Watch the video on Combustion Safety.
Today in America, more than 62 million homes use natural gas as the primary source of heating fuel. Natural gas is a relatively inexpensive and convenient resource that has been used in this country to power lights, cook food, and heat homes since the early 1800s.
While natural gas is a boon for most homeowners, it comes with a certain amount of risk. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, and tasteless byproduct of burning natural gas; it can poison the home's occupants. When inhaled, carbon monoxide displaces the oxygen in the blood. Early signs of carbon monoxide poisoning are flu-like symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and confusion. Prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide can lead to death by asphyxiation.
The most effective way for builders to protect homeowners from carbon monoxide is to install appliances with a power-vented exhaust system that actively pushes the dangerous gasses from the home.
Power-vented gas appliances offer an advantage over passive conventional gas appliances because they are equipped with a fan. The fan actively pushes the unwanted and potentially harmful gasses to the outside.
Another advantage of installing a power-vented gas appliance is the flexibility it can offer builders when they design homes. Most local building codes limit the size and length of the flue for conventional gas water heaters. These regulations can limit where the builder installs the gas furnace or gas hot water tank and can reduce the design options for the builder. With a power-vented gas appliance, the builder has much more freedom in choosing the location of the gas hot water tank because exhaust vents can run horizontally, as well as vertically, and can stretch much farther than conventional gas hot water tank vents.
With conventional combustion appliances, exhaust from a gas hot water heater or gas furnace vents to the outside through a passive duct system. Because the warm exhaust fumes are relatively lighter than air, they create a natural draft. Under most circumstances, the potentially dangerous fumes will rise and flow to the outside through the metal pipes of the vent and be released harmlessly outside.
However, due to some of the tighter building envelopes created in modern construction, back drafting can sometimes occur. Back drafting is when the dangerous exhaust fumes are pulled back into the home instead of being released through the vent system. This can happen when air pressures within the home, often caused by improper duct sealing, create a pull that draws the fumes back into the home.
Once the cycle of back drafting begins, potentially lethal amounts of carbon monoxide can start to build up within the home. Because a homeowner can succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning without even realizing it, carbon monoxide is often called the "Silent Killer" and is the #1 source of poisoning in the home each year. Builders should make sure that each level of a new home is equipped with a carbon monoxide detector, as well as a conventional smoke detector.
Although builders can't do anything about reducing the actual amount of carbon monoxide produced by gas-fueled appliances, they can make a new home a much safer environment. By installing power vented gas appliances, builders help ensure that homeowners have a safe, healthy breathing environment.
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