As carbon monoxide laws are changing, Ian Ballinger, Head of Projects and Certification at FireAngel, shares his expert insights on going above and beyond the latest standards

Over the last decade, carbon monoxide poisoning has caused an average of 162 deaths yearly in the UK, equivalent to a life lost every few days according to the Office for National Statistics. Carbon monoxide can kill quickly and without warning, as it cannot be seen, tasted, or smelt. A carbon monoxide alarm is the only certified source of detection, but as shown by the most recent English Housing Survey more than 2.3 million households in the UK are without a working carbon monoxide alarm.

One in five homes have at least one faulty gas appliance, the most common source of carbon monoxide poisoning. To keep more people safe, the laws are changing for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in UK homes, meaning that more domestic properties will be legally required to have such alarms. The UK Government has committed to update the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 to provide greater protection for social housing residents.

From the 1st of October 2022, housing providers will be required by law to install smoke alarms in all social housing, and carbon monoxide alarms will have to be fitted in social and private rented properties where there is a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. The regulation changes will also require carbon monoxide alarms to be fitted when new appliances such as gas boilers or fires are installed in any home.

In cases where repair or replacement of an alarm is necessary, housing providers must act ‘as soon as reasonably practical’ after being advised of the problem. However, housing providers should ensure that any carbon monoxide alarms they purchase are fully certified to the European standard EN 50291-1 and carry a third-party approval mark, such as the BSI Kitemark, to ensure compliance with the latest safety standard. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise in counterfeit safety products appearing on the market with misleading performance and quality claims and fake documents of CE mark compliance, putting lives at risk. The BSI Kitemark demonstrates that product samples have been independently tested and are compliant. The mark also indicates that BSI has assessed the place of manufacture to ensure production is controlled, sampled, and checked.

Understanding the regulations for each nation

Across the UK, home safety guidance is evolving at a rapid pace. The Welsh government is currently undertaking the biggest change to its housing law in decades. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will come into force this December 2022 to ensure that both private and social rented properties in Wales are fit for human habitation. This includes regulations on fire and carbon monoxide safety. Landlords will be required to ensure that working carbon monoxide detectors are fitted in their properties where there is any gas appliance, an oil-fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel-burning combustion appliance.

In Scotland, all homes have been required to have a carbon monoxide alarm in all rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding an appliance used solely for cooking) or a flue. In rented properties, landlords are responsible for supplying the alarm. Carbon monoxide alarms must meet the relevant British Standards (EN 50291-1) and have ‘a sealed battery for the duration of its lifespan’ to prevent tampering or the need for battery changes.

In Northern Ireland, carbon monoxide alarms are a mandatory requirement for all homes where a new fossil fuel appliance is installed. The Private Tenancies Act, which requires carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in privately rented homes and places a duty on landlords to repair them, received Royal Assent on the 27^th of April 2022.

Futureproofing properties

As we continue to see legislative requirements advance across the UK, housing providers should not wait for further guidance changes to reinforce their duty of care. In the run-up to the new Scottish Tolerable Standard, the industry saw a marked shift towards wireless interconnected alarms, often referred to as interlinked. Interconnected smoke alarms have been a requirement of UK Building Regulations since the 1990s. The latest (2019) revision to the British Standard BS5839:6 also requires interconnected smoke alarms in all rental properties. Historically, this has been achieved using a physical wire to link all the alarms in a property.

Beyond the speed of installation, it is far easier and faster to add additional smoke, heat, or carbon monoxide alarms to a wireless system, paramount when UK legalisation continues to evolve at such a rapid pace.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) recognises that although many organisations collect information relevant to carbon monoxide safety, there is an incomplete picture of the risk, exposure, and response in the UK. Choosing the right alarms and wireless interconnect technology enables cost-effective Internet of Things (IoT) integration of new and existing installations, simply by adding a connected gateway to the alarm network. This delivers further benefits as gateway devices can have onboard sensors, enabling a more comprehensive picture of what is going on in a property.

In addition, gateway devices can be connected to an open system, bringing together a range of devices in the home such as smart health monitors, panic buttons and connected smoke alarms. Having a hub that different technologies can feed into can ensure that more residents receive holistic support, increasing the likelihood of preventing additional risks to health and decreasing associated costs in the long term.

IoT and connected fire safety technologies using Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also help to bridge the gap in communication between a property and its tenant, as housing providers can benefit from silent network testing automatically conducted every 18 hours for each property. This helps to provide a clear due diligence trail of compliance, if and when required, and confirms the status and performance of each alarm. The remote monitoring capabilities that connected technologies offer can help support a significant reduction in overheads because the costs and requirements for physical property visits and subsequent missed appointments are eliminated.

Housing providers can also demonstrate best practice by installing alarms that meet an LD1 category, the highest level of domestic protection available. LD1 alarms can futureproof properties from regulatory changes and avoid an average £100 fee per callout to update devices to meet any other new standards.

Ultimately, carbon monoxide poisoning takes lives, but new regulatory changes mean people living in the social rented sector will soon be safer in their homes. Meanwhile, advances in safety technology can help housing providers go above and beyond the latest requirements to reinforce their duty of care and stay ahead of future changes to legislation.

This article was originally published in the September edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.