Should I buy a house next to a substaion?

nathanbarley69

Some interesting reading here: http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/bioeffects/index.cfm

States no ill effects at typical power frequencies.

Also, a balanced load along a 3 phase trificating cable will produce less emf than from single phase wiring. ie The mains into a substation may produce less than your internal wiring...

ktee_uk

I lived next to a sub station for 3 years and I would not recommend it.

there was a constant humming which was not much of a problem in winter but in summer time it was noticeable when windows were open or sitting out in garden.

we also felt vibration especially via internal doors when they were shut.

a maintenance person would turn up monthly to do whatever they do which normally involved removing weeds.

I would steer clear ............... it definitely put people off buying our property when we came to sell it.

regards

keith969

bubblybee wrote: »

My father was an electrical engineer and would swear that substations are 'harmless' - especially when you consider it in relation to all the other stuff that people have in a house.

He was correct, thank goodness there are a few people with sense about!

What most people don't realise is that electromagnetic radiation follows the inverse square law. In other words the field strength drops off according to the reciprocal of the square of the distance - in other words if the distance you are from the source doubles, the field strength goes down by a factor of four. So any reasonable distance away and the electromagnetic field drops off to very low levels - probably less than in your house where you have AC mains wiring above, below and around you.

The source of radiation which you should worry about - which can have a field strength of about 1KW per square meter at the earth's surface - is that thing up in the sky called the Sun. Quite a bit of its emitted electromagnetic spectrum is in the ultraviolet range which can and does cause cell damage.

not_loaded

nathanbarley69 wrote: »

Some interesting reading here: http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/bioeffects/index.cfm
States no ill effects at typical power frequencies.
Also, a balanced load along a 3 phase trificating cable will produce less emf than from single phase wiring. ie The mains into a substation may produce less than your internal wiring...

Sorry Nathan, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story!

The only way buyers would be put off buying in these circumstances is if they’d previously read this load of old codswallop.

Dearie me! What next? The sky is falling?

nathanbarley69

Not_loaded, I believe we're arguing the same point, that there is no ill effects to living next door to a substation. The link I provided backs this up. Indeed, the sky is not falling.

laurel7172

It doesn't actually matter whether it's really dangerous or not.

Well, it does, but...

It matters whether people THINK it's dangerous. I wouldn't buy a house next to a substation/overhead power lines/whatever for the reason that one good scare story in the Daily Wail <i>whether true or not</i> and it would become unsellable. Why take the risk? Unless you can negotiate a discount for it...

Count_Of_Cool

Thanks to everyone one for you help. I am still thinking about it and will hopefully make a decision tomorrow.