A brief summary of domestic gas

Did you know that the smell you so naturally associate with gas is not the smell of gas at all? In fact this pungent odour is added to the natural gas we use during the processing of natural gas for our homes. Without this added smell domestic gas is completely transparent, with no smell of its own, and therefore it is hard to detect in its pure form. You can imagine how dangerous this would be in case of leaks, or gas build ups.

It was one such situation, prior to gas-scenting, that led to the deaths of almost 500 people at an American school at the turn of the 20th century. This convinced governments that enough was enough, and to this day it is illegal to provide unscented gas for public use.

Another surprising fact about your domestic gas is what it's made from. The gas we use for heating and baking mainly consists of methane - you may have heard of this chemical gas before, as it's the same substance that's found in the gas expelled by humans and animals on an almost daily basis!

Our gas travels a long way to provide our homes with energy. It could have come all the way from the Middle East - Qatar, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Or it may have travelled to us from Russia. It is collected from gas and oil fields as well as coal beds.

But the gas found here is not shipped directly to our homes. Another surprising element of domestic ‘Natural' gas is the amount of complicated purifying treatments and processes it must endure before being ready for use around the home. The main treatment that raw natural gas undergoes is chemical purification. This removes all of the unwanted chemicals contained in the gas, such as sulphur, nitrogen, propane and butane. Only then can it be used safely by consumers.

Sadly the earth's gas resources are beginning to dwindle. As demand increases to levels higher than ever before, our gas reserves are struggling to keep up. This has left the fuel companies seeking alternative sources of gas, as well as testing out different kinds of gas for potential home fuel use.

Although gas is considered one of the cleaner fuels, it's really the best of a bad bunch. Harmful carbon dioxide is produced on burning Natural gas, and this is bad news for the earth's environment and ozone layer.

British Gas can help you to save money on a new boiler now. By replacing your old boiler with an energy efficient condensing boiler, along with heating controls, you could save up to 40% on your bills.