Newsletter
20
December 2014
So, why the significant carbon monoxide reading? A
puzzle to be sure. But since the hour was late, the
home was secure, CO levels had dropped to near
zero after ventilation, and the residents felt fine
(declining any treatment or transport), the call was
terminated. The cart was unplugged and the
homeowners were instructed to call 911 if there
was any further problem.
The call may have been concluded, but the problem
wasn’t solved. The incident was recorded and
logged with similar situations. In each of those
similar situations, CO detectors had been activated
in homes with electric golf carts being charged. It
was time to do some digging. What was the
correlation between golf cart charging and CO
detector activation? Why would this be a problem
in The Villages?
The second question was the easy one to answer.
The Villages, located in the heart of Central Florida,
is the fastest growing retirement community in
America. The current population is approximately
47,000. By 2012, the population is expected to be
104,000. Fire protection, fire prevention, and
emergency medical services are provided by The
Villages Public Safety Department, an entity of The
Village Center Community Development District, a
unit of "special purpose" local government
established by Florida State Statute to oversee the
growth of The Villages and provide municipal
services.
The community presents a lifestyle strongly
centered around golf and recreation. As a result,
the golf cart is viewed as an essential by many
residents and has become the second family car. In
some cases it is the only form of transportation. In
addition, low speed vehicles (LSVs) are becoming a
common sight as gasoline prices shoot upward.
Survey data revealed that over 96% of households
in The Villages have a golf cart. That’s nearly 22,300
golf carts in private residences. More than 83% (or
18,500) of those are electric.
Lots of golf carts being charged, but why the CO
detector activations? Lead acid batteries do not
emit carbon monoxide. Lead acid batteries do,
however, emit hydrogen, and research gave us
both the answer and alerted us to another prob-
lem.
The typical CO detector is designed to activate
when the unit detects 150 parts per million (ppm)
of CO for 30 minutes. That same detector will also
activate when exposed to 300 ppm of hydrogen gas
for 30 minutes. The amounts of hydrogen gas
produced during lead acid battery charging in golf
carts far exceed 300 ppm. And, when that charging
is done in a closed garage with the golf cart parked
next to the heating system, the hydrogen is
introduced into the home. Thus the alarm.
So what’s the problem other than nuisance alarms?
The dangers of hydrogen became readily apparent
as the research continued. Those dangers include
asphyxiation, fire, and explosion. Three conditions
must exist to cause batteries and charging systems
to form an explosive situation. First, there must be
an accumulation of hydrogen gases. Second, a
failure to detect the hydrogen gas must exist. Third,
there must be a source of ignition. Hydrogen gas is
odorless, and colorless, and its flammable limits are
between 4% and 7%. The level of hydrogen which
will produce an oxygen deficient environment is
well within the flammable limits. This makes the
possibility of fire and explosion very real. In
addition, the potential of forming and igniting
flammable mixtures is higher because the gas easily
migrates through small openings, cracks, and
crevices. Ignition sources such as electrical sparks,
open flames, and static electricity are readily
available and are quite common in the residential
as well as commercial environment.
Beyond the obvious danger of fire, explosion and
asphyxiation, little data is available indicating the
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