Comparison of gas sensor technologies for fire gas detection

Abstract We selected a variety of low-power gas sensors in order to compare their performance with respect to fire detection applications. Gas sensitive field effect transistor (GasFET)-arrays, metal oxide sensors (MOS) and electrochemical cells (EC) were measured in test fire scenarios. Beside the investigation of the performance of the sensor elements itself, we additionally focused on the propagation behavior of different gas components in time and space. For that case we mounted the gas sensors on PCBs which were setup into a vertical “multi-sensor” chain. Comparing the response times at the ceiling, the MOS were the fastest sensors. However they are prone to false alarms due to cross sensitivities to solvent vapors. The response of the GasFET-array was slower but shows advantages with respect to low power consumption and pattern recognition capabilities. The EC carbon monoxide sensor has a good selectivity but a high price comparing to semiconductors. This paper demonstrates the usability of gas sensor technologies for fire detection to enhance the performance of conventional smoke detectors.