Safety

Gas sensors and alarms for a safe environment

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Safety

You will find our sensors in alarm systems in restaurants, factories, and mines. Urbanisation, automation, and smart cities will increase the need for sensors to make the right decisions, but you will also find alarms becoming more important than ever. Often, there is no border between sensing/control and alarm system.

Major applications today are in fast-food restaurants, breweries, parking houses, personal safety equipment, and more. CO2 and a few other gases are odourless and at a high enough level, they are lethal. There have been deaths due to CO2 leaks from tanks providing the gas to soda machines. In some countries, there are laws and restrictions connected to tanks where people work with the gas.

Carbon dioxide in itself is not poisonous, but it decreases the concentration of oxygen when in the same confined space.

Our sensors can detect other gases, but you will find many alarm applications sensing CO2.

We also have products for other gases. Looking for HC-R or A2L-sensors? Please contact sales.

Pär Nordin

Pär Nordin

Executive Sales Director

+46 653-71 77 83

E-mail

Learn More About Safety

Gases can be lethal

At a high enough level, CO is lethal. There have been deaths due to CO₂ leaks from tanks providing the gas to soda machines. In some countries, there are laws and restrictions connected to tanks where people work with the gas. Carbon dioxide can easily be confused with carbon monoxide (CO). There is also confusion about what gas to look for. For instance, today's cars emit more CO than CO. We strongly recommend that CO be monitored as well as CO in parking houses. Carbon dioxide in itself is not poisonous, but it decreases the concentration of oxygen when in the same confined space. Our sensors are able to detect other gases, but you will find many alarm applications sensing CO.

% instead of PPM

If you just learned what ppm stands for, it might be confusing that the alarm world talks about %. There is a reason, however. Since alarms usually work with high levels of concentration, ppm figures become too large to handle.

100% = 1,000,000 ppm

1% = 10,000 ppm

So, how do we translate percentage to the alarm world?

Fresh air contains 0.04% CO. When CO rises to 1.5% (15,000 ppm), your heart rate may increase, and at 4% (40,000ppm) you are in immediate danger.

Certification

If you intend to use sensors as part of a safety system, make sure that you have the correct certificates for your market. We have experience processing our sensors for applications like alarms (e.g. UL or TüV) or shutoff systems (e.g. kerosene stoves in France). The testing procedures help you to make sure you have chosen the right suppliers with the right quality level. Also, the verified tests help you build trust in your market.

Food industry where carbon dioxide is used

Examples of food industries where carbon dioxide is used include breweries and wineries (where CO is generated in the process), soft drink plants, slaughterhouses, food packaging, greenhouses, freezing plants, and dry ice production.

Hospitality industry

When soda machines are installed in gas stations, restaurants, and pubs, there is a leakage risk in pipelines and fittings. A tank in a restaurant is in the range from 180 to 340 kilos of liquid CO!

The New A2L refrigerant leak detector

Refrigerant gases are essential for commercial and industrial refrigeration and air conditioners. Managing refrigerants is important from an environmental, regulatory, and financial perspective. The HVAC industry and shifting regulatory priorities are moving towards the use of refrigerants with low Global Warming Potential (GWP). Although these new refrigerants have a low impact on climate change and global warming, they tend to fall under the A2L classification. This means that they are considered mildly flammable and present a potential safety risk. One way to enhance and ensure safety for your employees or residents is by early detecting a leakage of these flammable gases. This will enable you to respond early and take necessary action to prevent accidents and maintain your site operational and safe.

Technical challenge
We understand that this creates a unique technical challenge for our OEM customers when incorporating their HVAC systems with new leak detection sensors. There are several aspects to consider when choosing an optimum and cost-effective solution. Here are three factors we believe can help you determine how well our solution will fit your needs and how it could enhance your operations.

  • Measurement Accuracy
  • The total cost of ownership of the detector
  • Long term reliability

The importance of reliable and accurate readings should not be taking lightly. Immediate alarms of harmful gas leakages can save lives. While you might find other sensors that cost less than ours, it is important to also consider additional expenses that may come with maintaining or replacing a low-cost option.

