Ready for your EMF assessment? Make sure you hire the right consultant for YOU.
So you’re finally ready to have an EMF assessment done on your home. Congratulations! Believe me, I know this is a big deal. When clients contact me to schedule an assessment, they almost always say something like ‘Well I’ve been meaning to call you since last year, but…” Often times someone calls to inquire about my services, and then they call me back maybe a year or two later. From the time that the average person begins to learn about EMF’s, it can take many months to many years before they decide to take action.
I get it. I was the same way. I heard about these mysterious ‘waves’ for the first time around 2003. I didn’t really know what they were so I ignored the topic. Then when my health really took a turn for the worse around 2012, I started to research the topic a bit more. It was so foreign and overwhelming to me however, that I just tried to stuff it away in my subconscious. If it was an issue, I just didn’t know how to address it and where to begin, so the stress just wasn’t worth it. I ignored it for another 3 years.
After reaching a real low point in my health journey (severe insomnia, tinnitus, anxiety, and weakness) the issue surfaced to my conscious mind. I knew I had to tackle this if I ever wanted to get my health back. It was quite literally the only thing I hadn’t addressed in my life.
EMF’s is a big, scary, complicated topic that is difficult for most of us to understand. But the bigger issue is that if you really want to reduce your exposure, you know that it will mean behavior changes, and THAT is what causes so many people to put it off. Who likes change? Who wants to give up their ‘push-button’ conveniences? So, the fact that you’ve gotten to the place where you are ready to have a professional assessment is a big step. This is why I say, congratulations! It’s truly the first step toward regaining your health, as well keeping the rest of your family as safe as possible.
Now that you’re ready and committed to take action, how do you know whom to hire? You’re making a big investment in the person you choose to survey your home. You want to make sure they get it right. An inexperienced person may miss a big issue in your home. This is a scary scenario. If you hire a professional who comes in and assures that your home is healthy, meanwhile a significant issue is still present, then your chances of identifying the cause of your health problems substantially declines. You think there is no EMF issue in your home, so you stop investigating, meanwhile, there still is an issue that is affecting you. This of course, is what we want to avoid.
So how do you go about finding someone you trust, with adequate experience, for a reasonable cost? There are several things you should do before you hire someone to assess your home. I’m going to break it all down in this post so you have the information you need to make sure you’re not getting scammed (yes, they exist in every profession), and that you’re getting a qualified professional who will get to the bottom of any issue that may be present in your home.
Where to find a professional
First off, how do you locate an expert in your area? Where do you look? The obvious thing that most of us do is type something like ‘EMF consultant in my city’ in a search engine and see what comes up. Let’s take Boise where I live as an example. I typed ‘emf consultant boise’ into DuckDuckGo and here is what I see:
A link to my business is actually the first thing that shows up. This is not surprising as I’m the only certified Building Biologist in the Boise area, and my website is heavily focused on EMF services.
So the next thing you might do is click on that website and see what kind of information you can find out.
While on the website you’re probably looking for cues about the experience and expertise this company might have, along with whether or not you think you can trust the person. So how do you know?
First off, I would look for credentials of the business and or employees. I have searched for EMF experts all over the country for clients of mine that are not near Idaho. I have come upon many websites that give little to no information about the person’s background. The website itself may look impressive, but without verifiable credentials, you need to keep looking. With dubious websites I usually see something like ‘Certified EMF Consultant’, ‘Expert EMF Consultant’, or ‘EMF Experts’. What does any of that mean? How are you an expert? Who certified you? Where did you go to school? Anyone can call themselves a ‘consultant’ or an ‘expert’, but we need more information on the background and training.
Training Programs
There are only a few ‘certifying agencies’ for EMF consulting that I am aware of. First off is the Building Biology Institute (BBI). This is where I got my certifications. Bau-Biology started in Germany in the 1960’s. A chapter was started in the US in the late 1980’s. Today, they have certification programs in three areas: Indoor Air Quality, EMRS (Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist) and New Build Consultants.
The training is quite rigorous and constitutes over 200 hours of course work for each certification. Candidates must pass several exams as a well as successfully demonstrate proficiency of home assessments while working with a mentor. After completing these steps, which can take well over two years, a certification in the specific area is granted to the candidate.
Being a graduate of this program with certifications in both Indoor Air Quality and EMRS, I can vouch for the quality of the training the institute provides. It is worth noting however that many people go through the classes without completing the certification process. Others may become certified, but fail to continue their own training and learning once on their own. This means that while a specific consultant may have taken BBI classes, it does not mean that they are atomically highly skilled and proficient in their area. So how do you know?
While I highly recommend consultants that have taken BBI classes, it is important to verify the extent of the certification and training they may or may not have. I suggest going to the BBI website page ‘Find an Expert’. This page lists only those people who have become certified through their training process. This means that all those listed have met the rigorous standards needed to become certified. After you have identified a person near you, I suggest calling them and getting a sense of how they work. This person will be coming into your home for many hours, you want to make sure they are a good fit. You also want to ask them the questions I have listed below.
What if you don’t find someone on this list in your area? That is not an uncommon situation. Unfortunately, there aren’t many Building Biologist’s – yet. While this is a very niche career path, it is rapidly growing. With the increase is EMF devices, more and more people are becoming sensitive, demanding more practitioners all over the world. And of course, we still have the problems of Indoor Air Quality that will be with us as long as we use chemically-based building materials and build our homes without awareness of ventilation practices.
If there is not someone on this list close to your home, don’t worry, most of us travel. I have many colleagues, myself included, that will travel wherever we are needed to do assessments. There are of course additional costs due to travel expenses, but when you coordinate with family members, neighbors and friends who all may be looking for an assessment, those travel costs get divided and become quite reasonable.
