by way of connected timers.
• Kitchen appliances of all sorts (including smart coffee makers that can brew you a fresh cup as soon as your alarm goes off!), and smart refrigerators (keep track of expiration dates, make shopping lists or even create recipes based on ingredients currently on hand) are becoming very popular. Then there’s slow cookers and toasters; and, in the laundry room, washing machines and dryers ect.
• Household system monitors may, for example, sense an electric surge and turn off appliances or sense water failures or freezing pipes and turn off the water so there isn’t a flood or damage to your home.

The above are just some examples of some smart home appliances, and from this list you can imagine the comfort and convenience of living in a smart home. Contact the Ryve team today to explore how we may help you live in a smart home, or check out our smart homepage for more information.

The Ryve team are audiovisual and antenna installation and repair professionals who service all of Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria. Since 2002, Ryve have been installing home theatre systems, CCTV, home security, lighting, networking and internet, Wi-Fi, antennas, pre-wiring of homes and installation of audio/visual equipment. In recent years the team have become leading experts in home automation and pre-wire across Melbourne and southeastern suburbs including Ringwood, Croydon, Ferntree Gully, Glen Waverley, Box Hill and more. Contact us today to help you with all your audio visual and antenna needs.

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Often when people think of a ‘smart home’, they think of a ‘connected home’, ‘smart house’, ‘intelligent house’ or possibly, the ‘internet of things’. The term ‘smart home’ refers to a home that uses the latest technologies to control or automate devices around the house.  Essentially a network is created within the house, and the devices talk to a central control system using that network.

Smart homes have a lot of thought put into the design of the build, particularly during the early stages of development. The process of designing the cabling for a new home to make it a smart home is called ‘pre-wiring’. The pre-build design process ensures the right pre-wiring is laid down during the build, to support the optimal use of technologies that will be used in the house.

It is possible to make an existing house a ‘smart home’, although different (and mostly wireless) technologies need to be used.  For the optimal use of technology, it is best to ensure your house is pre-wired during the build.

Why would you want a smart home?
There are practical reasons why people are opting to invest in smart homes:

Security– Using sensors and communication technologies, homes can be constantly monitored from your mobile device.

Convenience– Smart homes can help to simplify complex tasks, or to automate them completely; like the climate, lighting and temperature. Smart homes can control when to turn things on and off, to suit your lifestyle and energy needs, making energy use most efficient.

Smart homes – How do they work?

We’ve mentioned most smart homes work by ensuring pre-wiring is done during the build, but if you want to make an existing building smart, it’s possible to do ‘smart wiring’ to a house, to allow different parts of the house to communicate with a central control system.

This central control system can be operated by your mobile device. Timers, switches and sensors are used to determine when and how different automated systems should work, and different ‘scenes’ and events can be created to set different controls for different scenarios. This flexibility and control is why they’re considered ‘smart’ homes.

For example, when you come home, a sensor can detect that you’ve arrived and switch on certain lights, deactivate various security measures, and warm up the living room. When you’re going to bed, it may activate security sensors, draw all the curtains and turn off lights and appliances.

As you can imagine, this can make for comfortable living. Designing your smart home is specific to your lifestyle and needs, and your daily routine. You may want the heater to turn on one hour before waking, or an hour before you arrive home, and you can control this at any time from your mobile or tablet.

So every smart home is different pending your needs, what matters is the extent of how the technologies and controls improve your home and how easily this is done for you.

Technology is meant to enable and empower us, not add to frustrations or be obtrusive to daily living. It’s important the aspects of your smart home are designed and set up in a way for you to enjoy maximum control and ease of their operation.

How much does a smart home cost?

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to smart homes, pending the state of your house (existing house or pre-build?) and your current lifestyle needs (do you need security alarms?) can we then start to assess a cost of a smart home. Call the RYVE team today to get a custom quote, or check out our smart home wiring page for more information. Our team can advise you on what kind of system will best suit your needs, and they can also help to ensure that it’s installed in the most efficient and cost effective way.

The RYVE team are audiovisual and antenna installation and repair professionals who service all of Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria. Since 2002, Ryve have been installing home theatre systems, CCTV, home security, lighting, networking and internet, Wi-Fi, antennas, pre-wiring of homes and installation of audio/visual equipment. In recent years the team have become leading experts in home automation and pre-wire across Melbourne and southeastern suburbs including Ringwood, Croydon, Ferntree Gully, Glen Waverley, Box Hill and more. Contact us today to help you with all your audio visual and antenna needs.

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