Insulating steam mains in occupied areas

Abracadabra

Am I right to assume that steam mains in a heated occupied area (living space) needs to be insulated as well?  Even though a occupied/heated/living space is heated (to about 70F) it is still going to condense steam in the main faster than if the main was insulated.  Right?

moneypitfeeder

yes and no

Are you talking about the risers in an upstairs living space? or a finished basement? One thing to keep in mind is that when uninsulated those pipes act as radiators and have a measurable edr. If the room doesn't have rads or they were sized to include uninsulated risers to properly heat the room, you may end up chilly. However most rooms now are overheated due to any upgrades to the home so they can stand to have those risers insulated. If however you are talking about a converted basement space that wasn't designed to be living space originally then that's a whole different animal. If in the basement there aren't any floor or ceiling rads to heat that living space then you would only be able to insulate enough to make the mains act like rads, so that its about 70 and not like the center of a volcano.