Installing pipe insulation before winter is one of those annoying tasks that no one wants to do, but we all know we have to do it, unless we want to find ourselves busting pipes in our walls one day external or if we don’t want our energy bills to drop. be twice as large as they should be.
So how to insulate the pipe systems in your home, what materials should you use, what pipes should you focus on and what other tips do you need to do the job well and easily enough? Let’s go through the entire process step by step below.
Why do you need to insulate pipes?
There are a few main reasons why you need to insulate parts of your home’s plumbing and heating systems. All are important, the first being quite serious.
1. Freezing and cracking
Cold water pipes, especially metal ones such as copper or galvanized steel pipes, are very susceptible to cracking in freezing temperatures. Even certain plastic pipes can fall victim to this if they are a little too stiff and don’t expand well enough in cold temperatures.
New homeowners in colder climates don’t always think about it, but it only takes one accident to flood your entire home, or worse, the walls of your home.
ideal solution to this problem is to replace the cold water pipes in your home’s plumbing system with ones that are not likely to break in the cold. However, this can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor since many of the pipes you would need to replace are inside the walls. So the other thing to do is to insulate exposed pipes in unheated spaces as well as the exterior walls of your home.
2. Heat losses
Cold pipes are not the only problem to consider even if they are the most urgent. Also, hot water pipes often need to be insulated to prevent heat loss. Of course, this is less of a problem because it doesn’t threaten to flood and destroy your home.
However, having exposed hot water pipes running from a water heater or other heating device and through cooler areas that don’t need heating is a very easy way to unnecessarily inflate your energy costs without reason. The solution to this problem is to simply insulate those hot water pipes as well, so that they can retain their heat and deliver it where it should go.
3. Prevent pipe sweating
The third problem to watch out for is «duct sweat», which is the condensation that often occurs on cold pipes inside heated areas. This happens because the cold surface of the pipes collects moisture from the air and turns it into water droplets on the pipes.
This is arguably the least impactful issue, but it’s still more than enough of an issue to warrant action. Such transpiration through ducts draws moisture from the air and lowers the relative humidity in your home – something that is already a problem in winter anyway.
Moreover, it concentrates excess moisture around pipes, which can lead to mold on walls and behind furniture, puddles on the floor under cold water pipes, and so on.
4. Raise the overall heating temperature in your home
If you live in a particularly cold climate, saving on energy costs during the winter may not be your main concern. Instead, you may be more concerned about being able to adequately heat your home in the first place, regardless of the monetary cost.
Hot water pipe insulation can help with this, as depending on how much you lay and where, insulation can raise average temperatures in your home in the winter by 2 to 4 degrees. This is quite significant for a one-time fix that does not require additional energy costs over the years.
Which pipes do you need to insulate and where?
Considering the three main reasons why you need pipe insulation, let’s look at which pipes you should focus on exactly:
- Cold water pipes in unheated areas such as basement, crawl space, attic, etc. to prevent pipe bursts
- Hot water pipes in unheated crawl spaces, attics and other cold areas to prevent heat loss and higher energy costs
- Cold water pipes in heated areas to prevent condensation and «pipe sweat»
- Cold and hot water pipes in external walls by insulating the walls themselves to prevent both burst pipes and heat loss
How to insulate the pipes in your house?
There are several different pipe insulation methods and materials that you can use, such as foam sleeves, fiberglass pipe wrap, duct tape, and other pipe insulation materials. Each comes with its own instructions for easy installation, but beyond that, isolation process it’s really quite similar in most cases. Here’s what you might want to do:
1. Choose the right insulation for the job
If you want the best results, you’d do well to choose the most suitable insulation for your situation. To do this, you need to consider two main factors – R-value and convenience.
The R value is a simple term indicating the thermal resistance of a particular material, usually a types of insulating materials we will talk about flexible foam, fiberglass, adhesive tapes and so on below.
This R-value normally ranges between 1 or 1.5 and 7, with lower numbers indicating lower thermal resistance and higher numbers indicating better resistance. Simply put, if you want better insulation, get something with a higher R-value.
For most temperate winters, experts recommend an R-value of at least 3 for pipe insulation. If you live somewhere with even harsher winters, however, you may want insulation with an R-value of 5, 6, or even 7.
As for the «convenience» factor, here we mean, broadly speaking, considering what type of insulation would be easier to install and maintain on your pipes. For example, long sleeves of flexible foam are great for long pipes and straight, while duct tape is great for pipes that twist and turn a lot.
2. Prepare pipes before insulating
You’d also do well to do something basic pipe cleaning to remove dirt and grease from them. This would help the insulation stick to the pipe better because there wouldn’t be (or much) air and moisture trapped between the pipe and the insulation. Things like that may seem small, but it’s the difference between insulation that falls apart in a few winters and stays in place for a decade.
3. Get the right gear
Almost regardless of the type of insulation you have, you’ll still want to prepare the following items:
- Utility knife
- Scissors
- Gloves
- Roulette
- Lantern
- Zip ties
- Tape
- Strong adhesive
Tools like these would come in handy when providing insulation for a long time.
4. Start applying the insulation
Today, homeowners have a lot of options when it comes to this refers to wrapped pipe insulation. Fortunately, most types of pipe wrap are installed in a very similar manner – by simply cutting the pipe sleeve around the pipe and sealing it with the adhesive tapes it has on it. Take a look at how easy it is to install fiberglass, by example.
Other types of insulation such as jacketed pipe insulation shall be wrapped around the pipe in a spiral and then secured at the ends with tape or other adhesive. Any commercial insulation comes with its own instructions, but all are made to be as simple and straightforward to use as possible.
5. Use suitable tape and secure any loose ends
No matter what type of insulation you choose, it’s always a good idea to reinforce it with additional tape. Yes, foam pipe sleeves. Aluminum foil tape, polyethylene foam, rubber insulation, fiberglass insulation and many other types can be self-sealing, but can often be helped with a little extra tape here and there for better stability and insulation.
6. Also install frost-free faucets
Freeze-free faucets don’t really «insulate,» but they are designed with a special valve that prevents water from getting stuck in the faucet—pretty handy in freezing temperatures.
7. Check all parts of the insulation every year
Annual inspections of all parts of the insulation are a good idea. Even if it hasn’t fallen out, it’s smart to reseal any cracks you see in the long sleeves to ensure they continue to insulate as well as possible.
In conclusion – why and how to insulate piping systems?
If you live in a colder climate, you should know that pipe insulation is just as important to your home as the pipes themselves. Without proper insulation, your home’s plumbing and heating systems are susceptible to heat loss, condensation, and even cracking during the colder winter months.
Ideally, your home will have been built with its environment in mind, and the pipes in your plumbing and heating systems will have been built with the appropriate cold-resistant materials. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. And even when it is, being cautious and insulating your pipes is still a good idea.
