# Net current (wiring error)

> When the current flowing out on a circuit does not return on the same cable, the imbalance radiates a magnetic field across the whole building.

- Canonical URL: https://emfbase.com/glossary/net-current
- Collection: Glossary
- Record id: `glossary:net-current`
- Status: verified
- Last verified: 2026-08-12
- JSON: https://emfbase.com/api/glossary/net-current

## Key values

- **Category:** measurement

## Definition

In correctly wired circuits, line and neutral currents are equal and opposite within centimetres of each other, so their external magnetic fields cancel almost completely. Shared neutrals, crossed neutrals between circuits, and current returning through plumbing break that cancellation, producing elevated magnetic fields throughout a structure that do not fall off with distance from any identifiable appliance. It is an electrical fault, not an EMF problem, and it is corrected by an electrician.

## Sources

- `niehs-emf` National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. *Electric and Magnetic Fields*. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf — government, link checked 2026-08-12
- `sbm-2024` Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN) (2024). *Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)*. https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf — ngo, link checked 2026-08-12

Data licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Dataset version 2026.08.1. Retrieved from EMFBase, https://emfbase.com.

This record is reference data, not medical or legal advice. Regulatory limits, scientific guidelines and precautionary values are labelled separately and answer different questions.