FAQ about Safety Sensors & Detectors
What is a safety sensor?
In the most basic of terms, a safety sensor is a device that’s designed to protect you and potentially save your life by detecting something dangerous (usually within your home) and warning you of its presence—typically via a loud, audible alarm. For example, if your furnace or some other appliance were to develop a CO (carbon monoxide) leak, a CO detector would alert you to the presence of this tasteless, colourless, and odourless—yet extremely deadly gas in your home, thus allowing you to escape before being overcome by the poison. Other sensors and detectors perform similar functions for other dangerous and/or harmful substances in and around the home.
Types of safety sensors
There are many different types of safety sensors available at Best Buy. As mentioned above, there are carbon monoxide detectors—which also frequently function as smoke detectors, and there are even sensors and alarms for substances like radon gas, water, temperature, humidity, and the overall air quality of your home.
Some of these materials, such as radon gas, can be very harmful to your long-term health; others, like CO and smoke, present a much more immediate danger; and things like water and poor air quality can do anything from damaging your home to making life extremely uncomfortable, which is why it’s beneficial to have safety sensors and detectors in your home to warn you of impending, immediate, or in-progress trouble.
Benefits of having safety sensors
The main benefit of safety sensors and detectors is that many of them, such as those used to detect smoke, CO, and radon gas, can save your life and the lives of your family members. While smoke and CO can kill you imminently, radon gas is more of a long-term threat (it’s been linked to lung cancer as it can get trapped in your lungs in the form of radioactive particles). While the threat of a water leak pales in comparison to CO, smoke, and radon, it too may cause serious problems. A water leak could potentially destroy much of your home through flooding. A water leak detector provides a very easy method of preventing this from happening.
Don’t forget weather stations & air quality monitors!
Much like safety sensors, weather stations and air quality monitors have many potential benefits. Not only can they enhance your general comfort by letting you know about things like temperature and humidity differences in various parts of your home (things you can then take steps to fix), but they also have the potential to spare you a whole lot of grief. For instance, if one part of your house is consistently colder than the others even though you have heating throughout, that may be indicative of a draft caused by an air leak (likely around a window or door). Similarly, an air quality sensor could detect and warn you of the potential growth of mold hiding within your walls—something you certainly want to know about immediately!