Carbon Monoxide Dispersion in Residential Buildings: Literature Review and Technical Analysis. (4887 K)
http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build96/PDF/b96087.pdfCarbon monoxide (CO) detectors are being used increasingly in residential buildings to warn occupants about CO concentrations that could potentially cause acute health effects. While the use of CO detectors can decrease the likelihood of exposure to such CO levels,
questions exist concerning the installation of these devices in residential buildings, primarily with regards to the location and number of detectors. Efforts to develop installation guidance and standards have been faced with these question of location, and the availability of technical information to support the development of installation recommendations has been questioned. As the first task of a project to analyze the distribution of CO in residential buildings as it relates to the installation of CO detectors, a literature review and technical analysis was conducted to assess information on CO dispersion in residential buildings that could support the development of guidance on detector installation. The review covered a number of issues including CO concentration measurements in residential buildings, sources of indoor CO, mixing within and between rooms, tracer gas techniques for assessing building airflow, and computer models of air movement and contaminant dispersal in buildings. The material obtained in the literature review is discussed, and a technical analysis of the issues related to CO dispersion in residential buildings is presented.
Joint Industry Programme on carbon monoxide issues
The siting of domestic CO alarms: An analysis of full scale vitiation tests
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01382.pdf7 CONCLUSIONS
The principal conclusions relating to CO alarm siting in typical domestic properties are:
• The order of priority when siting an alarm are:
a) Room location
i) Primary Room
ii) Adjacent Rooms
iii) Others
b) Vertical Mounting Position
i) Close to Ceiling
ii) Less than 0.8 m from ceiling
iii) Lower locations
• The optimal locations are Primary Room walls less than 0.8 m from ceiling.
• Changing the alarm siting from the optimal location to either of the adjacent rooms at the ceiling height or to Primary Room lower positions reduces alarm effectiveness by approximately 25-30% and increases the unpredictability of the alarm performance.
• Changing the alarm siting from the optimal location to rooms other than Primary roughly halved the Alarm Effectiveness and doubled the performance unpredictability.
•
For any given room location, the location with the fastest observed average alarm time was almost always at the ceiling.• The sensitivity of alarm performance with height in the Primary Room can be strongly influenced by the characteristics of the appliance and the installation.
• Onset of CO production by an appliance operated under fault conditions is delayed by doors of the Primary Room being open.
met de meest vriendelijke groeten
Loe
