Although cell phones have become popular over the years, there are still some people who use landline phones at their homes. Some people do this to reduce their exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) and radio frequency (RF) radiation.
A landline phone can either be a corded phone or a cordless phone. You may wonder what the difference is between corded and cordless and also wonder if one of them is safer to use than the other.
A corded phone is one where the handset is connected by a cable to the phone, and the phone is plugged directly into the landline signal source. A corded phone has a more clear and reliable connection. Since there is no need to plug into power, the phones work during power outages.
A cordless telephone has a wireless handset that acts as a link between it and the telephone landline base station which is plugged into a power socket and landline outlet. These phones use radio waves to communicate with the telephone base station. These phones do not work in a power outage unless they have a battery backup system.
Cordless phones are a source of EMF radiation in your home. They continuously emit radiation from the base station and when making or receiving a call. Just like cell phones, cordless phones emit a high frequency radio signal. For this reason, using a cordless phone at home instead of your cell phone is not a guarantee you will be safe from RF radiation.
Do Corded Phones Emit EMF?
Corded phones use a cord that connects the headset to the base station and a telephone cable that connects the base station via the wall into the telephone pole. The wired connection ensures the phone is grounded and no signals are transmitted wirelessly.
In addition, corded phones have zero emissions of EMF radiation. This makes them a safe mode of communication in your home.
Though corded phones are not as convenient as cordless models because you have limited mobility when using them, they have virtually zero emissions, which makes them the healthiest phones to use.
A corded phone has less emissions and is less dangerous than a cordless phone because the data transmission is via the Ethernet cable and the entire telephone system is grounded.
If the corded phone is connected to use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), through the Ethernet cables, then only a small amount of radiation is emitted.
To reduce exposure to EMF radiation there are a wide variety of corded phones you can buy for your home.
Radiation From Cordless Phones
Cordless phones are still common in offices and homes since they allow many people to use the same phone number. While most people are using cell phones at home and in their free time, many people opt to keep a landline for its stability and ability to have multiple users via a cordless system. It is important to know that cordless phones that use VoIP use wireless headsets which expose you to a lot of EMF radiation.
Cordless phone radiation is as dangerous as radiation from your cell phone. A Swedish researcher, Lennart Hardell, found that cordless phone radiation is likely to cause more brain tumors than cell phone radiation.
The transmitter in a cordless phone emits a high amount of radiation even when not charging the phone or using it. The transmitter base emits radiation of around 6.5 volts per meter. This is quite high; almost twice the radiation emitted by cell towers within a distance of 100 meters.
Almost all cordless phones today use a form of Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) because they have improved performance compared to analog cordless phones.
Radiation emitted by these DECT phones is much higher than that emitted by the older analog cordless phones. This is because the base station of the DECT phone continuously emits high-levels of microwave radiation at full power. If you put this type of phone next to your bed, it will expose you to high levels of microwave signals for the whole night.
When communicating through the cordless phones using DECT technology, your voice and the voice of the receiver must pass from the headset up to the base station through the phone network.
Based on the distance between you and the base station, the transmission signals may pass through your brain before being delivered to the base station. The cordless phones work as Bluetooth earbuds or airpods which don’t transmit signals at the same time.
In this case, one earbud receives data signals from your phone and then passes the signals to the other earbud right through your brain. Cordless phones work using the same process and the strength of the signal depends on the distance you hold the phone from the base station.
Holding the phone in close proximity to your head increases the dangers of absorbing electromagnetic radiation. This is because the base station and the headset continuously emit wireless radiation.
Radiation Health Effects
Continuous exposure to this type of radiation will result in various health problems. Some of these health issues are discussed below.
- Sleeping Disorders And Chronic Fatigue
According to a study conducted in Schwarzenberg, Switzerland in 2006, high levels of exposure to radio frequencies or microwave signals is associated with sleeping disorders and fatigue.
You can reduce exposure to radiation from cordless phones by keeping them away from your bed. Resist the urge to put your phone on your bedside table. Completely removing this type of phone from your bedroom will improve your sleep quality.
- Increased Risk Of Brain Cancer
The same published study indicated that cordless phones emit high levels of electromagnetic radiation that are known to increase the risk of brain cancer. The cordless phones emit high-frequency radio waves even when not being actively used.
- Heart Rate Problems
Sleeping next to a cordless phone alters your heart rate which can result in a lot of abnormalities. Some people may experience tachycardia or rapid heart rate, while others experience erratic/arrhythmia heart rate.
This may increase the amount of pressure or pain in your chest.
Do Cordless Phones Expose You To More Dangers Than Cell Phones?
The answer is probably not, although some research suggests it might be just as bad. Cordless phones do emit a lot of radiation but they’re not as dangerous as cell phone radiation.
Even if you have a cordless phone at home, you may still spend more of your time using your cell phone.
