Opera Certification: What it Means for You

Heating a large garage while exhausting toxic carbon monoxide is a balancing act.  The building code of Canada requires massive amounts of fresh, unheated, air in a closed parking garage to protect the health and safety of the occupants.  This volume of air must be maintained 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, unless the ventilation system is controlled by carbon monoxide detectors.  So the best way to fight rising fuel costs is to ensure that your gas sensors are serviced regularly, so they are as accurate as possible.

The Opera Certification Mark on a gas sensor means that it follows the Opera continuous program of updates to both the hardware and software.  It means it receives new sensing-element replacements (usually every three years), it has passed several tests, including gas tests, and receives the benefit of ongoing product development and research at Opera.

This is not the same thing as a calibration service offered by many companies today, where gas is simply blown on the sensor and the unit is tested.  A sensor that has passed it’s usable life can still be “calibrated”, but will respond very slowly, compromising health and safety standards and increasing the overall on time of the exhaust system, thereby pushing up heating costs.

To see what is included in the Opera plan, see the Service section