Basic Guide to EN50291 Standard for Carbon Monoxide Alarm

With a variety of carbon monoxide detector (also CO alarm) products on the market, the European Union has standardized how the device should function to ensure its meets the minimum life safety requirement.

This standard officially defines the testing methods & performance requirements of electrical apparatus for detection of carbon monoxide in domestic settings. More specifically, it breaks down the testing, instruction, analysis and alert of CO concentration in the environment. EN50291 is equivalent to the American UL2034 or British BS7860.

The European standard EN50291 states that the main CO detector alarm must meet the following requirement:

• at 30 ppm CO, the alarm must not be activated before 120 minutes, or 7200 seconds
• at 50 ppm CO, the alarm must not be activated for at least 60 minutes, but must activate before 90 minutes
• at 100 ppm CO, the alarm must not be activated for at least 10 minutes, but must activate before 40 minutes
• at 300 ppm CO, the alarm must activate in less than 3 minutes

As always, besides having a functioning CO detector that meets the above standard, it is important to follow manufacturer’s instruction of where to place the alarm. You should also test it regularly for battery & activation state. Replace the batteries if they are past the recommended date which is typically 5 year life.

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