Indoor Air Quality Testing: Oxygen Levels and Oxygen Deprivation Effects

2 Responses

  1. Jeff Elliott says:

    Is there a home wall mounted O2 measuring device that exist on the retail market. Something like my home thermostat ? If yes, can someone point me in the right direction. Most inquiries I type into ‘ Google Search’ gives me a personal fingertip O2 sensor that measures Oxygenated Blood Levels. – Not what I am interested in. Thank you for you response.

    Jeff Elliott

    Houston, TX

    • admin says:

      Jeff,

      >Is there a home wall mounted O2 measuring device that exist on the retail market. Something like my >home thermostat ?

      Good question!

      >Most inquiries I type into ‘ Google Search’ gives me a personal fingertip O2 sensor that measures >Oxygenated Blood Levels. – Not what I am interested in. Thank you for you response.

      Yes, those fingertip monitors are known as pulse oximeters which I personally recommend for a first aid kit IF you are qualified to select and use one. (medically trained)

      What you are asking about in regard to Oxygen (O2) sensors that are mounted on the wall are typically only found at the commercial level – often in the configuration of what is known as a 4 gas analyzer / multi-gas analyzer which measures oxygen, carbon monoxide and generally combustible gases which are measured in LEL %. (Lower Explosive Level)

      Because I only use field instrumentation for measurement and not a permanent / semi-permanent unit, I cannot give an official recommendation for one. Just use the search terms mentioned above and you may find a qualified device recommended by a professional as these are used in many industries.

      As an aside, you will probably have an easier (and less expensive) path in purchasing a meter that measures carbon DIOXIDE (not monoxide) or CO2 meter in order to gauge your ventilation quality. While at this writing I cannot give a direct numerical correlation between the CO2 and O2 balance in an environment, it makes sense that in general if your ventilation is good, the CO2 will be decreased with a somewhat correlated increase in oxygen. (but we are talking about fractions of a percent) Reference the table above showing humidity correlation with oxygen under relatively ideal conditions.

      As a side safety note, it is a good idea to have a reliable, accurate carbon monoxide detector to provide early warning of faulty water heaters, central gas heating, or an idling car in a garage which is near a living area. The monoxide levels in a closed garage will climb to dangerous levels in a very short time with virtually any combustion engine. Propane forklifts which are malfunctioning, improperly tuned, etc. are hazards in warehouse environments.

      -JAG of ScanTech

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