Carbon Detectors beginning 1/1/11

[Dennis Alwon]

Sorry Derek you are correct. I saw a little bit on one page and never hit page down. I can't believe they don't have those pages number. Here is the rule

2009 NC Residential Code
R313 Carbon Monoxide Alarms. (090609 Item B-11)
SECTION R313
CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS
R313.1.1 Carbon monoxide alarms. In new construction, dwelling units shall be provided with an approved carbon monoxide alarm installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedroom(s) as directed by the alarm manufacturer.

R313.1.2 Where required-existing dwellings. In existing dwellings, where interior alterations, repairs, fuel-fired appliance replacements, or additions requiring a permit occurs, or where one or more sleeping rooms are added or created, carbon monoxide alarms shall be provided in accordance with Section 313.1.1.

R313.1.3 Alarm requirements. The required carbon monoxide alarms shall be audible in all bedrooms over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed. Single station carbon monoxide alarms shall be listed as complying with UL 2034 and shall be installed in accordance with this code and the manufacturer?s installation instructions. (subsequent sections will be renumbered)

The delayed effective date of this Rule is January 1, 2011.
The Statutory authority for Rule-making is G. S. 143-136; 143-138.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Apparently I can't get the pdf. pages in Chrome browser but they show in IE.

 

[defears]

I thought they were useless until a GC i know had a family of 5 killed one night because of a faulty furnace. He made us use them 10 years before they were required in NJ.

We only need one on every floor, but if it changes to a combo outside every bedroom, CHA-CHING!!! That will add another couple hundred dollars to most homes.

What's next, no more than 3 outlets per circuit.

 

[jumper]

Apparently I can't get the pdf. pages in Chrome browser but they show in IE.

I dunno, I run FF/mozilla.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I thought they were useless until a GC i know had a family of 5 killed one night because of a faulty furnace. He made us use them 10 years before they were required in NJ.

We only need one on every floor, but if it changes to a combo outside every bedroom, CHA-CHING!!! That will add another couple hundred dollars to most homes.

What's next, no more than 3 outlets per circuit.

Same here in Raleigh. Elderly couple left the car running in the garage.

 

[Eyeseeitall]

Illinois has had a law in place since 2007: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?name=094-0741
In short, a (one) CO detector is required within 15' of each sleeping area (bedroom).

In my past life I was a 'certified combustion analyst'; one of the previous posters is dead on about combo units being less than prefered as CO detector sensors have a shorter life than most smoke detectors. In addition, CO detetcors should be mounted at a different height than smoke detectors- eye level is considered best practice for CO detectors.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I dunno, I run FF/mozilla.

Electricmanscott had the same issue. He figured it out- we had to change the settings deep in the Chrome Option section.

 

[nhfire77]

We have been doing this since 09 in NH.

And their is no exeception. I have an all electric heated apartment building, the fire marshalls office stated, you have to have CO becuase if the power goes out a portable generator might be installed near a window that was open letting in CO.

That proves zero tolerance policies are dumb, IMO. And I have personally seen several lives saved by CO detectors.

 

[jimman]

Thanks for the information. I also see the legislature adopted 2009 Residental Code with NC amendments - Carbon Monoxide Testers are not listed. It is, like most of the items from the list, in the proposed 2012 amendments. I'm not sure how the Rule Making authority translates into the actual Adopted Code. I'm thinking that the rule is adopted, then it is placed into Code by a NC amendment, and then adopted by the legislature. Like most, I can see the positive aspects of a combo Smoke/Carbon Monixide tester where there is a fuel fired appliance in the home, and an attached garage.

 

[ASG]

I still don't understand these combo smoke/CO units. AFAIK, CO doesn't rise. So if a combo unit is placed at a height you would want your smoke detector to be at, wouldn't everybody be dead before the alarm would go off?

 

[WheresMyWiggy]

I still don't understand these combo smoke/CO units. AFAIK, CO doesn't rise. So if a combo unit is placed at a height you would want your smoke detector to be at, wouldn't everybody be dead before the alarm would go off?

I have been installing the combos for years and always thought this. We just comply with our local codes. A wall-mounted, hard-wired one at receptacle height would seem ideal.

