Pipe Insulation Blog

When you have cold pipes operating at temperatures below the ambient temperature of the room you are likely to have problems with the formation of condensation on the pipes. This moisture is one of the main causes of corrosion on pipes, and can also lead to water dripping off of the pipes, so correctly insulating your pipes to prevent this saves time & problems in the long run. The correct pipe insulation will provide an effective barrier against condensation provided that the surface of the insulation is above that of the dewpoint temperature of the air and that it also acts as a vapor barrier so that the water cannot pass through it to the surface of the pipe. Therefore, you need to use a closed cell pipe insulation with a high emissivity surface - a high emissivity surface is essentially one that absorbs heat eg a product with a black finish. The best insulation to use in this instance is there for expanded nitrile rubber, a black closed cell foam product. Leading brands

We're all feeling the pinch at present with energy bills rising, so it is worth taking some time to look at insulating your heating and hot water pipes, which if left bare are not only letting out heat, but your money too. Insulating your pipes shouldn't cost a great deal and will save you money for years to come. Insulating hot water pipes is not a complicated job, most people who are experienced at DIY will be able to install it without much difficulty. In this blog we will assume that the pipes are running at 60ºC with an ambient temperature of 15ºC. These are the parameters set out in the TIMSA HVAC Compliance Guide, a copy of which can be found here:  TIMSA HVAC Compliance Guide .The guide is written to help comply with Part L of the Building Regulations, we will be concentrating here on domestic dwellings. The first questions we ought to address is what kind of material out to be used?  Climaflex  would certainly be one of the simplest and most cost effective opti

With the cold weather approaching we thought it would be a good idea to touch on how best to protect your pipes from frost this winter. When dealing with frost protection on pipes inside a building your aim with insulating them is to delay the onset of freezing for as long as possible; it is not possible to guarantee a pipe will not freeze by insulation alone. The better the insulation, and the thicker the insulation, the longer you will give yourself. Under normal circumstances you aim to give yourself about 8-10 hours protection against sub zero temperatures. With pipes inside a home this is usually long enough to be sure the pipes will not freeze. Ice formation inside the pipes will lead to an increase in pressure. As the water tries to flow this pressure will increase, and eventually will lead to the pipes bursting. A burst pipe can cause a lot of problems, not least of which is a lot of damage to your property and a lot of expense incurred. Water regulations state that al

Phenolic foam is probably the most efficient insulation widely available in the UK market (there are technically products with better thermal conductivity's but they tend to be limited to the petro-chemical market as they are so expensive). It has a very low thermal conductivity at just 0.021W/m.K, meaning the biggest selling point is that you can very often use a thickness or two below that which you would normally use with a mineral wool product. Phenolic foam does not tend to have the same kind of temperature range as mineral wool, but that does not prevent it being used in the majority of heating and cooling applications. It is also becoming more commonly specified in the domestic sector, with ever increasing efficiency required for building regulations and a desire from home owners and self builders to think of the long term environmental impact of their home. Of course, as well as its use as a pipe insulation Kingspan Kooltherm is also a leading name in building insula