There are a few other certifying agencies that you can look into to find a consultant in your area. Geovital is one. They have consultants in many different countries. As I haven’t gone through their training program, I can’t speak to the content or quality of what they teach. The other program I am aware of is called EMF Experts. Again, I haven’t done the training so I don’t know anything about their certification process.
In addition to these three programs, I have come across people who call themselves ‘EFM Consultants’ or even ‘Certified EMF Consultants’ because they took a training with a company that sells ‘harmonizing’ products, or they feel they’re qualified through their own self-teaching. They may in fact be quite knowledgeable on the topic even if they haven’t done an ‘official’ training program, but just keep in mind that anyone can call themselves a consultant, so you need to verify the level of their knowledge. In fact, you may find someone with extensive knowledge in the field despite the fact that they haven’t gone through any training programs. I know electrical engineers, electricians, and physicists who have extensive experience and knowledge in the field, and clearly have the background to qualify as an expert in the field. I also know people who have gone through ‘official’ training programs who really struggled with the information, did not continue learning after their classes, and who simply do not meet the standards I would be looking for in a professional.
What to Ask Your Consultant
So, the spectrum of experts out there can be quite vast. How do you know if the person you want to hire is knowledgeable and trustworthy? Like with any other professional you’d let into your home, you need to interview the candidate to determine if they are indeed as knowledgeable as they claim. You also want to get a sense of whether or not you can trust this person, and make sure they are reasonable with their prices and expectations. A good consultant will make time to speak with you and make sure they answer all of your questions. You should ask things like:
- How long have you been doing consults?
- Are you certified? By whom?
- What is your level of training and where did you receive it?
- Do you have any testimonials you can share?
- What type of equipment do you use?
- What fields do you test for?
- How long does an assessment take?
- How much do you charge?
- What’s included in the charge?
- Is that for the entire assessment, or by the hour?
- Do you give me a report after the assessment? How thorough is the report?
- Does the report cost extra?
- Are there other costs I should be aware of?
- How long does an assessment take?
- Do you charge for travel time?
These are all very important considerations for you to know BEFORE you hire someone. The first few questions are obvious and will give you information about the knowledge of the practitioner. Asking what kind of equipment they use is important. I know ‘consultants’ that use a $180 lay-person’s meter for their entire assessment. This is not adequate. If you’re paying for a professional to assess the health of your home, they should have several thousand dollars worth of equipment at least. They should have a minimum of 4-5 meters to start, and really should have many more. The equipment used is very important as this is what we’re relying on for adequate data about what’s going on in your home.
Getting very specific about how much the consultant charges is also very important. You can expect to pay anywhere from $300 to $1500 for an assessment. I know experts at the low end who have extensive experience and are highly qualified. I also know people who charge $1500 and up who have very little experience and are relatively new to the field. So just because someone charges on the low end, does not mean they lack experience, and your high-end consultants aren’t guaranteed to be the best either. You need to pay attention to the other questions listed to verify their expertise. But, you do need to get clear about the charges.
Unfortunately, the charges listed on websites can be tricky and misleading. I know one company that charges just under $1,000 for an assessment. What you need to know though is that charge is for a studio apartment. They will charge you an additional $100 for each additional room. I know another company that charges $350 for an assessment. But when you look at the fine print on their website, that’s actually by the hour. Make sure you verify up front what is included in the cost. Will they provide you with a report, or will they charge you extra for that? Is the report a handwritten 1-pager, or is it 15-20 pages with references and links to more information? And are there extra costs involved? Some companies like to do ‘fly-by’ assessments and then recommend a few hundred, to a few thousand dollars worth of shielding materials or ‘harmonizers’ in order to ‘fix’ your home. You need to know this upfront. Is the consultant going to spend several hours measuring all the rooms in your home? Or are they going to take a few quick measurements and then sell you products that may or may not work? Will they be mitigating as they go? (They should be!) Or is their strategy to sell you a bunch of product after the fact? This is all information you want to know prior to hiring the person so you know exactly what to expect during your assessment.
This may seem like a lot of work just to find the right consultant, but you want to get this right. You wouldn’t go to a first-year medical student for a serious medical condition; nor should you hire an EMF consultant that really doesn’t know what they’re doing. The field of EMF’s and electricity is incredibly complicated. If you hire someone that hasn’t done extensive studying, then they could very well miss a big problem in your home. This could cause you many more years of health complications and suffering. Obviously you don’t want that.
So, if you’re in the market for a professional assessment, then it really pays to do your homework and find the best consultant for you. If you need a little help with this, don’t hesitate to reach out. We know highly skilled consultants all across the US. We can recommend experts in your area, or help you find a qualified professional. Additionally, there are many consultants that can help you remotely. This can be a little more challenging, but I have successfully helped many clients mitigate their homes from a distance. If there really is no one in your area, consider a remote consult.
One last thing, if you’ve been thinking about a consult for a while, it’s time to take action! The sooner you find out what’s going on your home, the sooner you can fix it, and the sooner you will start to feel better. You deserve it!
If your ready to action, consider scheduling a remote consult with us. We’ll help you identify all the areas you can improve on and teach you specific, tangible steps you can do today to feel better tomorrow. You deserve it! Call us today, we always love to hear from you!
Cathy Cooke, BCHN, BBEC Holistic Nutritionist and Building Biologist is the founder of Whole Home and Body Health which provides EMF Assessments, Mold Testing, and Nutrition and Health Consulting located in Boise, Idaho. Cathy is available for consulting via skype and phone, and is also willing to travel as needed for home assessments. Schedule an appointment today!