This site is for homeowners who want actual numbers about their indoor environment. No vague warnings about "toxins." No dismissive claims that "it's all safe." Just measurements — what to measure, what the numbers mean, and what you can do about them.
Building biology is the German discipline of Baubiologie applied to residential environments. It treats your home as a living system: your "third skin," after your actual skin and your clothing. The question is straightforward — is this place helping you or harming you? — and the method is specific: measure, compare to published thresholds, reduce what you can.
What We Cover
The guides here focus on three areas where your indoor environment directly affects your health. Each section explains how to test your own home, what equipment you need, and how to interpret results against the SBM-2008 standard — the precautionary measurement framework used by building biologists worldwide.
EMF Assessment
Every home has electromagnetic fields. Most are harmless. Some — particularly in bedrooms — are worth measuring and reducing. We cover all four types: AC electric fields from wiring, AC magnetic fields from current flow, radiofrequency radiation from wireless devices, and dirty electricity from modern electronics. For each one, you'll find what meters to use, how the field behaves in a real house, and what the SBM-2008 thresholds mean for sleeping areas.
Indoor Air Quality
The air inside most homes is worse than the air outside. We explain how to test for the contaminants that matter: VOCs and formaldehyde from building materials and furnishings, mold and mycotoxins from moisture problems, radon from the ground beneath your foundation, and particulate matter from combustion and outdoor sources. Each guide covers sampling, interpretation, and what to do about what you find.
Building Materials
Materials affect everything: air chemistry, moisture dynamics, static electricity, even natural radioactivity. We evaluate insulation, flooring, paint, plaster, and finishes based on what they off-gas and how they handle vapor and humidity. The focus is on practical alternatives that perform well without making your air worse.
What Makes This Different
Most "healthy home" content falls into two camps: vaguely wellness-oriented advice with no specifics, or industry reassurance that everything is fine. This site does neither.
We use the SBM-2008 threshold values developed by German building biologists over decades of measurement practice. We explain where those numbers come from and why they're more precautionary than government regulations. When the research is mixed — as it often is with EMF health effects — we say so. When the evidence is clear — as with radon and lung cancer, or formaldehyde and respiratory irritation — we're direct about it.
The goal isn't to make you overhaul your life. It's to give you accurate information about the environment where you spend 90% of your time — especially your bedroom, where sleep quality depends on what's in the air and what's radiating from the walls.
Start Here
If you're new to this, pick the topic that matches your concern:
- EMF questions? Begin with the EMF assessment guide or the specific guides for electric fields, magnetic fields, RF radiation, or dirty electricity.
- Air quality concerns? Start with indoor air quality testing or jump to specific guides for mold, VOCs and formaldehyde, or radon.
- Building or renovating? See building materials, new construction, or renovation guides.
- Want the framework? Read the 25 Principles or go straight to the SBM-2008 standard.
- Need professional help? The find a building biologist page explains credentials and what to expect.
Start anywhere. Measure something. Know what you're dealing with.