A study has shown that RootWave’s patented 18 kHz electrical weed control is safer than 50Hz or DC devices, by orders of magnitude.

In 1891, Jacques-Arsene d’Arsonval found that using high frequency alternating electric current significantly reduced the likelihood of serious injury from electric shock.

The study on RootWave’s technology built on this and undertook extensive literature searches, modelling, and analysis to assess the severity of injuries a person could sustain from electric current. The conclusions are consistent with d’Arsonval, and show that ‘operating electrical weed control devices at around 20 kHz is much safer than operating lower frequency devices (including DC)’.

RootWave’s patented higher-frequency eWeeder is 10,000 times less likely to cause cardiac arrest than a device using standard 50Hz AC in the event of accidental contact with an electrode. For DC devices, RootWave is 2,500 times less likely.

The design of the product is intended to minimise the risk of someone coming into contact with live eWeeding electrodes, but this study gives assurance that RootWave high frequency technology is significantly less harmful should that unlikely scenario occur.

Safe use of electricity

The study, completed in 2022 by professors who work for AMC Consulting and Imperial College, London found that operating at around 20 kHz gives ‘substantially greater opportunity to increase the power levels of the equipment without causing ventricular fibrillation (arrythmia of the heart/cardiac arrest), should a person come into direct contact with the electrodes.’ Concluding ‘It is thus advisable to operate weed control devices in the region of 20 kHz.’

Frequency, in electrical terms, is simply how many times the current oscillates from positive to negative per second. Standard 50Hz electricity oscillates 50 times per second, at 18kHz it is 18,000 times. Direct Current (DC) has no oscillation.

Independent trials and analysis of soil samples by soil scientists confirmed that RootWave does not negatively impact the soil or life within the soil. The analysis included population counts of macro and micro-fauna such as earthworms, nematodes, bacteria and fungi. RootWave allows soils to heal and regenerate, whereas residues from herbicides and frequent cultivation from mechanical weeding are well known to damage the health and microbiome of soils. With RootWave, farmers no longer have to compromise between weed control and soil health.

Chemical herbicides do not stay where they are sprayed. They leach and drift into the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. They are toxic in nature and can cause chronic health conditions. Safe exposure thresholds are continually being revised down as we learn more about them. They persist in our environment which accumulates the hazard and risk over time. RootWave uses pure energy to kill weeds – there are no residues – providing a solution that is good for us, good for nature, good for the farmer, and bad for the weeds.

Farmers incur high operating costs when spraying due to the consumable cost of herbicides. The incremental cost of diesel with RootWave is significantly lower than this cost which offsets the cost of the machine over time. Herbicide prices can be volatile and are likely to increase as new patented formulations are marketed. The operating costs for mechanical weeding are typically high due to the large number of treatments required in a season, which can be as frequent as every fortnight during spring and summer. Yields can also be negatively impacted which decreases revenue. RootWave can generate higher profits for farmers as it reduces operating costs, provides more reliable cost forecasting, and maintains crop yields and farm revenue.

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