Gas Quality at Oban
Why?
The combustion characteristics ( based upon its chemical composition) of the gas supply to the home must fall within a narrow band so that it reaches an acceptable level of burning performance. These are defined within UK law. This limits the sources that the gas can come from, and creates high demand for these gas sources (and potentially higher prices).
A project has been conducted in four towns in Scotland to test the feasibility of widening the sources of gas, while retaining efficiency and safety, which could eventually lead to a cheaper gas supply.
What is the Opening Up The Gas Market Project?
The town of Oban is served by a standalone gas network operated by SGN, making it an ideal location for such testing. All of the domestic gas appliances in Oban, ranging from 1950’s cookers to state of the art gas fires have been tested on a range of different gas sources to establish whether they can function effectively and safely.
The Outcome
Almost all of the appliances have been proved to work effectively and safely when operated with gases of different chemical composition. Those few that didn't were largely very old appliances. The HSE are closely involved and the project won first prize at the 2015 Triennial World Gas Conference in Paris. The SGN website www.sgn.co.uk/Oban/ has further details.
The role of Kiwa Energy (formerly Kiwa Gastec)
- Project design
- Appliance testing
- Data analysis
- Risk management
- Technical advice