Updated: 11/7/24
Although it’s important to keep your Amherst, NY home comfortable, it’s even more important to keep your family and property safe while providing that comfort. One important tool to help maintain safety is a carbon monoxide detector. While most homeowners understand the need for carbon monoxide detectors, many individuals struggle with the proper installation of these devices, especially when there’s a nearby furnace. To ensure that you properly install your home’s carbon monoxide detectors to provide enhanced safety, here is an insider’s guide from the pros at Heatwave Heating & Cooling.
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Importance of Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If you’ve never thought about installing carbon monoxide detectors in your home, it’s vital to understand how important they are.
What is Carbon Monoxide and Why is it Dangerous?
Carbon monoxide is a gas that you can’t detect with any of your senses because it’s colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Carbon monoxide is also exceptionally dangerous. It replaces the oxygen in your lungs and can cause symptoms that include headaches, dizziness, vomiting, chest pain, confusion, and death.
How Can I Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Carbon monoxide detectors are the only way to know if carbon monoxide is present in your home so that you have enough time to evacuate before succumbing to your symptoms.
How Many Detectors to Install
Ultimately, the number of detectors that Heatwave Heating & Cooling puts in your home will depend on the size of your home.
Where Should I Install My Carbon Monoxide Detector?
A general rule of thumb, though, is that there should be at least one carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home. Since carbon monoxide leaks can happen anywhere, you want to be sure that you can detect them quickly and effectively. The most important part of installing carbon monoxide detectors is to make sure that you can hear the alarm from at least one detector in every bedroom in your home. Otherwise, you won’t be alerted to problems that occur while you and your family are asleep.
Installation Near a Furnace
Installing a carbon monoxide detector near a gas furnace can be tricky. After all, you want the detector to be close enough to the furnace to ensure that the detector will pick up on any carbon monoxide leaks from the furnace. At the same time, a furnace naturally produces carbon monoxide on occasion, so if you put the detector too close to the furnace, you will constantly get false alerts.
How Far From My Furnace Should My Carbon Monoxide Detector Be?
In general, Heatwave Heating & Cooling recommends that a carbon monoxide detector shouldn’t be any less than five feet from a furnace. The maximum recommended distance is 20 feet. Anywhere in this range should give you a good early warning if your furnace has a problem that causes carbon monoxide to leak into your home.
Testing Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If you have carbon monoxide detectors in your home, it’s vital to test them regularly. In fact, Heatwave Heating & Cooling recommends testing them once a month. Every carbon monoxide detector will have a “test” button on the front of the unit. All you have to do is press this button for a few seconds until the unit begins to beep loudly. If the unit doesn’t beep, you need to either change the battery in the detector or change the detector itself.
How Long Do Carbon Monoxide Detectors Last?
Most carbon monoxide detectors will need to be replaced after 10 years, so it’s helpful to write the date of installation on an inconspicuous place on each detector in your home so that you don’t forget when they were installed.
Preventing Carbon Monoxide Leaks
Typically, any carbon monoxide that your furnace produces will go directly out the flue pipe. However, if your furnace isn’t working properly, it may produce excess carbon monoxide, some of which could find its way into your home. Therefore, the best way to prevent a carbon monoxide leak is to have Heatwave Heating & Cooling maintain your furnace once a year.
Does Furnace Maintenance Prevent Carbon Monoxide Leaks?
The technician from Heatwave Heating & Cooling will check the burner, pilot light, and other flame-related components to ensure they’re effectively burning the natural gas that comes into your home. Replacing your air filter when it’s dirty is another simple way to keep carbon monoxide in the flue pipe where it belongs.
Putting Your Family’s Safety First
At Heatwave Heating & Cooling, we take safety very seriously. That’s why we are glad to help our customers with furnace maintenance and carbon monoxide detector installation. We can also help with air conditioner repair, thermostat installation, air duct cleaning, tankless water heater installation, and much more. We have been serving this area of Western New York for over 15 years, gaining countless five-star customer reviews along the way, thanks to our professionalism and quick service.
To learn more about protecting your family from carbon monoxide, contact us at Heatwave Heating & Cooling today.
