CO Monitoring Sufficiently sensitive monitoring equipment has been available at relatively moderate cost to measure CO levels only in the last few years. This equipment measures levels both in the undiluted flues and exhaust ports of combustion appliances and in the indoor air. Low-income weatherization agencies have recognized the need to use the newer equipment and have purchased it. However, most utilities and heating contractors have no CO monitoring equipment, sufficiently sensitive or not. Fortunately, testing for CO production from stove burners or ovens is relatively easy.
Monitoring requires a continuous readout CO meter that is accurate to within a few ppm.
It has an electrochemical sensor with a readout range of 0-2,000 ppm, making it quite accurate in the low range. Before monitoring the effects of an oven, always check to see whether there is aluminum foil on the bottom. This foil often blocks the secondary air holes along the edges and results in excess CO production. One approach to monitoring the effect of an oven is to turn it on and measure the CO level in the kitchen air after a few minutes. But that method is now discredited because it can take hours for indoor CO levels to reach their peak.