Steam Pipe Insulation

Brad White

That first inch of insulation will cut your bare pipe losses to about 1/6th of what they normally would be.

1" bare pipe is worth about 0.55 SF or 132 BTUH in a 70 degree space.

1.25" is worth about 0.68 SF or 163 BTUH in a 70 degree space.

1.5" is worth about 0.77 SF or 185 BTUH in a 70 degree space.

2" is worth about 0.92 SF or 220 BTUH in a 70 degree space.

There are some variations but if you take say 80 to 85% of these numbers as savings you should be within reason.

The biggest issues or arguments are:

1) If the heat is lost to the basement it is still in the house. A. Yes but not where you live. It helps but is not controlled.

2) The basement tends to be cooler (60 degrees even with bare pipe) so heat losses are amplified.

3) If piping is in an outside garage, increase losses (and potential savings) accordingly.

Insulate the condensate to forestall CO2 absorption and carbonic acid formation, but sell the heat loss savings benefits as less because the temperatures are less.

Much more too it but it may get you started.

JaneMarie Ingram

Steam Pipe Insulation

We have just begun installing steam pipe insulation for our customers. Some of them are asking how much money they can expect to save by having there pipes insulated. I am having trouble finding the answer to this question. We are talking about using high density 1" wall fiberglass insulation and pvc pipe fittings with fiberglass inserts.