Thanks to our built-in self-correcting ABC- algorithm we can provide long term measurement stability. This means that we can ensure a life expectancy of at least 15 years with accurate and reliable readings. No maintenance or further calibration is required after initial installation. The investment in a high-quality sensor can in the long run be more valuable and cost-effective than an initial low-cost option.

Solution
Our solution is an NDIR-based sensor with LED technology that truly saves power while maintaining high precision. Containing electronics with no moving parts also makes this sensor robust and resistant to vibrations. An environment with explosion risk is highly benefitted by the solid state design.

This unique sensor can specifically target and measure selected A2L refrigerant gas leaks. Our sensing platform can then communicate an alert, or directly engage in mitigation methods or shut-down procedures.

Our A2L leakage detector sensors ensures UL60079-29-2 compliance, and furthermore provide these qualities: 

  • Fast Response Time; < 10 Seconds
  • Limited Measurement Impact due to Temperature or rH Changes
  • Immunity to Poisoning

Swimming pools

CO can be used to neutralize chlorine in swimming pools. Tanks with liquid CO must be monitored for leaks.

Most of our OEM customers need ready-to-install products and solutions. You will find your solutions on one of five Adaptable Platforms, where we can start our journey together. You can buy our sensors as stand alone (Sensor Core), or mounted on a pcb (Sensor onBoard) with other functions, such as communication, power, and other sensors.

You will also find that we have extended warranties when we deliver white label casing (Sensor inCase) with all functions.

Mining, oil & gas industry

The canary bird was used in coal mines until the mid-sixties because of their sensitivity to carbon monoxide and other toxic gases. For the miner, the bird’s song was a sign that no toxic gases were present and when the bird went silent, miners knew they needed to make a quick exit. Today’s canary will start to “sing” when there is a gas leak in tunnels or rooms. 

Our market today is mainly in China. Here, you will find fixed installations with our IR sensor technology.

In the oil & gas industry, you will find environmental monitoring for leak detection on platforms and where fracking is taking place. 

Cabin Safety

A confined space like a cabin in a car, truck, aeroplane, or a ship's bridge has to be well-ventilated to keep personnel alert. If you close a car's ventilation (e.g. going through a tunnel or if you don’t like the fumes from a badly tuned truck), it takes about 5-10 minutes (depending on how many people there are in the car) to raise the level of CO to 2,000-3,000 ppm, a level where your decision-making ability could become impaired.

A field where alarms really come in handy is when CO is used as a cooling media in air conditions. You can find more information about cabin environment under Automotive.

Most of our OEM customers need ready-to-install products and solutions. You will find your solutions on one of five Adaptable Platforms, where we can start our journey together. You can buy our sensors as stand alone (Sensor Core), or mounted on a pcb (Sensor onBoard) with other functions, such as communication, power, and other sensors.

You will also find that we have extended warranties when we deliver white label casing (Sensor inCase) with all functions.

Parking Houses

The first thing that comes to mind when a car is started in a garage is carbon monoxide (CO). Today's cars with catalysis emit higher levels of CO₂, which is why we strongly recommend multiple sensors.

If a CO sensor is controlling the air flow, you will find that the exchange rate is far too low. When the parking lot maintenance technician realises that, they will switch to permanent ventilation and no energy is saved. We recommend control with CO and alarm with CO. 

For a deeper look into the subject, click here to read an article by Hans Martin.

Sensor Challenges

When developing alarms, you need the right sensor; one that is always reliable and only alarms when necessary. Our sensors can be programmed to provide different levels of attention.

For instance, there might be a pre-alarm at 1,5% and an evacuation alarm at 3%. However, there is also a danger if there is a high average over the course of a working day (8hrs), which can be detected and released as an alarm*.

When you order our sensors, we will adapt and calibrate them according to the range you need to monitor (some cycles take up to a week to ensure the right calibration under different circumstances). 

* Time Weighted Average (TWA) CO concentration over time as well as Short Term Exposure Limits (STEL)

Most of our OEM customers need ready-to-install products and solutions. You will find your solutions on one of five Adaptable Platforms, where we can start our journey together. You can buy our sensors as stand alone (Sensor Core), or mounted on a pcb (Sensor onBoard) with other functions, such as communication, power, and other sensors.

You will also find that we have extended warranties when we deliver white label casing (Sensor inCase) with all functions.