This is because cell phones are smartphones which allow you chat through different apps, send emails, view your social media accounts, use Skype to make calls, use productivity apps like Google spreadsheets and Word documents to do work.
Your cordless phone will only allow you to make and receive calls or recorded messages. It is easy to see why people prefer cell phones over cordless phones as their preferred mode of communication.
Using cell phones more often than cordless phones exposes you to more EMF dangers than using a cordless phone.
Cell phones not only emit high-levels of radio frequency (RF) signals which are a form of microwave radiation, but they also emit both electric and magnetic field radiation from the circuitry board.
Sleeping with your cell phone under your pillow will expose you to higher risk of radiation than if you had a cordless phone handset under your pillow.
How To Reduce Radiation From Cordless Phones
Cordless phones emit the same amount of EMF radiation at all times and continuous use of them will expose you to a lot of health dangers. Therefore, you should take some measures to reduce your exposure.
When using cordless phones in your home, do not install the base unit/station in your bedroom or in a room where you spend a lot of time. This will help you reduce radiation exposure from the base unit.
If you’re not using the handset, always return it to the base unit. Otherwise, it will continue emitting radiation when not hooked on the base unit (charger).
DECT phones with an eco-mode function only emit radiation when making or receiving a call. The phones are also able to adapt to the transmission level based on the distance between the handset and the base station. This enables them to reduce radiation transmission strength by 90%.
You should also use the speakerphone feature instead of placing the handset to your ear. This reduces brain exposure to dangerous RF signals and other electromagnetic waves.
Low Radiation Cordless Phones
There are two types of low radiation cordless phones in the market: analog and digital phones using eco-mode.
Analog cordless phones with a low frequency are among the safest in the market. Digital cordless phones with enabled eco-mode only emit radiation when sending and receiving a call. Traditional cordless phones emit radiation even when not actively being used.
Low radiation cordless phones work at a low frequency and emit lower EMF radiation.
Some of the low radiation cordless phones you can buy are discussed below.
1. VTech CS6719-2 Handset
This is a 2 handset cordless phone system that can be expanded for up to 5 phones. The phone has a backlit display with a lighted keypad.
It has a phone directory that stores up to 50 contacts and always shows the caller ID. It allows you to redial up to 10 numbers and has a speed dial for 9 numbers.
You can have a conference call with an outside line that connects with two handsets. It also has an intercom system that works between the base unit and the handset.
2. Gigaset-c530IP Cordless Hybrid Phone
This cordless phone uses hybrid technology to allow you to connect both IP and landline calls. You can expand this type of cordless phone system to use 6 handsets and open 6 VoIP accounts.
You can connect the phone to a landline and use it as an analogue cordless phone. For a better telephone experience, connect the cordless phone to a router. It supports the connection of 4 calls in parallel since you can connect to multiple handsets. For example, by using 3 VoIP and 1 PSTN.
This system uses HD voice for all IP calls and has a crystal-clear sound when making internet calls.
3. Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone
The Panasonic DECT expandable cordless phone allows you to store up to 150 numbers. The one touch call block uses Bilingual Caller ID that announces the caller ID audibly either in English or in Spanish. This can be done through the headset or in the base unit.
It has a large message display that makes it easy to read the messages sent to you through the base unit. The phone uses a high contrast backlit LCD to clearly display all the phone functions. The keypads have a soft-touch amber backlight that makes it easy to read.
This system allows you to customize the phone ringtone for each caller ID using the pre-programmed ringtones.
4. Panasonic KX-TS208W Corded Phone
This is a high-quality corded phone with many features. This stylish white phone system includes speaker functions with volume control buttons and an integrated data port and LCD screen.
This phone allows you to hold a call, redial and mute. It is highly customizable for home, office or public area use since it has a dial lock to enable call restrictions.
Summary
Wired or corded phones are much safer than cordless phones. Corded phones transmit data through the use of Ethernet cables that emit virtually zero radiation, while cordless phones transmit data via radio waves which are a source of electromagnetic radiation.
As the transmission data or voice message passes through the headset into the base station, they emit radio waves. Cordless phones emit non-ionizing radiation similar to that emitted by your cell phone. This puts you at high risk of exposure to electromagnetic dangers.
Therefore, cordless phones expose you to dangerous microwave radiation in the form of radio frequency (RF). Regularly using a cordless phone will continuously expose you to dangerous electromagnetic radiation.
You can reduce the radiation you are exposed to by buying DECT phones with an eco-mode. These only emit radiation when making or receiving calls.
The eco-mode phone models can reduce the RF signals emitted by the phone by about 80%. The phone also uses less power because it only communicates or sends signals when you’re receiving or making a call. As a result, less RF radiation is emitted.
There are also low radiation cordless phones you can buy to reduce your exposure, although these phones do not completely eliminate RF radiation.
If you want to completely eliminate your exposure to radiation from phones, you can buy wired or corded phones. These have no EMF or RF emissions, so they are the safest for use at home.
