Gas Detector System and Method

A method of determining a lower explosive limit level for at least one gas in a volume of gas-air mixture comprising:

• detecting an amount of a target gas in the volume of gas-air mixture;
• determining a lower explosive limit level for said target gas;
• accepting an input regarding a temperature for the volume of gas-air mixture;
• determining an adjustment to the lower explosive limit level based on the input regarding a temperature of the volume of gas-air mixture;
• accepting an input regarding a humidity of the volume of gas-air mixture;
• determining an adjustment to the lower explosive limit level based on the input regarding a humidity and temperature of the volume of gas-air mixture.

An apparatus for sensing gases comprising:

• a gas detector comprising at least one light emitter and at least one light detector configured to detect light at wavelengths corresponding to a target gas absorption spectrum in a volume of gas-air mixture;
• a humidity sensor disposed to sense humidity relating to the gas-air mixture;
• a temperature sensor disposed to sense temperature relating to the gas-air mixture;
• a processor circuit in communication with the gas detector, the humidity sensor, and the temperature sensor, the processor circuit is effective for determining an amount of at least one target gas in the volume of gas-air mixture and to determine a lower explosive limit level for at least one target gas in the volume of gas-air mixture based on the amount of target gas in the volume of gas-air mixture and on data from the humidity sensor and the temperature sensor.