CO Gas Monitoring Solution for Underground Parking

What is toxic CO gas? How does it affect health? 

Toxic CO (Carbon Monoxide) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. Breathing in high concentrations of carbon monoxide in the air can significantly reduce the ability to absorb oxygen, leading to severe tissue damage and potentially fatal consequences. Carbon monoxide is a leading cause of unintentional poisoning deaths from toxic substances.

Sources of toxic CO gas: 

CO gas is a byproduct of the combustion of fuels such as gasoline and oil. In an underground parking garage, with frequent vehicle movement and poor ventilation, the CO concentration can rise very quickly.

Typically, the underground parking garages of apartment buildings, shopping centers, supermarkets, etc., have ventilation systems that operate intermittently to save energy and reduce noise. This makes it difficult to control the current CO concentration levels.

Symptoms of CO Gas Poisoning:

CO Concentration (ppm)	Symptoms
50	No side effects within 8 hours of exposure
200	Mild headache, nausea after 2-3 hours of exposure
400	Severe headache, nausea, shortness of breath after 3 hours of exposure
800	Nausea, dizziness, convulsions after 45 minutes of exposure, unconsciousness after 2 hours of exposure, fatal

 

Regin CO Gas Monitoring and Maintenance Solution for Underground Parking

Advantages:

• Monitors CO levels throughout the entire basement
• Controls exhaust fans to maintain safe CO levels
• Protects a large area of up to 30,000 m²
• Multi-speed fan control saves energy and reduces noise
• Complies with European standard EN54

I. System Description

The underground parking CO gas monitoring system includes:

• CO Concentration Sensors: Operating range of 0-300 ppm, output signal of 0-20 mA, operating voltage of 24 VDC.
• Central Controller: Reads signals from sensors, compares them to preset values, and controls jet fans and exhaust fans to expel CO gas.

CO Sensors are installed according to zones (corresponding to jet fan zones). If CO levels exceed the required level at any point within the zone, all fans in that zone will operate at high speed to push CO gas outside via exhaust fans.

• Each CO sensor sends a signal to the controller through an analog input (AI). The number of CO sensors in the area determines the necessary number of AI inputs on the controller.
• Jet Fans Control: Operate at two speeds (low/high) based on the digital output (DO) from the controller. Typically, all fans within a zone will run at the same speed. Thus, a typical fan zone requires at least 2 DOs.

• The operational status/fault indication of the fans can be monitored on the controller via digital inputs (DI).

If the controller does not have enough inputs or outputs, additional expansion modules will be required to meet the necessary number of inputs/outputs. The number of expansion modules needed depends on the equipment manufacturer.

II. Operating Principle

• CO sensors are installed and arranged by zone according to the ventilation system design. 
• The controller will read the value from each CO sensor, categorize them by zone, and identify the highest value within that zone. It then compares this value to the preset threshold to control the fan’s speed (low/high) and sends the control signal to the fan. This preset value can be adjusted by the operator from the LCD control screen.
• In normal conditions or when CO levels are low, the controller will operate the fans at low speed in a rotating schedule to ensure air circulation in the basement.
• When CO levels exceed the permissible threshold, the controller will switch the fans to high speed and trigger an alarm at the control panel.
• Once the CO concentration drops below the high threshold, the fans will revert to low speed.

The system’s control algorithm operates as follows:

III. Regin Control System

The equipment provided by Regin for this system includes:

1. CO Concentration Sensor: Model COT-300, operating range 0-300 ppm, output 4-20 mA, voltage 24 VDC.
2. EXOCompact Controller: Model C282DT-3, with 28 I/O including 8 AI (sensor inputs), 7 DO (fan control outputs), and DI (fan status monitoring inputs). It features an LCD screen for system monitoring and parameter setting, and communicates with a computer via TCP/IP.
3. I/O Expansion Module: Model IO-A28MIXW-3-BEM, with 28 I/O including AI (sensor inputs), 7 DO (fan control outputs), and DI (fan status monitoring inputs), to expand the system’s I/O capacity.
   • Each controller can connect up to 2 expansion modules.
4. System Management: The EXOCompact controller will be programmed, store data, and manage the system.
   • Parameters can be directly changed from the LCD screen.
   • The system is password-protected to prevent unauthorized changes.

Gas Concentration Measurement Range:

Toxic Gas	Measurement Range (ppm)
CO	0-300
NO2	0-30
NO	0-100

Alarm Levels:

 

Toxic Gas	Alarm 1 (ppm)	Alarm 2 (ppm)	Alarm 3 (ppm)
CO	30	60	150
NO2	3	6	15
NO	10	20	50

 

To schedule a demo or learn more, please contact us:

Tin Dat Automation Technology LLC

Address: 149/15 Ba Van street, Ward 14, Tan Binh district, HCMC.