Increased levels of electrical fields in buildings

In order to save energy and improve the performance, various electrical apparatus are equipped with power electronics. Normally power electronic equipment produce harmonics and high frequency noise. To handle noise emission, power electronic equipment uses EMC filters and are tested according to EMC standards. But the question is whether these tests are enough to avoid noise emissions in buildings? It has been shown, that electrical equipment distributes electrical fields inside a building using the PE wire. In order to avoid or limit electrical field it is necessary to find the sources and stop the distribution. The levels of electrical fields in the frequency range between 10 kHz and 30 MHz in office buildings and homes are rather unknown. One reason is lack of civil standards, another is lack of and difficulties in measurements.In this paper results from measurements of electrical fields in the frequency range between 10 kHz and 30 MHz at different locations is shown. An interesting result from these measurements is that the level of the electrical fields from a HF-fittings are approximately 10 times the level from video display units (VDU). This paper also shows a method to analyze sources of electrical fields.Godkänd; 2002; 20071207 (marlun