Carbon monoxide is an incredibly dangerous gas. Since it’s colorless, odorless and otherwise undetectable, you or your loved ones could succumb to carbon-monoxide poisoning before you even know it. That’s why carbon-monoxide detectors are a must in your home. You should install one on every floor for maximum safety, and at the very least, you should install one within earshot of all sleeping areas so if a carbon monoxide leak occurs at night, you can escape the dangers.
Carbon-monoxide detectors have a variety of features from which you can choose. Some features are must-haves, while others are bonuses that can provide you with additional peace of mind.
Necessities
You should ensure that any carbon-monoxide detectors that you select have the following:
- UL or ETL label: These indicate that the device complies with existing standards of safety. Don’t purchase carbon-monoxide detectors that lack either of these labels.
- Battery-power backup capability: Some carbon-monoxide detectors run primarily on battery power, but others are powered by your home’s electrical circuitry. Whichever you choose, always ensure that the unit has a battery backup, so that you can use batteries to operate it if a power outage occurs. This is essential to ensure you remain protected no matter what.
Bonus Features
The following features are nice to have, but not necessary to ensuring the safety of you and your loved ones:
- LCD display: Many detectors have no display at all, but this bonus feature shows when any peak levels of carbon monoxide are detected. A reading above 30 parts per million (ppm) is worth investigating, but it’s not enough to trip the alarm. If a high enough concentration is detected and the alarm goes off, emergency personnel can use the readings on the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen to determine what may have caused the problem.
- Voice warning: There are combination smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors available, and if you choose one of these models, some have voice warnings that tell you what kind of danger the unit is detecting.
- Wireless networking: If you have multiple carbon-monoxide detectors in your home, which is highly recommended, wireless networking connects all of these. That way, if just one detector senses danger, all of the alarms go off.
There are a wide variety of carbon-monoxide detectors from which you can choose. For more information, or for help selecting the right one for you needs, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning today. We’ve proudly served residential and commercial customers in the Twin Cities metro area for more than 37 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about carbon-monoxide detectors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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