{
  "id": "questions:why-do-i-get-a-high-reading-with-everything-switched-off",
  "collection": "questions",
  "slug": "why-do-i-get-a-high-reading-with-everything-switched-off",
  "name": "Why is the reading high with everything switched off?",
  "summary": "Electric fields exist whenever wiring is energised, so unplug at the socket or fit a demand switch. A magnetic field that stays high everywhere indicates a net-current wiring fault.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "question": "Why does my meter still read high when everything is switched off?",
    "answer": "For an electric-field or body-voltage reading, this is expected: the field exists whenever a conductor is energised, regardless of whether current flows, so wiring in the wall behind the bed and a switched-off-but-plugged-in lamp both still produce it. Unplugging at the socket, or fitting a demand switch on the circuit, removes it — switching off at the appliance does not. If it is a magnetic-field reading that stays elevated everywhere and does not fall off with distance, suspect net current from a shared or crossed neutral, which is a wiring fault for an electrician rather than an EMF mitigation problem.",
    "cluster": "measurement",
    "aliases": [
      "high EMF reading everything off",
      "body voltage high with power off"
    ],
    "related": [
      "emitters:bedroom-wiring-electric-field",
      "glossary:net-current",
      "shielding:demand-switch"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "sbm-2024",
      "title": "Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)",
      "publisher": "Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN)",
      "url": "https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf",
      "year": 2024,
      "kind": "ngo",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "niehs-emf",
      "title": "Electric and Magnetic Fields",
      "publisher": "National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences",
      "url": "https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/questions/why-do-i-get-a-high-reading-with-everything-switched-off",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/questions/why-do-i-get-a-high-reading-with-everything-switched-off",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/questions/why-do-i-get-a-high-reading-with-everything-switched-off.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/questions"
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}