Everything You Need to Know About Boiler Room Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you own or manage a property in New York City with a boiler room, it’s possible that the combustion of fossil fuels to fire the boiler could produce dangerous and even fatal byproducts, particularly carbon monoxide (CO). You should have a boiler room carbon monoxide detector to alert you to the presence of this hazardous compound. Let’s review why this is so essential and what the requirements are for your building.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

Byproduct of combustion

Carbon monoxide is a normal byproduct of combustion reactions, like the one that takes place in your boiler system when natural gas is burned to heat the boiler water. Also known by the chemical formula CO, carbon monoxide must be eliminated from the environment by proper venting.

When appropriate venting isn’t permitted, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide build up in the environment. If someone is inside, they can become poisoned by the carbon monoxide in the air. Carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to hospitalization and even death. Here are some scenarios that can lead to a dangerous buildup of this gas.

• Cooking with barbecue grills indoors
• House fires (even small ones)
• Running a motor vehicle or gas-powered tools inside a closed garage
• Operating an emergency generator inside or too close to the house
• Using a gas stove or oven to heat the interior
• Heating the inside of a property with a kerosene heater meant for outdoors

In the case of boilers, usually, an accumulation of unhealthy carbon monoxide is due to improperly installed venting, blocked flues and other exhaust routes, or a failure to maintain and clean the boiler ignition area.

While carbon monoxide is a normal result of combustion, it can be produced in even greater quantities with incomplete combustion, which happens when boilers aren’t burning cleanly or thoroughly. Carbon monoxide can also travel easily from the boiler room to other areas of the building via vents, ducts, and other openings.

Why Is Carbon Monoxide So Dangerous?

More easily taken up than oxygen

Carbon monoxide can cause dangerous health consequences and death very quickly. This is because it binds more easily with hemoglobin in human red blood cells than oxygen does. Red blood cells are responsible for circulating oxygen throughout the body.

When red blood cells carry carbon monoxide instead, the body becomes starved for oxygen, including vital organs like the brain. Without oxygen, the body reacts as if it’s being suffocated, which can be fatal. In other instances where people survive carbon monoxide poisoning, vital organ and brain damage can occur. Every year in the US, there are hundreds of deaths and over 15,000 ER visits due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Is Your NYC Building Required to Have Carbon Monoxide Detectors?

Dwelling units and boiler rooms

In New York City, there are strict laws requiring the use of carbon monoxide detectors in most buildings. If you are a landlord or property manager, you should be familiar with the regulations dictated by the Department of Buildings.

The laws about carbon monoxide detection have been updated periodically to include stricter and more comprehensive use of CO detectors. As well as carbon monoxide detectors being required in dwelling units (apartments or rooming house units), they are also required in many public spaces.

For the safety of the building and its staff, carbon monoxide detectors are also mandated in any room using combustion for boilers, furnaces, and water heaters. Failure to comply with this code can result in citations and stiff fines from the city.

How Do Carbon Monoxide Detectors Make Boiler Rooms Safer?

Early alert system

The way carbon monoxide detectors work is similar to how smoke detectors work. When the presence of carbon monoxide is identified past a very low baseline, an alarm is sounded, alerting building maintenance to the potential for danger. Some models also alert tenants to the possible presence of CO. Additionally, there are models that combine carbon monoxide detection with the detection of natural gas leaks.

With modern carbon monoxide detectors, if the concentration of CO continues to rise, the gas supply is automatically shut off. Once the gas supply is discontinued, combustion ceases, so no more carbon monoxide is produced. The area must be properly ventilated to remove the presence of CO, and the cause of the detector going off must be determined before the boiler can operate again.

Boiler room carbon monoxide detectors should be checked at least twice monthly using the test button feature to make sure they are operational. If they use a battery as a power source, the battery should be replaced at least twice a year, if not more often. (Like smoke detectors, CO detectors should chirp when the battery is getting low.) The changing of the clocks for Daylight Saving Time is a good reminder to swap out all the CO detector batteries on your property.

What Are the Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

Sleepiness and other signs

Although carbon monoxide detectors can be literal lifesavers, you should be familiar with the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning anyway. If you feel or observe these signs and symptoms in others, it’s imperative to call 911 immediately:

• Headaches
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Passing out (AKA loss of consciousness)
• Extreme lethargy
• Unusual sleepiness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing (AKA shortness of breath)
• Blue lips or extremities

These symptoms may appear more quickly in babies, seniors, and people with existing medical conditions.

Do You Need Assistance with a Carbon Monoxide Detector in Your Boiler Room?

Calray Boilers, NYC’s hyper-local blue-chip experts

Whether you need help installing new carbon monoxide detectors, replacement of old detectors, or maintenance of your boiler system to prevent CO buildup, Calray Boilers is here for you.

We’ve been the boiler professionals New York City property owners have relied on for nearly 100 years. We offer annual service agreements to make upkeep of your boiler even easier.

Call us at 212-722-5506, or use our online form to schedule an appointment. Don’t risk carbon monoxide poisoning in your building. Reach out today.