Why it matters
Several industrially common gases are undetectable by people at concentrations that are already dangerous. Carbon monoxide in particular is odourless and kills well below any level a person would notice.
Sensing
Gas detection
Gas detection is the measurement of the presence or concentration of combustible or toxic gases in an atmosphere.
How it works
Gas sensing technologies differ in cost, specificity, drift behaviour, and whether they report a relative movement or a calibrated absolute concentration. That last difference is the one that decides what a reading may be used for: a relative channel can raise a warning, and only a traceably calibrated one can support a compliance figure.
Example
Detecting carbon monoxide accumulation near a furnace before it reaches occupied areas.
In Alfa HazardX
dedicated gas-sensing elements cover smoke and LPG, solvent vapour, carbon monoxide and general air quality. The v2 node computes ppm from an Ro learned at boot assuming clean air - a self-calibration, not a traceable one.
Read further
Related terms
- Cross-sensitivityCross-sensitivity is a sensor's tendency to respond to substances other than the one it is intended to measure.
- Sensor driftSensor drift is the gradual change in a sensor's output over time for an unchanged input, caused by ageing, contamination or environmental exposure.
- Industrial air qualityIndustrial air quality describes the concentration of particulates, volatile organic compounds and other contaminants in the air of a working industrial space.