Kidde 5CO Battery Powered Carbon Monoxide Alarm 10 Year Life

Product Information

This CO detector will protect you and your family from dangerous carbon monoxide gas. The Kidde 5CO carbon monoxide alarm features a 10 year sensor life and is supplied with 2 x Duracell AA alkaline batteries to power the unit. The 5CO continuously monitors the CO levels detected within a room. These units can be wall mounted or free standing, and feature a 7 year manufacturer's warranty. Don’t think that CO alarms are just for your home, either. They’re essential for caravans and motorhomes, and you might even want to take one on holiday if you’re staying in a cottage or self-catering accommodation. Are there any features worth looking out for? Thankfully, there’s an early-warning solution in the form of a carbon monoxide alarm that costs only a few pounds more than a smoke alarm. Be aware, though, that not all CO detectors are sensitive enough and some no-name brands are downright useless – and, therefore, dangerous. Ensure you opt for a reputable brand such as FireAngel, First Alert, Kidde, Nest or Lifesaver. The one downside with this model is that it runs off a pair of AA batteries, which need to be switched out roughly every three years, making three changes during its lifespan. This isn’t a huge issue, but it means this model isn’t suitable for use in Scottish homes. It is, however, suitable for use in a boat or caravan, making it a good option if you need an alarm on your next boating or caravanning trip. Unlike other CO detectors, the Nest notifies you (and anyone else who has registered) with a notification on your mobile device, even if you’re in another country. It also does the same for smoke. The main unit also speaks a warning in a calm English female voice when it detects smoke or CO in a room. If the CO levels are slowly increasing, the voice will warn you before setting off the alarm. But if CO levels become dangerously high, the centre lamp glows red and a very loud, high-pitched beep is emitted along with a spoken warning letting you know which room is affected. You can temporarily cancel any alarms by holding the “Stop” button on the app or by pressing the unit’s central button.

Everyone knows how important it is to have a smoke alarm in the home. If a fire breaks out while you’re asleep, the smoke it emits will set off the alarm, hopefully giving you time to get out before being asphyxiated by the fire’s deadly concoction of chemical gases.

My Top Recommended Carbon Monoxide Detectors

All of these concentrations are bad enough when you’re awake and realise that something isn’t quite right – especially if others are feeling a similar effect – but if you’re asleep, you may wake up with a severe headache and nausea and be incapable of even crawling for fresh air. Worse, you might not even wake up at all. Why should I be concerned?

Near an appliance: they should be placed within 1 to 3 metres horizontally from the appliance and between the height of the appliance to 150mm below the ceiling – i.e., not above a stove where it would be in the path of steam or fumes.Also note that carbon monoxide has been proven to spread into neighbouring properties through open windows and, in semi-detached or terrace houses, through loft spaces. If your property has an attached garage with a connecting door through to the house, it is recommended to fit a CO alarm inside the house leading from that doorway. It’s also worth noting that the test button on these devices doesn’t actually test the sensor – it only makes sure that the circuit’s working. Most people will not experience any symptoms from prolonged exposure to CO levels of under, say, 40ppm. It depends on the length of exposure, but the real danger level starts at around 400ppm (two to three hours of exposure at this level can be life-threatening). To give you some idea of how dangerous higher levels of concentration can be, 1,500ppm could result in death within an hour and 6,000ppm within 15 minutes. The Nest Protect passed our sealed incense test with flying colours: the smoke alarm went off first, followed by the CO alarm five minutes later; according to the app, the CO level was 414ppm and increasing. We can’t think of a better CO currently alarm on the market, particularly as it also detects smoke.

The better carbon monoxide alarms feature an easy-to-read digital display that shows the carbon monoxide particle count, room temperature and battery level (assuming the unit is non-sealed). Some units store readings for the last few weeks.A reliable carbon monoxide detector should last seven to ten years. It is important to note that this figure relates to the working life of the sensor in the alarm, not the batteries that power it! (Some carbon monoxide detectors are mains-powered or sealed units that contain a lithium battery so the warning does not apply in these cases).