Presently the California State Building Code requires that smoke alarms be located in 1) the hallway outside the bedrooms 2) in each bedroom and 3) on every floor regardless of whether there is a bedroom on that floor. For all other homes, the smoke alarm may be battery operated.

When placed in garages, smoke detectors may alarm frequently due to car exhaust fumes and excessive dust. The frequent alarms can become a nuisance and may damage the internal sensor of the alarm, causing it to not work properly over time.

Don’t install the detector….

• On windows or sliding doors as the winds and air may not pick up the heat of smoke or fire.
• In humid or moist areas including the bathroom.
• In areas that easily collect dust and dirt including unfinished attics.
• In cooler rooms such as sunrooms or porches.
• Near ceiling fans or air vents.

The current Florida Fire Prevention code requires dual powered (battery and house current) smoke detectors, inside and outside each sleeping room and on every floor level for new construction. On floors without bedrooms, detectors should be installed in or near living areas, such as dens, living rooms, or family rooms.

five smoke alarms

In order to satisfy the requirements of this Florida statute, a hard-wired or battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm or combined carbon monoxide and smoke alarm, must be installed. Florida Statute 509.211 covers the safety regulations regarding carbon monoxide.

about 5 feet

Beginning January 1, 2015, the Florida Building Code now requires Florida homeowners that do not have hard-wired smoke detectors to install 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms. A hard-wired smoke detector is wired to 120V household electrical circuit and connected to other detectors throughout your home.

Every home with at least one fuel-burning appliance/heater, attached garage or fireplace should have a carbon monoxide alarm. If the home has only one carbon monoxide alarm, it should be installed in the main bedroom or in the hallway outside of the sleeping area.

What kind of appliances can cause carbon monoxide poisoning? And because cars and other gas-powered equipment create carbon monoxide, virtually every home should have a CO detector, even if there are no fuel-burning appliances in the house.

At least one carbon monoxide detector must be installed on each floor of your home, including the basement. You’ll also want to consider adding a detector in your garage if it’s attached to your home. And most importantly, install a carbon monoxide detector inside or directly outside of each bedroom or sleeping area.

From 1 October 2015, every private rented property needs to be fitted with smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms (if applicable). The requirement is to install at least one smoke alarm on every storey of the rental property on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation.

The affinity between CO and hemoglobin is 200 times stronger than the affinity between hemoglobin and oxygen. When CO binds to the hemoglobin it cannot be released nearly as readily as oxygen would be. The preferential binding of carbon monoxide to heme iron is the main reason for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Smoke alarms installed since 3 September 2007 must be mains powered, with all battery-powered fire alarms required to be hardwired when they are replaced.

No. Only heaters that burn a combustible fuel to create heat can cause carbon monoxide build-up in your home. Either way, nothing is being burned up to create heat with an electric space heater, so carbon monoxide poisoning is not an issue.

Carbon Monoxide Sources in the Home

• Clothes dryers.
• Water heaters.
• Furnaces or boilers.
• Fireplaces, both gas and wood burning.
• Gas stoves and ovens.
• Motor vehicles.
• Grills, generators, power tools, lawn equipment.
• Wood stoves.

While an electric clothes dryer doesn’t expel carbon monoxide like its gas counterpart, there are large amounts of moist air and lint coming out of your electric dryer, both of which can severely damage your home if they accumulate.

An electric oven is powered by electricity, not gas, and is safer to leave running than an older gas stove because it doesn’t emit carbon monoxide. Electric ovens frequently stay on for many hours at a time without adverse effects.

First, there’s a risk of injury involved with a hot oven. If you leave the door open on a hot oven hoping the heat will escape and warm the room, you might accidentally bump into the hot surface and burn yourself. For this reason, it’s always recommended to keep a hot oven closed around children and pets.

Because of the deadly consequences that can occur due to carbon monoxide poisoning, it is recommended that homes without any gas powered appliances (all-electric) still have at least one carbon monoxide detector monitoring the indoor air in case an unusual circumstance occurs.

Do not use a gas or electric oven or surface units for heating. A gas oven may go out or not burn well, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. An electric oven is not designed for space heating.

In addition to the CO poisoning, an unattended gas oven that is left on could overheat and ignite a fire. It is dangerous to leave the oven door open for extended periods of time. It’s both a fire risk and if you leave the oven door of a gas stove on, you are risking Carbon Monoxide poisoning as well.

The EPA says at moderate levels it causes headaches, dizziness, nausea, and fainting—and at high levels it can be fatal. The gas is emitted anytime combustion appliances (such as gas stoves) are used, but dangerous levels occur only when these appliances are misused or misadjusted.

Most electric ovens draw between 2,000 and 5,000 watts, with the average electric stove wattage coming in at around 3,000 watts. So how much energy does an electric stove use per hour? Assuming an electricity rate of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), a 3000-watt oven will cost you about 36 cents per hour at high heat.

What Uses the Most Energy in Your Home?

• Cooling and heating: 47% of energy use.
• Water heater: 14% of energy use.
• Washer and dryer: 13% of energy use.
• Lighting: 12% of energy use.
• Refrigerator: 4% of energy use.
• Electric oven: 3-4% of energy use.
• TV, DVD, cable box: 3% of energy use.
• Dishwasher: 2% of energy use.

Unplugging your appliances probably won’t leave you noticeably richer, but it’s a relatively easy way to save 5 to 10 percent on your electric bill. And if you can convince your friends and neighbors to eliminate phantom power, too, the cumulative effect could be truly impressive.

Roughly $0.20 to $0.30 an hour for the oven. If you had AC running all night trying to compensate for the heat you need to figure the cost of that too. Whoa!

Can I leave the oven on overnight for heat? No! You should never use your oven to heat your home or apartment. Not only is it an inefficient way to heat a large space, but it’s also very risky, and could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be deadly.

Yes. Oven lights can be left on as long as they last, they are designed to give you visibility as you are baking. Temperature of the oven makes no difference.

Whenever you leave a hot stove unattended, you risk fire – especially from a gas-flame stove. The longer the stove is on, the hotter the stovetop gets up to the design safety limits of the manufacturer.