Carbon Monoxide Detecting Standards 

The Carbon Monoxide alarms currently available in the UK may be made to one of three standards. They do not all require the alarms to sound at the same levels.

  • For the UK market there are two standards, BS7860:1996 and EN50291:2001. The BS7860:1996 has been made obsolete and since April 2006 all new Carbon Monoxide alarms should be manufactured using EN50291:2001.
  • Alarms manufactured for the North American market use the American Standard - UL2034 .

The kite mark means the product has been independently tested and proves that it meets the standard. The CE mark usual means the alarm has been test for electrical safety and radio frequency interference. It does not mean it has been tested for performance in detecting Carbon Monoxide.

 Standard  Triggering Levels    
 EN50291:2001 50PPM - between 60-90mins 100PPM - between 10-40mins 300PPM - less than 3mins
 UL2034 70PPM - between 60-240mins 150PPM - between 10-50mins 400PPM - between 4-15mins
 BS 7860:1996 45PPM - No alarm before 60mins 150PPM - must alarm within 10-30mins 350PPM - must alarm within 6mins

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