subject: Can Pipe Insulation Benefit Your Home? [print this page] Pipe insulation is commonly used to prevent pipes form freezing in a cold environment. However, there are many other uses for this type of material. It has commercial as well as residential purposes. Here are some benefits and types of pipe insulation that you may encounter in your home.
Applications
One obvious use for this insulation is to prevent frozen plumbing. Pipes that enter your house or are exposed to cold air can freeze. In older houses, this is more common and more necessary to insulate. Many newer houses are designed to limit freezing pipes.
This type of insulation is used to save money on residential utility bills. You may have pipes that run from your hot water heater. Many people insulate their hot water heaters. You may also gain benefit by insulating the lines from the hot water heater. The water may heat up faster, this way. It may also stay warm longer. All of this may benefit fuel and water usage.
Perhaps your house employs hot water heat. There may be pipes in your floors. The heat will radiate from the pipes. If you insulate the pipes from the boiler to the system, you save energy. The savings can be considerable in cold weather climates.
Perhaps you have pipes in your basement that sweat in warm weather. Your air conditioning may have the evaporator above the furnace. The cooling lines run from the basement to the outside condenser unit. These lines are cold in summer. The temperature variance will cause condensation. Dripping water may present a safety or health hazard. This is true in finished and unfinished basements. Insulating the pipes can make a difference.
You can insulate your pipes with many different things. Most kinds will be in the form of a pipe wrap. You may also buy sections of fiberglass insulation. If you have a lot of piping to insulate, this will work well. There is also foam insulation for plumbing. Do you have very cold weather, in the winter? You can but heat tape with the insulation. This will protect your pipes in bitter cold weather.
In closing
You can use pipe insulation to protect your plumbing from freezing temperatures. You can also install it to save money on your fuel bills. It will work well for hot water heaters and hot water heat systems. It will help keep your basement dry from dripping pipes, also. In very cold weather, you may wish to use it with heating tape. This will ensure protection in the coldest of weather.
