Today I saw our local Natural Gas service provider discussing installing an Excess Flow Valve with my neighbor. So naturally, that caught my ear, so I mossed over to learn more. It seems that most Natural Gas service providers are offering the installation of an Excess Flow Valve on the feed to homes. Of course, they are NOT offering to install this valve for free. In fact, my neighbor’s cost was estimated to be $2,100. So I asked WHY?
The sales rep and he was simply a sales rep that had no idea how excess flow valves function, implying that it was “customer demand.” So I asked my neighbor, who is a medical devices sales manager, if he had inquired, and of course, he said no.
It turns out some gas providers are selling this as a ‘fear factor,” using recent home explosions to drum up sales. My question to the salesperson was why the company would sell the idea but charge the homeowner thousands of dollars. Why wouldn’t the gas provider at least offer to cover half? No response.
If you want an excess flow valve installed on your gas feed to your home/structure, check with your service provider. But buyer beware, excess flow valves have a dark history of failures.
