Gas without gas

Is household gas dangerous?? Judging by the internet reports, this is a disaster comparable to a hurricane or volcanic eruption, affecting many countries. For example, just one summer week, a boiler exploded in Yakutsk, 12 people were poisoned by carbon monoxide in Vienna because of the boiler , and in Winnipeg 46 people suffered from a leak! Maybe it is time to use the power and ban this “weapon of mass destruction”?! But let’s cool our emotions and try to figure out what exactly is the real danger, who is to blame for the accidents and what to do to avoid them.

With or without gas?

Unfortunately, humanity has not yet invented an efficient, cheap and completely safe way to provide comfort in cold climates. And of the classic four “gas – solid fuel – liquid fuel – electricity” is the main gas is still the best: to heat the house it costs four times cheaper than the nearest price competitor – pellets or wood Fig. 1 , and the price of heating with electricity is higher by almost one order of magnitude!

However, like any fuel including wood , the methane in the pipeline is highly combustible. That is why gas heating equipment, whether a boiler or a hot water boiler, is complex by design, and its purchase and installation costs serious amounts, even in the case of super-budget options. But in this case, the complexity is not excessive and it fully pays for itself: multi-level protection makes modern gas models even safer than electric boilers, and the initial investment in high-quality equipment “pays off” through low operating costs.

Rice. 1. The cost of heating a house in the season excluding the initial investment

Safety is the main concern of the serious gas equipment manufacturers”, explains Roman Gladkikh, specialist of FRISQUET, the French market leader in heating equipment. – The efforts of developers are constantly aimed at creating devices that are fully protected from accidents and even the human factor, which, incidentally, is the cause of the vast majority of accidents. For example, all of our equipment is equipped with a sensor of draft anomalies, which eliminates carbon monoxide poisoning in case of a faulty chimney. Another important step in the safety cascade of our equipment is the READ system – it constantly monitors the composition of the gas-air mixture, fully controlling the quality of combustion and safe operation of the boiler.”.

The law is harsh

Like all safety rules, all regulations relating to the installation and operation of gas equipment are written in blood and must be strictly adhered to. And this is quite international: the requirements to premises, equipment and control systems are roughly the same in America, France, the USA and Australia.

The main and decisive factor is the full compliance of the equipment with national legislation. And to get a certificate of compliance, the heating boiler must meet the requirements of state standards.

To install the boiler you need a permit from the gas service. It can be obtained if the room for it meets a number of parameters described in SP 402.1325800.2018. For example, has a sufficient level of air exchange here are variations, since the requirements for boilers with open and closed burners are different and the volume is not less than the established standards. So, for individual rooms-boilers is a minimum of 15 m3 at ceilings of at least 2.5 m , and for kitchens where there is already a four burner gas stove – at least 21 m3.

Ventilation must be natural! The exhaust must ensure three times the air exchange per hour, and the supply must be larger than the exhaust taking into account the needs of the burner . And you should keep in mind, the windows in the boiler room or kitchen must comply with the concept of “lightweight building envelopes”. In practice, this means that you cannot use reinforced glass, reinforced glazing, triplex, stalinite and polycarbonate. And of course, all work on the connection should only conduct professionals who are accredited to work with this type of equipment.

Trust – Check!

According to experts of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the main cause of accidents due to gas leaks is the human factor. Including – a direct violation of the law, which prescribes professional monitoring of the technical condition of the gas equipment, and at least once a year. But at least 10% of owners of equipment in principle do not check their technique no service contracts , and a significant number just do not allow inspectors in their homes. Meanwhile, according to gas utilities in California USA , regular checks have a significant impact on the overall safety of gas equipment users:

✓ annual inspection – a 40% reduction in leaks

✓ quarterly inspection – 60% reduction

✓ monthly check – 80% reduction

Of course, a monthly inspection by an expert is hardly realistic, but with all the advantages of modern models, even an annual basic maintenance allows owners of gas equipment in the literal sense to sleep peacefully. “As a rule,” Alexei Nenashev, financial director of the authorized service center FRISQUET “Complex Engineering Technologies KIT “, explains, “serious companies keep track of the “fate” of their products. In practice, this means that in the case of a breakdown, the owners of the equipment receive all the necessary assistance, and specialists have access to any spare parts and consumables and do not find themselves in a situation where for an old boiler there is no possibility to find any original part. For example, FRISQUET has them in stock even 20 years after the series was produced, even if it is no longer in production”.

And of course, dramatically increase the level of safety will help compliance with simple rules, which set the Ministry of Emergency Situations and manufacturers of gas equipment:

If you smell gas, you should immediately turn off all the taps on gas appliances and gas pipes, de-energize the room, open windows and doors, remove people from the room and call the gas service at 112, 04 or 040 from cell phone

Install special equipment – a gas analyzer, preferably a battery-operated gas analyzer – in the living quarters and auxiliary rooms. Today, they can not only sound a threat alarm, but also shut off gas and power on their own, and are part of the smart home architecture.

The use of complex equipment, including in the arrangement of heating in the home, always requires compliance with a lot of rules – it’s an axiom. Today, thanks to smart devices, this is not difficult: multi-level security systems have almost completely automated the processes of control and operation. But owners must remember: All appliances need professional service and supervision and this “commandment” must be obeyed without fail!