Emmerich, S.
and Wang, L.
(2017),
Measured Carbon Monoxide Concentrations from Stock and Reduced- Emission Prototype Portable Generators Operated in an Attached Garage, Journal of Air and Waste Management Association, [online], https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2017.1300202, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=917551
(Accessed November 30, 2025)
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Measured Carbon Monoxide Concentrations from Stock and Reduced- Emission Prototype Portable Generators Operated in an Attached Garage
Published
Author(s)
, Leon Wang
Abstract
There is concern about the hazard of acute residential CO exposures from portable gasoline powered generators that can result in death or serious adverse health effects in exposed individuals. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission subsequently developed low CO emission prototype generators by adapting off-the-shelf emission control technologies on a commercially-available generator. NIST conducted a series of tests to characterize the indoor CO concentrations resulting from portable generators operating in the attached garage of a house under seven different test house/garage configurations. The tested generators include both unmodified and modified low CO emission prototype configurations. The configurations studied included different garage bay door positions and connecting door settings between the garage and the family room. CO concentrations varied widely with peak house CO concentrations ranging from under 10 L/L to over 10,000 L/L. The highest concentrations in the house resulted from operation of the unmodified generator in the garage with the bay door closed and the house access door open. The lowest concentrations resulted from operation of a modified low CO-emission prototype in the garage with the bay door open and the house access door closed. These tests documented reductions of 85 % to 98 % in CO concentrations in the house due to emissions from two prototype low CO-emission portable generators compared to a "stock" generator.Citation
Journal of Air and Waste Management Association
Pub Type
Journals
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Keywords
Generator, carbon monoxide, exposure, indoor air quality, health, measurements
Citation
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Created June 16, 2017, Updated September 29, 2025