 

[iwire]

I still don't understand these combo smoke/CO units. AFAIK, CO doesn't rise. So if a combo unit is placed at a height you would want your smoke detector to be at, wouldn't everybody be dead before the alarm would go off?

CO is very close to the same density as air, it follows the currents of air in the room.

 

[raider1]

CO is very close to the same density as air, it follows the currents of air in the room.

Correct, the specific gravity of CO is very close to air. Therefore CO mixes readily with air and the CO detector is permitted to be installed either on the ceiling or near the floor level.

Chris

 

[ArcNSpark]

This has been fire code in Rhode Island for eight years or longer. Smokes in every bedroom and a smoke/CO within ten feet of the bedroom door. Sometimes causes some redundancy when you have a 15' long hallway with a staircase leading up and bedrooms on either end; you get a combo on both ends of the hall and a smoke at the top of the stairs. Gets a little crowded sometimes, but I guess a little overkill is acceptable in the interest of safety.

We also require a heat detector (interconnected to the rest of the smoke/combo units) to be installed in any attached garage.

 

[nhfire77]

Technically CO is lighter than air at STP, standard temperature and pressure, 68 F at one atmosphere, or sea level.

Air temp has a lot to do with it. If its over 68 F, CO will rise slightly (very slightly, but the hotter the faster it will rise.) But, since the CO detector operation temps are 32-100F, the middle of the wall is the average.

Also, the concentration is key. You could have a furnace putting out 15 PPM into the ambient atmosphere. This could be normal operation and you would never know it without a more sensitive sensor, which is not a device that is commercially installed. The whole house, room, area could become equalized with a certain concentration before the alarm threshold is reached. In this case, location is irrelevant.

What is more likely, a large volume of CO will enter the atmosphere when the the heat is on and the CO will rise. But, due to the initial rooms temperature, it will swirl around the room.

I have found that ceiling mounted detectors in residential units alarm sooner than wall mounted units. This is not a scientific observation, just an on the job observation in municipal fire protection.

I personally have one at the top of my basement stairs, one on the wall in the first floor and one on the ceiling of my second floor. Thus hedging my bets.

I have a bias towards requiring a wall mounted and ceiling mounted detector now. As I will make more $ that way, but I digress.

 

[Mr 3phase]

As of April 1, 2010 Massachussets implemented a law stating that dweillings had to have a photo electric type smoke detector when located within 20' of a kitchen or bathroom (defined by having a shower or bathtub). If there is no bathroom or kitchen, the smoke detector must be of the duel technology type (photoelectric and ionization). These are usually needed in basements, and walk in attics.
The dwelling must also have a carbon monoxide detector on all floors of a dwelling that has fossil fuel burning equipment, OR a fire place. The CO detector must be located within 10' of a bedroom BUT, not in a bed room.
If the house was built before 1975 but has had major renovations done to it since then, the detectors must be hardwired.

 

[Mgraw]

CO2 detectors are required in the 2009 IRC.

 

[dwellselectric]

In my town you need a combo smoke/carbon outside of a bedroom. I think its a great idea myself

 

[renosteinke]

It's a bit off topic, but I have to say that I think the statuatory requirements for CO detectors - at least as described in this thread - are simply WRONG.

It matters not to me that there may be CO in another room. Nor am I overly concerned with CO while I am awake. The deaths from CO nearly always involve lower levels, exposure over a longer time - for example, while asleep. With that in mind, I want that CO detector near my sleeping head - not in the next room, separated from me by a closed door.

I don't care where the CO originates or where else it may go; I'm interested only in the CO that goes into my lungs.

 

[hurk27]

It's a bit off topic, but I have to say that I think the statuatory requirements for CO detectors - at least as described in this thread - are simply WRONG.

It matters not to me that there may be CO in another room. Nor am I overly concerned with CO while I am awake. The deaths from CO nearly always involve lower levels, exposure over a longer time - for example, while asleep. With that in mind, I want that CO detector near my sleeping head - not in the next room, separated from me by a closed door.

I don't care where the CO originates or where else it may go; I'm interested only in the CO that goes into my lungs.

Thats why here is is almost always required to install interlinked units that set off all the smoke detectors in the house, trust me that will wake you up!

Not sure if they have a different sound for the CO side but I know 6 or 7 smokes going off is loud.