A gas monitor is synonymous with a gas detector or gas detection system. Gas monitors are used to keep track of specific toxic or hazardous gas levels in an area. Gas monitors thus
monitor the gas levels. The two broad categories of gas monitors include simple gas detectors for home use, and full gas detection systems used in industrial factories and manufacturing plants. Unless otherwise stated this definition discusses the industrial application of gas monitors.
Gas Monitor Manufacturers
- SierraMonitor: a leading manufacturer of gas monitors and gas detection systems as a integrated part of industrial plant safety and building automation. SierraMonitor gas monitors include gas sensors for many different kinds of hazardous gases as well as gas monitors for oxygen deficiency and flame detectors.
Every gas monitor requires gas sensors, which are the element that detects a specific kind of gas. A large gas detection system is likely to include numerous sensors to detect different kinds of gases, and possibly even sensors calibrated to monitor different levels of each gas. Thus a gas monitor might trigger a low-level alarm for slightly raised gas levels that would trigger an investigation seeking the cause of the gas level rise. A higher level of the gas might cause the gas monitor to trigger a higher-level alarm indicating immediate evacuation of an area without special breathing gear. Gas monitors detect three broad categories of dangerous gases, which are commonly described as simply hazardous gases:
- Toxic gases includes gas types that can cause damage to living organisms at certain concentration thresholds
- Flammable gases including all gas types that are capable of burning
- Combustible gases includes gas types that can explode, which is a substantially different safety category than simply flammable.
Gas Monitor Calibration
All gas monitors require regular calibration to ensure that they are properly detecting the correct levels of gases. This calibration is typically conducted on a regular schedule and the duration of time allowed between calibrations depends on the type of gas monitor as well as the application. As a broad generalization, the higher quality the gas monitor system, the longer the time needed between calibrations. Portable gas monitors must be calibrated the most frequently. Most gas detection systems will not use portable monitors as a part of their core detection system, but portable monitors may be used as a backup or as a method of hunting down the source of higher gas levels. Quality gas monitors will require calibration once or twice a year. The frequency of calibration can also be affected by the type of gas that the gas monitor is detecting: more frequent calibration periods is not always a sign of a lower-quality gas sensor.
