The standard 'soap bubble' test used to find gas leaks in homes is unable to detect the majority of methane emissions.
April 1, 2026
Original Paper
Methane Leaks in Residential Natural Gas Connections: Flexible Hoses as Key Sources and Inadequacy of Conventional Detection
SSRN · 6504259
The Takeaway
Methane leaks in residential connections follow a 'super-emitter' pattern where a few flexible hoses cause most of the damage. However, current safety inspections are not sensitive enough to find these leaks, meaning our standard maintenance protocols are essentially blind to the primary sources of home emissions.
From the abstract
Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure are a primary driver of anthropogenic climate change. While large-scale sources are well-documented, methane emissions within residential indoor gas systems connections—comprising numerous potential micro-leaks—remain poorly quantified. Using a high-flow sampling method to measure 75 indoor gas component connections, this study found that emissions exhibited a highly skewed distribution. The top 12% of leaking connections accounted for ~80% of to