Conseils d'entretien des fournaises en automne :les détecteurs de monoxyde de carbone sont-ils suffisants ?

Ce n'est un secret pour personne que le monoxyde de carbone est mortel. Nous avons tous entendu les histoires d'horreur qui résultent de personnes respirant sans le savoir le gaz incolore et inodore. En tant que propriétaire ou gestionnaire d'entreprise responsable, vous avez installé des détecteurs de monoxyde de carbone dans votre immeuble et vous pensez probablement que cela vous protège du danger.

Pas tout à fait.

Il est vrai que les détecteurs de monoxyde de carbone vous protégeront très probablement du résultat le plus meurtrier :les personnes dans votre immeuble tombent malades ou même meurent à cause de l'exposition au gaz toxique. Mais avez-vous pensé aux conséquences d'avoir une frayeur dans votre immeuble lorsque ces détecteurs se déclenchent ? Les conseils suivants sur l'entretien des chaudières d'automne vous aideront à rester en sécurité si vos détecteurs se déclenchent et à prendre des mesures préventives pour vous assurer qu'ils ne se déclenchent jamais.

Conseil n° 1 pour l'entretien des chaudières en automne :Connaître le protocole recommandé lorsqu'un détecteur de monoxyde de carbone se déclenche.

1. Évacuez immédiatement le bâtiment. Nous n'avons pas à vous dire à quel point cela pourrait être difficile et potentiellement dangereux. Vous devez disposer du personnel de sécurité approprié et d'un plan en place pour éviter la panique et éviter que des personnes ne se blessent en essayant de sortir précipitamment.
2. Appelez les pompiers. If you have a large building with a facility management system, this may be set up to happen automatically. The next thing you know, the entire street may be blocked as fire trucks converge on your building.
3. Do a head count to determine if anyone is missing. This can be challenging if you own a retail business. Who can verify exactly who was in the building?
4. Turn off the heating system and any appliances. If you own a restaurant, think about the result if you had to shut down the kitchen in the middle of the dinner rush.
5. Open all the windows and doors to air out the space. Many buildings in New York City have windows that don’t open. In this case it will take much longer to clear out the poisonous gas from the building. You may be out in the street for quite some time.
6. Get a qualified expert in to determine the cause of the leak and fix it. How long will you have to wait (with your business at a standstill) for that technician to arrive, then diagnose and fix the problem? If it happens at night or on the weekend, you’ll be paying emergency service rates.

Obviously, there is the potential for significant loss of business due to a carbon monoxide scare in your building. Not to mention the public relations nightmare when your evacuation is reported in the news and everyone who was there shares what happened on social media.

Having those detectors in place can be a lifesaver, but as a business owner you need to do more to make sure you never have a carbon monoxide leak that can damage your business and your reputation.

Fall Furnace Maintenance Tip #2:Take actions to prevent carbon monoxide leaks.

The good news is, there’s a very simple way to avoid all of this. Have your furnace, as well as vents, chimneys, fireplaces, and any fuel-burning appliances regularly inspected by a qualified professional.

The most common cause of carbon monoxide leaks is a failed or leaking heat exchanger in your gas or oil furnace. The heat exchanger’s job is to vent the poisonous gases resulting from heat combustion away from your heating ducts and out of the building. If the heat exchanger develops corrosion, cracks or holes over time, you will never know it because the furnace still works. But carbon monoxide could be making its way through your building’s ventilation system. You’ll have no warning until your carbon monoxide detector goes off, and at that point you have a nightmare on your hands.

The other common cause of carbon monoxide leaks into the air is blocked vents or chimney flues. These are designed to move the deadly gases out of your building, but can get clogged by years-worth of dust and debris. Sometimes blockages can be caused by insect, bird or rodents nests. If this happens in your building, again you probably won’t know until the detector alerts you.

In addition to these furnace maintenance tips, you should have your heating equipment and vent systems thoroughly inspected and cleaned before you turn them on at the start of the heating season. A certified HVAC service professional will make sure your equipment is safe, clean and in good working order. And if it turns out that repairs are needed to make it safe, you can do them at your convenience instead of on an emergency basis. Either way, you’re saving yourself from a major headache and possibly a business disaster.

Carbon monoxide is only one of the dangers your business faces due to poor HVAC maintenance. If you’d like to learn more about the costs and risks associated with neglected heating and air conditioning equipment, take a look at our free guide to Calculating the Hidden Costs of Poor HVAC Maintenance.