TL;DR
A carbon monoxide alarm is the device that sounds when it senses the colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion from furnaces, water heaters, ranges, fireplaces, generators, and attached garages. The IRC requires one outside each sleeping area and on every level of homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage, and UL 2034 sets the alarm thresholds, which trigger on sustained concentration over time rather than brief traces.
What it means
A carbon monoxide alarm is the device that sounds when it senses the colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion from furnaces, water heaters, ranges, fireplaces, generators, and attached garages. The IRC requires one outside each sleeping area and on every level of homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage, and UL 2034 sets the alarm thresholds, which trigger on sustained concentration over time rather than brief traces. Units expire, with sensors rated for 5 to 10 years and a date on the back, and combination smoke/CO models are now common. It does not replace annual combustion appliance service; it is the backstop for the failure no one can smell.
Where it sits in the glossary
Carbon monoxide alarm is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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