Carbon Monoxide Alarms for stoves and why you need one
In Document J, page 9, 17, and 41
The fitting of a CO / Carbon Monoxide Alarm is now a building regulations requirement for a stove installation.
And that is a great idea. Carbon Monoxide is an odourless gas. There is a myth that its heavier than air, its not, its actually slightly lighter. Carbon Monoxide alarms are installed high up in the room with your stove for that reason.
Document J helpfully gives guidance on where you should install your Carbon Monoxide alarm.
- The alarm should be within 1 and 3m horizontally from your stove.
- If its on the ceiling it should at least 300mm away from any wall.
- If its on a wall it should be as high as possible and above the height of any doors or windows, but not closer than 150mm to the ceiling.
HETAS installers can benefit from the handy diagram that they have provided to registered members which has a good graphic of where the alarm should be sited.
Carbon Monoxide coming into your room is usually a sign that something is wrong with your stove or chimney installation. The joins in the stove or chimney may not be sealed well or the chimney may be blocked. This is another reason why its a good idea to install a stove and chimney safely and well using quality components and then to look after your chimney and stove, make sure that the chimney is properly swept and make sure you are using your stove in the best way.
Carbon Monoxide is known as the "silent killer". I already mentioned that its odourless, but it also tends to may you sleepy and so if you don't have an alarm, and something is wrong with your installation then it can lull you off into a dangerous sleep. On the plus side wood smoke coming into the room does have a smell and tends to make you cough, alerting you to the problem.
We supply a Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarm set.We in fact with most stoves we simply include them for free when you choose to work with us.
If you've bought a stove or chimney system from us then we are here anytime to help you about all this - we want you to get the best from your stove. To be honest lots of other people who bought their stove elsewhere end up coming to us for help and we'll generally try to be helpful, we're a friendly lot, time permitting.
Its quite telling that people buy a stove or chimney from another company but end up contacting us for help. That's another good reason to choose to work with us in the first place.
