On April 12, APGA hosted a well-attended residential methane detector roundtable for members. The discussion was led by Bob Wilson, of Northeast Gas Association, and Rick Trieste, of ConEdison (Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.), both of whom have been leaders in advocating for the adoption of these detectors by the public and by gas utilities.
Participants learned of the long history of these devices, the research and development that has helped to advance the technology, and current efforts to standardize their use and installation, while also gaining valuable insight into one system’s experience with detector adoption. The slides and recording of the roundtable are available to members only here.
Residential methane detectors have been a hot topic of late. They recently made the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) 2021 Most Wanted List. NFPA 715, the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) standard that would dictate the installation of these detectors, is currently open for public comment until May 11.
For those interested in learning more about the science behind this technology, the NFPA has a publicly available webinar that discusses combustible gas dispersion and detector location analysis in residential occupancies that is available online here.
For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0836 or by email at rlani@apga.org.