Carbon Monoxide Detector Review

Why you need a carbon-monoxide detector

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless gas produced when carbon-based fuels (like wood, oil, coal, kerosene and natural gas) burn incompletely. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the U.S. is carbon monoxide. Estimates put the number of deaths from 80 to 200 per year. Exposure to increasing levels of carbon monoxide can lead to headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue, shortness of breath, unconsciousness and death. CO detectors are the only way to detect dangerous levels of the gas. Health care and building experts now recommend a carbon monoxide detector for every dwelling. Currently 15 states (New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Alaska and Rhode Island, among others) have legislation requiring carbon monoxide detector installation in every new and resold home or apartment, and several cities have ordinances in place (Chicago, St. Louis and New York City), with legislation pending in other areas of the U.S.

Carbon monoxide detectors have received a curious "on-again/off-again" buzz in the media, which seems to report on the need for these units only in the wake of tragedy. Almost every day there are reports of CO poisoning in homes, boats, hotels or offices. Some of the press about carbon monoxide detectors has been negative, particularly after thousands of units were recalled in 1994 for setting off false alarms. This led many people to distrust the effectiveness and usefulness of these devices. However, what the media hasn't conveyed is the significant boost in product quality and performance over the past few years in response to earlier recalls. New laws are also being passed throughout the country to make carbon monoxide detectors mandatory in certain places, such as in new single-family homes, apartments or in hotel rooms.

We found the most carbon monoxide detector reviews at Consumer Reports magazine. We discovered good articles about safety and carbon monoxide poisoning from The New York Times and USA Today magazine, a helpful comparison chart from Alarmspecs.com and a nice survey of carbon monoxide detectors from Rod Brouhard at About.com. But the most recent information comes from the owner-written reviews at Amazon.com.

The two brands currently dominating the market are First Alert and Kidde. The Kidde series of carbon monoxide detectors is lauded in reviews as the best, based on tests for accuracy, speed and durability. These models meet Underwriters Laboratory (UL) requirements, have electrochemical sensors, come with five-year limited warranties and have full-range digital displays that constantly report carbon monoxide levels. (This feature is not available on all models.) Many Kidde carbon monoxide detectors have peak-level memory that saves a record of the highest CO level detected. This helps emergency responders find the CO source and discover how much exposure has occurred. The Kidde KN-COPP-B (*Est. $40) has all these features. This model is also sold as the Kidde 900-0146.