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Wed 16 Feb, 2022 09:26 am
My partner and her late husband decided in the 70s that it would look cool if they covered the downstairs hall and upstairs landing with aluminium cooking foil! There are several square meters of foil on both ceilings, separated by about 3 meters, - forming a giant capacitor with air+plasterboard+wood dielectric.
The WiFi signal in the house is very patchy and virtually non-existent in places. There are also 'dead spots' for mobile coverage.
Two questions:
1) Any opinions of the effect that the 'giant capacitor' is having on absorbing WiFi signals?
2) If there was a lightning strike nearby, could it induce a significant charge on the foil to be dangerous?
Note: I'm reluctant to suggest that I remove the foil, partly because of it's sentimental value to my partner, and secondly because it would leave the ceiling in a mess that would need redecorating!
Jim
@jimaford,
This is not really a very good capacitor and I doubt the ceiling is holding a charge, so there is no concern about lightning. Also, it's been fifty years so if there was a concern, you'd know about it by now. As for WiFi, yes, having lots of foil around could be an issue. The first thing I would try would be to put in a
mesh WiFi system. That may still have issues due to the foil. Another option would be to run a Cat 5e line between your router and where you need the coverage and put an access point there. It's not particularly hard but does require some know how or research.
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