The most common type of detector gets the job done through electrochemical sensors composed of electrodes submerged in an electrically conductive solution called an electrolyte. But how exactly can these devices detect an invisible killer? There are several types of detector available, each employing a different method to gauge carbon monoxide levels. And safety standards exist to ensure that detectors reliably sound their alarms at the right time. In any case, the alarms should provide enough notice so that people nearby can escape before symptoms, such as nausea, headache or loss of consciousness, take hold. At the other end of the spectrum, dangerous concentrations above 400 ppm will do the same after just a few minutes. ![]() If detected over the course of a few hours, carbon monoxide at 70 ppm will trigger an alarm. These detectors are designed to measure the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air (in parts per million, or ppm) and sound an alarm if enough of the chemical is around long enough to become a problem. Faulty stoves or furnaces and vehicles or portable generators operated indoors are all potential culprits of carbon monoxide poisoning, which kills hundreds of people and hospitalizes tens of thousands every year in the U.S.įortunately, we have carbon monoxide detectors to warn us before we’re in danger. Carbon monoxide, sometimes called the invisible killer, is a gaseous byproduct of incomplete combustion that can seep from broken or misused heating systems at hazardous levels. And in abundance, it can kill within minutes. Carbon monoxide flies under the radar of human senses, but carbon monoxide detectors take advantage of how the chemical alters the color or the electrical resistance of certain materials or fosters electrochemical reactions to measure how much of the gas is in the air.
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