Carbon monoxide meter detects carbon monoxide and alerts people to danger so they can escape. The invisible gas is produced when fossil fuels-like wood, gasoline, coal and heating oil-fail to burn completely (incomplete combustion). Carbon monoxide binds with red blood cells, blocking them from carrying oxygen to the brain and other organs. It’s a deadly molecule that kills hundreds of people each year and hospitalizes tens of thousands more. Carbon monoxide detectors sense the gas and sound an alarm before its symptoms-like headache, nausea and loss of consciousness-become apparent. They work by using chemical changes or electrical resistance to monitor carbon monoxide levels in the air.

The most common type of CO sensor is an electrochemical sensor, which consists of electrodes submerged in an electrically conductive solution. As carbon monoxide enters the gas-permeable compartment, it reduces the current passing through the electrodes. The change in current is measured by the sensor’s circuitry, which calculates the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air. The results are then transmitted to the alarm, which sounds if the concentration exceeds a safety level established by Underwriters Laboratories.

Measuring Carbon Monoxide Levels: The Benefits of a Carbon Monoxide Meter

Ideally, you want carbon monoxide sensors in each bedroom and near other areas of your home where people might breathe in the poisonous gas. If you can’t afford to have them in every room, put them within 15 feet of each bedroom door and 10 feet of other rooms. Those placed in garages or other confined spaces should be at least 10 feet away from fuel-burning appliances and tools.