Switching to Meter Set Bypass Valves Can Be an Easy Way to Meet Obama’s Greenhouse Challenge

Unfortunately, if you’re using methods like those incorporating rubber bags on your residential meter sets for change-outs or service, you’re contributing to the growing problem of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. And the U.S. Government is starting to take note. On March 19, the White House released a Fact Sheet announcing an executive order to reduce GHG emissions in-house and down the supply chain, calling for leaders in the industry to step up. The release says “[…] the combined results of the Federal Government actions and new supplier commitments will reduce GHG emissions from 26 million metric tons by 2025 from 2008 levels, the equivalent of taking nearly 5.5 million cars off the road for a year.”

The same day, the Administration led a roundtable including GE, IBM, Honeywell, and Northrop Grumman, among others, to discuss ways to achieve this goal. The White House announcement reads, “[…] the Administration is releasing a new scorecard to publicly track self-reported emissions disclosure and progress for all major Federal suppliers, who together represent more than $187 billion in Federal spending and account for more than 40 percent of all Federal contract dollars.”

Tensions are rising as the pressure for greater accountability increases. However, while unnecessary methane emissions from traditional meter set bypass methods can be a source of GHG emissions for many utilities in the supply chain, there’s very little to worry about. Utilities looking to demonstrate they are taking steps to solve the GHG emissions problem can start by incorporating a few simple changes to establish more earth friendly methods.

Making the switch to a greener natural gas bypass valve, like Lyall’s LYCO® A-9 Bypass Valve, is a perfect example. The bag method, which is still very widely used by the utilities, releases the volume of gas within the bag every time it is removed during a meter set change-out or service call. The volume of gas released from the bag may be small, but multiply that by the millions of change-outs and service calls done every year at each utility, and that volume becomes much more substantial. However, the LYCO® A-9 Bypass Valve gets rid of the need for any type of bag, thereby eliminating any release of gas during the bypass process. These natural gas valves are easy to customize, coming in multiple swivel sizes (10LT, 20LT, etc.) and insulated union sizes of ¾” NPT and 1” NPT. The valve’s outlet connection is in 1 ¼” FPT, and it has a corrosion-resistant electrostatically applied polyester coating. The valve can be used as a stand-alone unit or integrated into a Lyall prefabricated meter set for an even greener footprint — fewer joints assembled in the field equates to less potential leak points.

The White House’s announcement is expected to generate momentum in the sustainable development movement, ushering in new products like the LYCO® A-9 Bypass Valve. In a sense, these products are giving businesses in the supply chain small ways to make big contributions. And that should make us all breathe a litter easier.

Here at Lyall, sustainable development of products that are not only safe to use but also help protect our environment is a top priority. To learn more about our other environmentally friendly leak-proof products, visit our products page.