Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house
<p>Methane emissions from natural gas appliances and infrastructure within buildings have historically not been captured in greenhouse gas inventories, leading to under-estimates, especially in urban areas. Recent measurements of these post-meter emissions have indicated non-negligible emissio...
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Copernicus Publications
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7065/2024/amt-17-7065-2024.pdf |
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| author | A. Karion M. F. Link R. Robertson R. Robertson T. Boyle D. Poppendieck |
| author_facet | A. Karion M. F. Link R. Robertson R. Robertson T. Boyle D. Poppendieck |
| author_sort | A. Karion |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Methane emissions from natural gas appliances and infrastructure within buildings have historically not been captured in greenhouse gas inventories, leading to under-estimates, especially in urban areas. Recent measurements of these post-meter emissions have indicated non-negligible emissions within residences, with impacts on both indoor air quality and climate. As a result, methane losses from residential buildings have been included in the latest US national inventory, with emission factors determined from a single study of homes in California. To facilitate future additional studies investigating building methane emissions, we conducted a controlled experiment to document a methodology for such measurements and estimated associated uncertainties. We determined whole-house methane emission rates with a mass balance approach using near-simultaneous measurements of indoor and outdoor methane mole fractions at a manufactured house. We quantified the uncertainty in whole-house methane emission rates by varying the forced outdoor air ventilation rate of the manufactured house, measuring the outdoor air change rate using both sulfur hexafluoride and carbon dioxide tracers, and performing methane injections at prescribed rates. We found that the whole-house quiescent methane emission rate (i.e., emission rate when all gas appliances were off) in the manufactured house averaged 0.33 g d<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> with methodological errors in the calculated emission rates of approximately 19 % (root-mean-square deviation). We also measured the quiescent leakage from the manufactured house over 3 months to find 26 % (1<span class="inline-formula"><i>σ</i></span>) variability in emissions over two seasons. Our findings can be used to inform plans for future studies quantifying indoor methane losses downstream of residential meters using similar methods. Such quantification studies are sorely needed to better understand building methane emissions and their drivers to inform inventories and plan mitigation strategies.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e3f8e65d4fa4c91aa929b67ea80694b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e3f8e65d4fa4c91aa929b67ea80694b2025-08-20T01:57:54ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482024-12-01177065707510.5194/amt-17-7065-2024Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured houseA. Karion0M. F. Link1R. Robertson2R. Robertson3T. Boyle4D. Poppendieck5Special Programs Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United StatesEngineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United StatesEngineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United Statescurrently at: College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80302, United StatesSpecial Programs Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United StatesEngineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States<p>Methane emissions from natural gas appliances and infrastructure within buildings have historically not been captured in greenhouse gas inventories, leading to under-estimates, especially in urban areas. Recent measurements of these post-meter emissions have indicated non-negligible emissions within residences, with impacts on both indoor air quality and climate. As a result, methane losses from residential buildings have been included in the latest US national inventory, with emission factors determined from a single study of homes in California. To facilitate future additional studies investigating building methane emissions, we conducted a controlled experiment to document a methodology for such measurements and estimated associated uncertainties. We determined whole-house methane emission rates with a mass balance approach using near-simultaneous measurements of indoor and outdoor methane mole fractions at a manufactured house. We quantified the uncertainty in whole-house methane emission rates by varying the forced outdoor air ventilation rate of the manufactured house, measuring the outdoor air change rate using both sulfur hexafluoride and carbon dioxide tracers, and performing methane injections at prescribed rates. We found that the whole-house quiescent methane emission rate (i.e., emission rate when all gas appliances were off) in the manufactured house averaged 0.33 g d<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> with methodological errors in the calculated emission rates of approximately 19 % (root-mean-square deviation). We also measured the quiescent leakage from the manufactured house over 3 months to find 26 % (1<span class="inline-formula"><i>σ</i></span>) variability in emissions over two seasons. Our findings can be used to inform plans for future studies quantifying indoor methane losses downstream of residential meters using similar methods. Such quantification studies are sorely needed to better understand building methane emissions and their drivers to inform inventories and plan mitigation strategies.</p>https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7065/2024/amt-17-7065-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | A. Karion M. F. Link R. Robertson R. Robertson T. Boyle D. Poppendieck Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| title | Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| title_full | Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| title_fullStr | Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| title_full_unstemmed | Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| title_short | Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| title_sort | methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house |
| url | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7065/2024/amt-17-7065-2024.pdf |
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