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How many carbon monoxide detector is need in house and where it's more strategic to place it? Is it better to place it low close to the ground or high close to the ceiling?

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Laws may very from place to place. – Tester101♦ Mar 3 at 13:27
I'm really interested by the laws states by states in the US. – aberration Mar 3 at 17:00

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The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommend a carbon monoxide detector on every floor of your home, including the basement. A detector should be located within 10 feet of each bedroom door and there should be one near or over any attached garage. Each detector should be replaced every five to six years.

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Positioning them at head height is recommended, and Be-Alarmed suggests:

  • Do not place the alarm in a cupboard, behind furniture, near an outside door or ventilation ( e.g. extractor fans or cooker hoods)
  • Do not place alarms directly next to fires, boilers, cookers or heaters – the alarm should be at least 1 meter away from any of these appliances
  • Do not place an alarm in an area of high condensation and steam such as a bathroom or kitchen or sources of steam and condensation
  • The alarm should not be placed on a ceiling like a smoke alarm
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I don't understand why it's not good to place the CO detector close to the furnace and in the ceiling. Is it just for limit the call to the emergency service? – aberration Mar 3 at 17:45
Too many false positives if you place them too close to the furnace. And the ceiling may not pick up CO, as it is slightly heavier than air. – Rory Alsop Mar 3 at 18:30
I agree that in that case if your put the CO detector near the furnace or in the ceiling, if the CO detector go off that not mean you have 30 ppm every where in the place (or whatever is the threshold value) but I suspect that mean that there is a problem. I don't think anybody want to breathe 25 ppm of CO every day. That will probably give you some serious injuries. Most of cheap CO detector will not detect 25 ppm – aberration Mar 3 at 18:40
About the ceiling, I still wonder where goes the CO. I'm not sure that the CO will move differently than the air. By the way the density of CO (1.145 kg/m^3 at 25 C) is smaller than one of air (1.1839 kg/m^3 at 25 C). Here is a link of CO manufacturer who said that CO is lighter than air firstalert.com/faqs/co-alarm/… – aberration Mar 3 at 18:52
Hmmm - the page I was reading said avoid the ceiling and floor, as the CO was only slightly different so it would move with airflow. I'm guessing I misread lighter/heavier - either way, it is very similar, so ceiling is not good, unlike heat detectors etc. – Rory Alsop Mar 3 at 19:03
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