It’s certainly an invisible danger: odourless, colourless and virtually tasteless, escaping carbon monoxide in living rooms is particularly dangerous. Breathing it in can lead to serious health consequences, and even death. Special carbon monoxide or CO alarms warn us when highly dangerous gas escapes and protect us against life-threatening poisoning. But to work, they must be mounted properly.
While smoke detectors in closed rooms are already mandatory, this does not apply to CO detectors. These devices can, especially in households which use a wood stove or an open fireplace, eliminate potential health risks. In these cases, ordinary smoke detectors are not sufficient.
Carbon monoxide and its potential dangers
Carbon monoxide is a by-product of an incomplete combustion process, emerging when fossil fuels such as gas, oil, wood, charcoal or gasoline are burned.
A risk of poisoning can therefore originate from appliances such as ovens, heaters, thermal baths, water heaters, boilers or even barbecues. When working properly, these devices allow enough air to flow. Thus, the low CO levels you’re exposed to are harmless. It takes a much higher concentration of carbon monoxide to cause danger, but this can arise quickly through air ducts or chimneys which aren’t working properly.
This is more often the case with older buildings than newer ones. The often inadequate sealing of old houses means that toxic gases can escape more easily into the open, while good insulation in newer buildings prevents this. In addition, you should always avoid over-loading the oven. Make sure you’re aware of ventilation techniques and valves before operation.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
If you are exposed to relatively low levels of CO, you may experience symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, or vomiting. In higher doses, however, carbon monoxide inhalation can quickly lead to unconsciousness, respiratory arrest, brain damage and, in the worst case, death.
Where should you put a carbon monoxide detector?
Since carbon monoxide has approximately the same density as respiratory air, it distributes itself evenly down the room. Therefore, the warning CO detectors – in contrast to other gas detectors – should be mounted about 1.5m up the wall.
Install carbon monoxide detectors near potential sources of danger. We also recommend having at least one alarm in the bedroom. When installing, always make sure that there is sufficient distance to the equipment from which carbon monoxide can escape, thus avoiding false alarms. We recommend mounting at a distance of about one to three meters from the potential source of danger, and if on a ceiling, about 30cm from the nearest wall.
If your home has several floors, you should invest in a CO detector on each floor.
What do I do in an alarm?
If the alarm is triggered, you should immediately bring everyone in the house out and call the fire brigade. The building may only be re-entered when the emergency units have said it is safe to do so.
Also note that simply installing a carbon monoxide alarm does not eliminate the need for regular maintenance of your equipment.
Choosing the right alarm
Pure CO detectors only sound for carbon monoxide alarms. A gas detector usually refers to a device for the detection of natural gas and LPG. These two types of devices differ in how they are powered: while gas meters are run on electricity, you can easily run carbon monoxide detectors for years with batteries.
Depending on the type, the life of CO sensors can be between five and ten years. Then the device has to be replaced. Modern models have a pre-alarm function or displays that already show carbon monoxide concentrations that are below the danger threshold, leaving you plenty of time to respond adequately in risky situations. In this case, no alarm is triggered – this first threshold is indicated by a flashing LED, for example.
The dangerous thresholds, on the other hand, are minimum requirements: if the CO concentration is 50 ppm (0.005 percent), it lasts around 60 to 90 minutes until the alarm is triggered, at 100 ppm it lasts 10 to 40 minutes, at 300 ppm it lasts three minutes.
You should consider the following when purchasing a CO detector
- The variety of functions – display, pre-alarm, possibility for self-test, maximum value memory
- The life of the sensor – five to ten years
- Type, number and lifespan of the batteries needed
- Reviews and customer satisfaction
Long life carbon monoxide and hybrid detectors
The KIDDE CO X10-D2 detector has a long-term sensor that offers a maximum lifespan of ten years. Equipped with display and event memory, the device warns you at a CO concentration from 30 ppm. The peak value memory ensures that the escape of dangerous gas is reliably displayed even after a long absence. Thanks to the permanently installed lithium battery, there is no need for battery replacement.
Lasting eleven years, the EI208D goes one better. Separate status LEDs indicate operation, alarm and malfunction. In addition, it is able to carry out an automatic check and can be programmed via the LCD display. It will also be displayed there if the life of the device is nearing its end. The EI208D also has an electrochemical sensor and has been calibrated in real carbon monoxide. If desired, the alarm can be manually suppressed or muted.
In addition to pure CO detectors, hybrid detectors are also available which can detect carbon monoxide, natural gas and LPG.
