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On November 5 Spain broke the existing record for gas demand in one day. According to Gas Natural, the cause of this historically high demand was the wave of low temperatures that the country had been suffering which meant that heating systems all over Spain were working flat out. Along with the cold weather, the first news items started to appear in the press concerning explosions, fires or intoxications caused by gas. The gas companies insist that most accidents are the result of bad maintenance or misuse of domestic installations.

To guarantee the safety of gas installations there is specific legislation which lays down the obligations and rights of all the parties involved: gas companies, fitting companies and users. These rules stipulate that it is we users who are responsible for the maintenance and correct use of the gas installation in our home (up as far as the stopcock) and of all the appliances connected to it. The law also obliges us to have the installation inspected, at our expense, every four years in the case of natural gas, or very five if we use butane or propane gas bottles. This kind of MOT for gas installations can only be carried out by an authorised gas fitting company, which will certify that all the components of the installation comply with current legislation (correct positioning, homologated accessories and appliances, correct ventilation, etc.) and work properly. The gas company will not supply gas without this Inspection Certificate, and it must be produced when the gas company inspects our installation, which they are legally obliged to do every so often. While it is not obligatory, it is also a good idea to have the boiler checked every year before the winter starts.

Users of bottled Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) -butane or propane- are also obliged to periodically and punctually replace all those parts of the installation which have an expiry date, such as the rubber tubes which are used to connect appliances to the gas bottles. There are now flexible metal tubes on the market which do not need replacing, are heat resistant and have a safety device which cuts off the gas supply if the appliance is accidentally disconnected.

ï¿½ Wherever there is a gas appliance there must always be ventilation. Do not block the ventilation grills by placing anything in front of them. And donï¿½t forget to put in new ventilation grills if you glass in your kitchen balcony or drying area.
ï¿½ Nowadays all appliances have safety devices which automatically cut off the gas supply if the flame goes out, with the exception of ovens and the top rings of cookers. Therefore you should be especially careful when using your cooker. Donï¿½t leave a ring on if you are not using it and watch your pans while you are cooking: they could boil over and put out the flame, causing a gas leak. Clean the burners regularly but donï¿½t use abrasive products like caustic soda or bleach. If the gas flame blackens your pans, call the cooker manufacturerï¿½s technical service, because it is more than likely that the gas isnï¿½t burning properly.
ï¿½ Look carefully at the flame your appliances produce. It should be steady, silent and blue, with a brighter colour towards the centre. A noisy, flickering flame with yellow or orange round the edge is also a sign that combustion is not right. Bear in mind that when you hear about deaths due to gas leaks, in the vast majority of cases these are due to poisoning by carbon monoxide, a toxic gas which is produced precisely as a result of poor combustion.
ï¿½ Donï¿½t leave the boiler on while you are sleeping and make a habit of turning appliances off at the mains when you are not going to use them or in the event of a temporary cut in the gas supply. If you are going to be away for along time, turn off the gas at the houseï¿½s stopcock.
ï¿½ Light the match before turning the gas on. And do not use the gas pipes to hang things on.
ï¿½ If you are going to install new gas appliances or move the ones you have, remember that only authorised fitters are permitted to install gas appliances. Check that clamps and other connections are good and tight, especially if you have moved the appliance. And do not hesitate to call the manufacturerï¿½s technical service or the gas fitters if you any problem with you gas appliances.

If you smell gas, you should take the following precautions. Do not use switches or any electrical appliances, do not light matches or lighters and, of course, do not smoke; open doors and windows so the place is well ventilated and turn off all the appliances and the mains stopcock. Contact a gas fitter or the gas company's emergency service (Gas Natural: 900 75 07 50; Repsol: 901 12 12 12) so they can check over and repair the installation. And do not turn on the stopcock again until the fault has been repaired.

DID YOU KNOW...?
ï¿½ Natural gas is odourless. To give it that characteristic smell which makes it easy to detect, a powerful odorant is added. In Spain Tetrahydrothiophene (THT) has been traditionally used. It is a sulphur which is not the strongest of odorants available, but it does have the advantage of being chemically very stable, which ensures that by the time it gets to the user it has lost none of its initial properties.
ï¿½ Natural gas is lighter than air, which means that in the event of a leak it quickly finds its way outside, making it extremely safe. Propane and butane gas however are heavier than air and so they tend to accumulate in low places and so are unsuitable for use in basements.
ï¿½ The chance of having a fire or an explosion with natural gas in the home is minimal since it has a high ignition temperature and a very limited flammability range: it will not burn in concentrations in the air of under 4 percent or over about 14 percent.
ï¿½ Every two years the entire network of natural gas pipes and conduits are checked and are periodically renewed. The network is also permanently controlled by a computerised system which provides real time information about supply flow and pressure at the most strategic points, and enables any anomaly to be swiftly detected.