Case studies·Etobicoke, Toronto

Project snapshotAdditionEMF shielding

A subpanel in a new bedroom
shielded and set back

A second-storey addition needed its own 40 A subpanel for electric heat and a mini-split, and the best spot was a bedroom storage wall. We shielded the panel and used the room's layout to keep the field at the bed to a fraction of a milligauss.

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Finished bedroom in a second-storey addition with a ductless mini-split and baseboard heater, Etobicoke, Toronto — Addition subpanel, shielded

40 A

New subpanel for the addition

2.7 m

Pillow to panel

1/685th

Of the panel's field at the bed, by distance alone

< 1 mG

Design aim at the pillow, winter loads

1The challenge

A rear second-storey addition, built by a general contractor. The main panel was full and on the far side of the basement, with no easy path up. Then the owners added radiant baseboard heat and a ductless mini-split, which needed dedicated capacity close by. The practical place for a subpanel was the storage wall of a new bedroom, and the owners wanted the room to stay a quiet place to sleep.

2What we did

Load assessment on the 200 A service, then a 40 A subpanel in the addition, fed from the main panel by a long home run down an existing cavity
Ferromagnetic shield plate on the wall behind the subpanel, bonded to the panel's grounding, to redirect the magnetic field and drain the electric field
Layout checked from the permit drawings: about 2.7 m from pillow to panel and 2.2 m to the heater, on cable whose paired conductors cancel most of their own field
Circuits for the baseboard heater, mini-split, bedroom and bidet; a rerouted 30 A A/C circuit; bathroom floor heating; dim-to-warm pot lights and smart dimmers
ESA permit revisions, inspections and the Certificate of Acceptance, coordinated with the builder's schedule

3The result

A bedroom with its own heat, cooling and capacity, a subpanel the inspector accepted, and a layout where distance alone cuts the panel's field at the bed to about 1/685th before the shield is counted. The design aim is under 1 milligauss at the pillow, even on a winter night.

The layout check

Why distance matters, the field fades fast

A panel acts as a compact source, and its magnetic field falls with the cube of the distance. Share of the field at the panel face, before shielding.

At the panel faceStarting point

100 %

1 m from the panelAbout 1/37th

2.7 %

2 m from the panelAbout 1/296th

0.34 %

At the bed, about 2.7 mAbout 1/685th, then the shield

0.15 %

Layers of physics, not one fix. Distance does most of the work, the bonded shield reduces the near-wall field further, and paired heater wiring cancels its own field. We design to the precautionary sleeping-area target, roughly 2,000 times stricter than the Health Canada guideline.

Watch the install

Lighting that warms as it dims

On site

A subpanel in a new bedroom

Load assessment first

Then the right install

Planning an addition or renovation? Send your address, a photo of your panel and 12 months of Toronto Hydro data. We will plan the capacity and layout, and send a fixed quote within 1 to 2 business days.

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Straight Answers

The kind we would give before you commit a dollar of capital. Tap a question.

Can an electrical panel go in a bedroom?

Yes. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code allows a panel in a bedroom when it is readily accessible with clear working space, and not inside a clothes closet, bathroom or stairway. Placement and distance from the bed are worth planning.

Does shielding a panel reduce EMF?

Ordinary drywall or wood does nothing to power-frequency magnetic fields. A high-permeability ferromagnetic plate gives the field an easier path and redirects it, and bonding it to ground drains the electric field. Distance still matters most.

Why add a subpanel for an addition?

When the main panel is full or far away, a subpanel brings dedicated capacity close to the new loads, keeps branch circuits short, and leaves spare spaces for later. The service still has to carry it, so we confirm that with a load assessment first.

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