FAQ: Why are Generators such dangerous sources of carbon monoxide during storm season?
Short Answer: Because they have extraordinary high levels of carbon monoxide in their exhaust and can only be operated more than 20 feet from any structure.
Why are Generators such dangerous sources of carbon monoxide? Because they run extremely inefficiently with extremely high levels of exhaust, many magnitudes higher than cars. They are never mean to be operated any where near an indoor space. See CPSC Proposed Rule to impose safety regulations on the manufacture of these dangerous machines.Proposed CPSC Generator Carbon Monoxide Rule, 2016
From our video podcast:
Gordon Johnson: So let me give you an example. We’re in hurricane season. Griff’s sitting in Florida. I don’t know if they’re their hurricanes bearing down on you right now. But this time of year. Sometimes you’re batten down the hatches. What’s the biggest concern for people living in Florida have this time of year about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Griff Winthrop: Its generators. Some of the dirtiest burning devices out there right now.
Gordon Johnson: Generators are actually not any more dangerous than most small engines. It’s just we hear about it with respect to carbon monoxide in related to storms. All right. A generator will generate in the exhaust something like 87,000 to 100,000 parts per million. That may be no worse than your lawnmower. It may be no worse than your garden tractor. Because these are basically the same engines.
The reason it’s not a problem is, fortunately, most people don’t run their lawnmowers in the garage, and they never put them in their kitchen. Inevitably someone is going to think that the best place to run the generator is in their basement or in their garage, and they especially like the idea of leaving the door open on their garage. Because that will air it out.
But the problem with leaving a door open in your garage, you may be creating the pathway for the exhaust to flow into your house. Generators have such high concentrations of CO in their exhaust that even a marginal exposure to getting into your house–just a partial pathway–may be enough to get the levels to the 5 to 10,000 parts per million indoors. Those levels will kill you before you realize you’re sick.
Griff Winthrop: Right. We have a lot of generator deaths and poisonings in Florida during hurricane season.
Gordon Johnson: And of course, you know, as global warming effects, more places, more frequently this danger will only increase. It’s not just Florida and Texas that have these problems. What’s different about the setup of your home generator that you have?
Griff Winthrop: Well, I have a large 45 kilowatt standby generator made by Generac, right in Wisconsin down the road from where Gordon is sitting right now. And it is installed by a professional, and its combustion is balanced by a professional, and it’s a propane appliance. It is also 40 to 50ft away from my home outside.