Generators and Carbon Monoxide

Home and portable generators can be absolute life savers when they are needed. Generators are one of those things you never think about buying until it’s too late and you already need one. However, there are a lot of things that should be taken into consideration when installing a generator at home or using one in general.

Gas- or diesel-powered generators all emit carbon monoxide (CO) as a combustion byproduct when they are running. That is entirely unavoidable with internal combustion engines. When installing a generator for use as a backup power source in your home, there are specific laws in many areas that dictate how/where they should be installed. However, when you get away from most cities and towns, those regulations tend to be lax or even nonexistent. Those regulations exist for a reason, though. The peace of mind that comes with having a backup generator at home can be shattered in an instant if the exhaust from that generator is not properly ventilated away from your living space. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that at least 70 people a year are killed from CO exposure caused by generators. These deaths are tragic regardless of circumstance, but all could have been prevented with proper care and understanding of the risks involved.

We have discussed in previous posts about how home CO alarms are not designed to detect or alarm at low ambient levels of CO. They also won’t alarm quickly with even moderate levels of CO. Typically, a plug-in home CO monitor will only go into alarm after hours of low-level exposure over 70 PPM, or minutes if the CO level is very high and presents an immediate threat to life. When it comes to CO exposure and poisoning, every second counts. Having an immediate indication of the buildup of carbon monoxide in your living space before it becomes a health risk is imperative. At Sensorcon, our portable CO monitors update in real time, and go into alarm the second the threshold is exceeded. The readings update once every second, and the display shows you the reading in single parts per million (PPM), so that you can always know how much CO is in the environment around you.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to sources of CO—Often times, they are not within your control. Perhaps a neighbor recently installed a generator, but the exhaust is right next to one of your adjacent windows. Or maybe you live in a shared unit, and your neighbor accidentally left their car on in the garage. Or maybe you’re traveling, and the place you’re staying in recently had the water heater serviced, but not checked for proper ventilation. There are endless possibilities, all of which are prevented by having the ability to always know for certain whether there is CO in the air around you with proper monitoring technology.  Stay safe, and know your environment!