General
Our
aim was to propose a balanced range of services to the home; encompassing
safety, health, and energy efficiency. We tried to incorporate solutions
to problems that we found to be issues in local housing.
The problems best suited to solution through remote monitoring
and control tended to be related to air quality, and it is this that
we focus on in our health and safety services.
CO
detector
Information
on the dangers of CO air pollution can be found elsewhere on this site.
Given that this is a potentially deadly problem, and that CO detectors
already exist in isolation from the web, our solution had to be innovative
and to provide a service beyond anything already existing. Our service
also had to add extra value through the internet, otherwise a standalone
detector would be preferable.
We found the current British Standards Institution guidelines
specifically states that CO detectors should not alarm
below certain levels for a long period of time, for fear of false alarms.
These levels were deemed 'tolerable' to the average person.
However,
this assessment does not cover the elderly or those particularly at
risk. It only covers the risk of death, although many of the studies
we read underlined the dangers to health in non-fatal cases. Neurological
problems and memory loss among children was a particular concern, even
at very low concentrations of CO gas. Children use more oxygen than
adults
due to their higher metabolic rates.
We
propose to monitor CO levels in greater detail than a BSI approved detector
would. Although a BSI approved CO detector is vital in homes at risk,
additional monitoring can reveal long term trends in CO levels in the
home. This can point to inefficient fuel burning appliances at an early
stage.
Whilst
we provide an information service where customers can view an analysis
of the CO levels in their home over the long term, this can also be
used by energy and safety managers responsible for the maintenence of
households on a large scale. A manager can view data on many houses,
identify those at risk, and send help to those who may require it.
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