Ionizers and electrostatic precipitators are other types of air cleaners that can produce ozone as a by-product of their design and function. These devices are designed to electrically charge particles and remove them from the air. Ozone may be released through the charging process.

There are two main sources of ozone in residential buildings—the outdoor sources that enter the room mainly through natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation, and infiltration through cracks in the building envelope [8], and the indoor sources that are emitted by some electrical devices.

CRT TVs use the flyback transformer to generate voltage levels of about 20 to 30 kilovolts to accelerate electrons inside the tube. That is much more than the about 2 to 10 kilovolts required to produce ozone. Any exposed high voltage can create a corona discharge that produces ozone.

Ozone emission rates ranged from 1.6 mg/h for a refrigerator air purifier to 15.4 mg/h for a fruit and vegetable washer. The use of some products was estimated to contribute up to 87% of total daily exposures to ozone. The results show that the use of some products may result in potential health impacts.

Did you know that the refrigerants contained in air-conditioners and refrigerators can be extremely harmful to the environment? Many refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) damage the ozone layer, while others are extremely potent greenhouse gases.

Your home’s refrigerator does more than store milk and meat. It also contains chemicals that emit greenhouse gases. These coolants—used in cars and buildings—emit heat-trapping gases during manufacturing, leakage, or disposal.

Appliances such as space heaters, gas stoves, furnaces, heaters, and refrigerators can all emit CO if poorly ventilated. A gas leak can also be a major cause of carbon monoxide emission.

Carbon Monoxide Sources in the Home

• Clothes dryers.
• Water heaters.
• Furnaces or boilers.
• Fireplaces, both gas and wood burning.
• Gas stoves and ovens.
• Motor vehicles.
• Grills, generators, power tools, lawn equipment.
• Wood stoves.

An electric oven is powered by electricity, not gas, and is safer to leave running than an older gas stove because it doesn’t emit carbon monoxide. Electric ovens frequently stay on for many hours at a time without adverse effects.

While an electric clothes dryer doesn’t expel carbon monoxide like its gas counterpart, there are large amounts of moist air and lint coming out of your electric dryer, both of which can severely damage your home if they accumulate.

Although you may not know it, the gas stove and oven in your home can be sources of carbon monoxide. However, all of them have the potential to produce carbon monoxide so long as it is burning in low oxygen. A kitchen stove and oven can produce CO albeit in mild concentrations.

Other possible clues of a carbon monoxide leak include:

1. black, sooty marks on the front covers of gas fires.
2. sooty or yellow/brown stains on or around boilers, stoves or fires.
3. smoke building up in rooms because of a faulty flue.
4. yellow instead of blue flames coming from gas appliances.
5. pilot lights frequently blowing out.

Burning food produces smoke and carbon monoxide, and can cause smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to alarm. So can self cleaning ovens during the clean cycle. Carbon monoxide is toxic, so if CO reaches concentrations high enough to set off an alarm, the alarm should be taken seriously.

Malfunctioning water heater or furnace: Improper ventilation, excess gas flow or other malfunctions could set off your carbon monoxide detector. Obstructed chimney: If fumes can’t escape, they become trapped inside. The carbon monoxide detector senses this and sounds the alarm.

For all practical purposes, ozone does not react at all with such chemicals. And contrary to specific claims by some vendors, ozone generators are not effective in removing carbon monoxide (Salls, 1927; Shaughnessy et al., 1994) or formaldehyde (Esswein and Boeniger, 1994).

MALFUNCTION

How to Reduce Nuisance Alarms. Smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms can false alarm for several reasons. False or nuisance alarms are when your smoke detector or CO alarm goes off, but there is no presence of smoke or carbon monoxide in your home.

Your carbon monoxide detectors will also beep if they are faulty or defective. Carbon monoxide detectors do not last forever. The internal sensors and wires can fail after a period of time, which will also cause beeping, and therefore a false alarm.

Signs of a carbon monoxide leak in your house or home Sooty or brownish-yellow stains around the leaking appliance. Stale, stuffy, or smelly air, like the smell of something burning or overheating. Soot, smoke, fumes, or back-draft in the house from a chimney, fireplace, or other fuel burning equipment.

4 Beeps and a Pause: EMERGENCY. This means that carbon monoxide has been detected in the area, you should move to fresh air and call 9-1-1. 1 Beep Every Minute: Low Battery.

Carbon monoxide (CO) alarms monitor your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and are designed to provide accurate readings for the life of the alarm. When your alarm nears its end of life, it will let you know by beeping 2 times every 30 seconds.

The following conditions could cause your carbon monoxide alarm to chirp consistently: Low Battery Condition – The alarm will chirp once every 60 seconds to indicate the batteries need to be replaced. End of Life Warning – Seven years after initial power up, a Kidde CO alarm will begin chirping every 30 seconds.

If you suspect the presence of carbon monoxide in your home, leave the home immediately and call the fire department or a professional on-site air testing company. Open all of the windows and doors and turn off all stoves, your HVAC system, and the water heater.

There isn’t a self-diagnosis option for carbon monoxide poisoning, but anyone with confusion or a loss of consciousness should have 911 called for them.

Dogs aren’t able to sense or smell carbon monoxide, so they’re not able to alert their owners to its presence before it happens or when the first leak of carbon monoxide is evident, but it is true that dogs will be affected by carbon monoxide much quicker than humans.

Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems Mobile App The Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems Checklist mobile app inspects Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems using an iPad, iPhone, Android device, or a Windows desktop.